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The Boston Pilgrims Did Exist
The controversy over whether the Boston Red Sox were ever nicknamed the Boston Pilgrims has been resolved.

19-Mar-2007 ? CelebrateBoston completed detailed research on whether the Boston Red Sox have ever been known as the Boston Pilgrims. One hundred years ago, on opening day April 15th 1907, Edwin Fitzwilliam sang a poem to inspire the fledgling Boston Americans (the Red Sox). The first line of the song was, "The Pilgrims are back on the home ground today." Throughout the 1907 season, very likely due to this event, the Boston Americans were unofficially nicknamed the Pilgrims.

A controversy arose recently on whether the Pilgrims ever existed. Research indicated that the Red Sox did not have the nickname in 1903, the year they won the World Series. In 1907, the Red Sox clearly were nicknamed the Pilgrims. The team officially changed its name in December 1907 from the Boston Americans to the Boston Red Sox, possibly due to the Pilgrims nickname becoming more popular.

The CelebrateBoston Pilgrims page has excerpts of the inspirational poem, and relevant headlines of the 1907 season.

About CelebrateBoston.com: CelebrateBoston is the product of a single history enthusiast. The goal is to increase interest in historic events that pertain to Boston. The web site has become an extremely popular tourist resource and scholarly work as a result.

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