The Boston Red Sox ended 86 years of hurt by beating St Louis Cardinals to win the World Series on Wednesday. The Red Sox won the fourth game 3-0 to take the best-of-seven series 4-0 and the title for the first time since Babe Ruth's success in 1918.
Johnny Damon homered and hit a triple while Trot Nixon added three doubles to put the finishing touches on a four-game sweep.
Boston starter Derek Lowe pitched seven shutout innings to stifle St Louis.
Lowe gave up just three hits while striking out four and walking one.
The victory ends one of the sporting world's most enduring curses in which a hex has supposedly hung over Fenway Park since Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920.
"All the Red Sox fans can enjoy the celebration - we'll do it again next year," said club general manager Theo Epstein.
And Boston's Manny Ramirez, the series' Most Valuable Player vowed to make the victory the start of something special for his side.
"It means a lot to us," said Ramirez.
"That's something nobody is going to take away. "We're going to keep playing hard and blank out all the negativity."
The Red Sox totally dominated the best-of seven series, outscoring the Cardinals 13-3 over games two, three and four.
"To get here and get beat like this is bitterly disappointing," said Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa.
"I think some of it is us, and a lot of it is the Red Sox. I have no trouble giving them credit.
"They outplayed us in every category - it ended up not being a terrific competition."
Boston won eight games on the trot, after coming from 3-0 down in the American League Championship Series to beat the New York Yankees. "We learned a lot when we played the Yankees," said Ramirez.
"I was talking to some of the guys and I said, 'Let's go. Don't let those guys breathe.' We know what happened against New York. Anything can happen."
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They outplayed us in every category
