Don’t Let Us Win Tonight: An Oral History of the 2004 Boston Red Sox’s Impossible Playoff Run

Now revised and updated to include reflections on the modern era of Red Sox baseball

Commemorating the Boston Red Sox’s unforgettable championship run in the fall of 2004, go behind the scenes and inside the dugout, bullpen, and clubhouse to discover how this team defied the ultimate odds. This oral history highlights how, during a span of just 76 hours, the Red Sox won four do-or-die games against their archrivals, the New York Yankees, to qualify for the World Series and complete the greatest comeback in baseball history. Then the Red Sox steamrolled through the fall classic, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four games to capture their first championship since 1918.

Don’t Let Us Win Tonight is brimming with revealing quotes from Boston’s front office personnel, coaches, medical staff, and players, including Kevin Millar talking about his infectious optimism and the team’s pregame ritual of drinking whiskey, Dave Roberts revealing how he prepared to steal the most famous base of his career, and Dr. William Morgan describing the radical surgery he performed on Curt Schilling’s right ankle. The ultimate keepsake for any Red Sox fan, this is the 2004 team in their own words.

Allan Wood is the author of Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox and also writes the popular blog Joy of Sox. He lives in Mississauga, Ontario. Bill Nowlin is the author of 17 Red Sox-related books, including Amazing Tales from the Boston Red Sox Dugout, Blood Feud, and Boston Red Sox IQ. In 2004 he was elected vice president of the Society for American Baseball Research. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.