Curt Schillings Bloody Sock

In November of 2003, Curt Schilling was traded to the Boston Red Sox from the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2004, Curt Schilling would go on to one of his best seasons ever. He would pitch over 200 innings, and win 21 games in 32 games started, becoming the fifth Boston pitcher to win 20 or more games in his first season with the team, and the first since Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley in 1978. But his biggest contribution came in the playoffs.

On October 19, Schilling won Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series (ALCS). Playing on an injured ankle, he pitched 7 strong innings and gave up only 1 earned run. He struck out 4 players and walked none. The injuries to his ankle were so acute, he was bleeding throughout the game, leaving a tell-tale bloody stain on his sock.

The win forced a Game 7, making the Red Sox the first team in post-season Major League Baseball history to come back from a three-games-to-none deficit. The Red Sox would go on to win Game 7 and the ALCS and make their first World Series appearance since 1986. He pitched (and won) Game 2 of the 2004 World Series for the Red Sox against the St. Louis Cardinals. In both series, he had to have the tendon in his right ankle stabilized repeatedly, in what has become known as the Schilling Tendon Procedure, after the tendon sheath was torn during his Game 1 ALDS appearance against the Anaheim Angels. As in game 6 of the ALCS, Schilling's sock was soaked with blood from the sutures used in this medical procedure. This second "bloody" sock was placed in the Baseball Hall of Fame after Boston's victory over St. Louis in the World Series. A 4-game sweep of the World Series gave Boston its first World Series championship since 1918.