Remembering the ’67 Red Sox ‘Impossible Dream’ season

In the basement of a Canton home is a dusty yellow Kodak box that hasn’t been opened in a half a century. Inside lies buried treasure, the 1967 Red Sox “Impossible Dream” season captured in 4,000 black-and-white negatives. It was the year that forever changed baseball in Boston, and Frank O’Brien was just a rookie Globe sports photographer who captured it all. Read the story--By Stan Grossfeld
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Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg leads off the bottom of the sixth with a 50-foot bunt that starts a five-run surge against the Minnesota Twins on October 1, 1967. “Who would have dreamed that a bunt from your starting pitcher would start a rally to win the pennant,” says retired Globe photographer Frank O’Brien. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Left fielder Carl Yastrzemski led the underdog Red Sox to a pennant victory and the World Series in 1967. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Ecstatic fans await the team’s return at Logan Airport after the Red Sox’ win in Game 5 of the World Series in 1967. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Sportscaster Howard Cosell interviews Carl Yastrzemski after Game 2 of the World Series, a 5-0 win over the Cardinals. “He was superhuman. Everything he did turned to gold,” retired Globe photographer Frank O’Brien says of Yaz. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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In Game 6, the Cardinals’ Lou Brock slides past Red Sox catcher Elston Howard as umpire Paul Pryor screams safe. At far left is Cardinals right fielder Roger Maris. The game ends with an 8-4 win for Boston. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Dick Williams’s son Ricky with Sox outfielder George Thomas (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Sox fans fly their pennant for the last game of the regular season against the Minnesota Twins. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Celebrating the Sox’ pennant win, (from left) third baseman Joe Foy and pitchers Bucky Brandon, Sparky Lyle, and Jose Santiago turn the water on manager Dick Williams. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Returning from an 8-2 win over the Washington Senators, Red Sox players and the team doctor wait for luggage at Logan Airport. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg plants one on a baseball commemorating his 20th win of the ’67 season, against the A’s, on September 12. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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An elated Lonborg ices his arm after his 20th win that season. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Pitcher Ken Brett after the Game 7 World Series loss. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Red Sox first baseman George Scott signs autographs. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Manager Dick Williams is consoled by son Ricky after the World Series loss to St. Louis. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Pitchers Jerry Stephenson and Gary Bell celebrate the Red Sox’ pennant victory. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Red Sox relief pitcher John Wyatt scrawled tongue-in-cheek notes to himself on his glove. From top to bottom they say: “Cheat,” “Bear Down,” “Stay on Top,” “Keep it Down” and “When in doubt fork.” Former Globe photographer Frank O’Brien says, “His out pitch was a fork ball.” (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Elston Howard (left) and Mickey Mantle, two former teammates and MVP winners, reunite at Fenway Park shortly after Howard was traded by the Yankees to the Red Sox.

(Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Red Sox trainer Buddy LeRoux with Yaz. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Senator Ted Kennedy (left) hosts Minnesotan Hubert Humphrey, who was then vice president, at Fenway during the last weekend of the regular season. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Pitchers Sparky Lyle and Jose Santiago celebrate winning pennant on the last day of the season. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey and outfielder Carl Yastrzemski talk before the game, a 6-0 loss to Cleveland. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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Jim Lonborg tosses the last pitch of a one-hitter to defeat the Cardinals 5-0 in Game 2 of the World Series. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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In Game 6 of the World Series, (from left) Sox shortstop Rico Petrocelli, Yastrzemski, and center fielder Reggie Smith each homered in the 8-4 win. They set a World Series record with three home runs in the same inning. (Frank O’Brien/Globe Staff)
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The 1967 Red Sox remain retired Globe photographer Frank O’Brien’s favorite in a 43-year career. The players won the hearts of New England then and sparked a baseball fever that endures today. (Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff)
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