Eight years after those fateful playoffs, the Red Sox are now honoring that very same sock-destroying starting pitcher.
Curt Schilling headlines a group of seven players being inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame. That group will also include former Red Sox owner John I. Taylor and Joe Mooney, the club's groundskeeper for 30 years.
Schilling has earned top billing after accumulating a 6-1 record with a 3.28 ERA in Boston postseason games. During the 2004 regular season, he was one of just two 20-game winners as he put together a 21-6 record. He followed that up with the "bloody sock" game that helped the Red Sox take down the rival Yankees in the ALCS en route to their World Series victory over the Cardinals.
Taylor owned the team from 1904 to 1911, but in that short period contributed plenty to the franchise's history. Not only did he change the team's name from the Americans to the Red Sox in 1907, but Taylor also is credited with naming the team's stadium Fenway Park. He will be honored posthumously.
After a 30 year career with the team as the Superintendent of Grounds, Park and Maintenance, Mooney has stayed with the Red Sox as a Director of Grounds, Emeritus. Despite taking a less official role, the familiar face has a storied history with the franchise after beginning his career with the minor league affiliate Scranton Red Sox in 1948.
The remaining Hall of Famers are all players and include former second baseman Marty Barrett, center fielder Ellis Burks, pitcher Joe Dobson and pitcher Hubert "Dutch" Leonard.
Additionally, the Red Sox 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins in 1967 will be honored as the team's 2012 Memorable Moment. The decisive win came on the final day of the season and sealed the American League Pennant for Boston, completing what has become known as the "Impossible Dream."
The induction ceremony will take place at Fenway Park on August 3.
