12 Years Ago: The Infamous “Bloody Sock Game” In The 2004 ALCS

Curt Schilling cemented his legacy in New England, as he pitched Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS with an injury that left him with a bloody sock. 

It's truly hard to believe that it's already been twelve years. Twelve years since the Boston Red Sox completed the truly impossible dream, beating the "evil empire" despite being down three games to none in the American League Championship Series. That comeback wouldn't have happened though, if it weren't for Curt Schilling and the infamous "bloody sock" game.

Over the course of 48 hours in 2004, every member of Red Sox nation became medical experts. Throwing around terms like "ruptured sheath" and "peroneal tendon" around the water cooler as they discussed whether or not Curt Schilling would get to make a game 6 start. Schilling did make that start, and the images that came from that game will be legends that parents and grandparents tell their kids and grandkids.

Throughout the telecast that night on Fox, commentators Joe Buck and Tim McCarver consistently mentioned Schilling's high tops, his pain threshold and naturally, what appeared to be a burgeoning blood stain on Schilling's sock. That chatter, furthering Red Sox fans fervent passion, led to the moniker that followed the 2004 Red Sox team and their fan base for the rest of the playoffs, "why not us?"

As diehard Sox fans will remember, Game 6 wasn't just about Schilling's bloody sock. It was also about the "slap heard 'round the world". Bronson Arroyo went to tag Alex Rodriguez on a key play at 1st base late in the game, when Rodriguez slapped the ball out of Arroyo's glove. The umpires correctly ruled that Rodriguez was out. which led to an unruly New York crowd erupting in anger. The Red Sox eventually secured the victory and game 7, well Derek Lowe and Johnny Damon took care of game 7.

The 2004 ALCS will go down as perhaps the greatest (and longest) championship series in Major League Baseball history. Curt Schilling's bloody sock will be memorialized in the minds of Sox fans forever. Reverse the curse? Why not us?