May 7, 1903: In the first game between the two franchises, the Boston Pilgrims beat the New York Highlanders at Boston's Huntington Avenue Grounds, 6-2. Before changing their names to the Red and Yankees, the teams had names that were based on geography. The Pilgrims was a tribute to New England ancestors from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Highlanders stemmed hilly land in upper Manhattan where the New York team played.
The Pilgrims won that first game with the help of a Hobe Ferris home run and two triples from Chick Stahl. The Pilgrims collected thirteen hits off Highlanders starter Snake Wiltse. The Pilgrims went on to win the first ever World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, while the Highlanders finished 17 games out of the lead in fourth place.
The Red Sox v. Yankees rivalry is now the fiercest rivalry in the game of baseball, bringing us events such as Buck Dents' homer in 1978, Aaron Boone's walk-off homer in game seven of the ALCS in '03, the brawl between the two teams in July of '04, and the ALCS comeback by the Sox in '04. New York owns the edge in the 2079 regular season match-ups by the two teams, with a record of 1,125-940-14 (.545 winning percentage).
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