Is Red Sox' 2004 World Series Win or Ray Bourque Giving No. 7 to Phil Esposito a Bigger Boston Sports Moment?

The Red Sox' 2004 World Series win squares off against Ray Bourque giving No. 7 to Phil Esposito in the quarterfinal round of Boston's Greatest Sports Moment tournament.

1. Red Sox win 2004 World SeriesBy now, every Red Sox fan probably has replayed Joe Castiglione’s call of the final out of the 2004 World Series in his or her head hundreds, maybe even thousands of times: "[Keith] Foulke to the set, the 1-0 pitch, here it is … swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the world champions. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball's world championship. Can you believe it?" For Red Sox fans — whether they had been followers for 10, 20, 50 or even 86 years – the moment was surreal. With a full moon over Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Boston’s beloved Red Sox were finally champs for the first time since 1918. Their sweep over the Cardinals ended that infamous curse and sparked one of the largest championship celebrations Boston has ever seen.

6. Ray Bourque gives No. 7 to Phil EspositoCall this moment the ultimate sign of respect. The Boston Bruins planned to retire two-time Stanley Cup champion and Hall of Famer Phil Esposito’s number on Dec. 3, 1987. The only problem? His No. 7 was being worn by the B’s captain at the time, Ray Bourque. Bourque, already a six-time All-Star himself, came up with a solution. During the pregame ceremony for Esposito at the Boston Garden, Bourque removed his own No. 7 jersey for the last time, proudly displaying his new No. 77 as the Garden crowd erupted into a long, loud ovation. Esposito thanked the young Bruins captain before watching his No. 7 jersey rise to the rafters. Bourque, meanwhile, held on to No. 77 for the final 12 years of his career in both Boston and Colorado.