October 2nd, 1978 — a date which will live in infamy for Red Sox fans. Light-hitting shortstop Bucky Dent hit a three-run home run over the Green Monster to stun the Boston faithful and catapult the Yankees into the playoffs.
It had been a crazy year, with the defending World Series champion Yankees falling 14 1/2 games behind Boston in mid-July. They dropped to fourth place in the AL East race, just five games over .500. The Red Sox, meanwhile, sprinted out to a 62-28 start, and held a nine-game lead over second-place Milwaukee on July 19th.