Bill Buckner, a first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, earned a notorious place in the annals of baseball history among the passionate fan base known as The Red Sox Nation. This infamous moment occurred during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, when a weakly hit ball by Mookie Wilson slipped through Buckner's legs, giving the New York Mets new life with the game on the line. The Mets would go on to win Game 6 and the World Series in seven games, prolonging the "Curse of the Bambino" that had haunted the Nation for 66 years since Babe Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees by Red Sox owner Harry Frazee.
The Sporting News' annual baseball supplement featured a cover photo of Buckner's miscue, with the headline "Can Anyone Doubt the Red Sox Hex?" reading like a haunting epitaph. The Nation was left reeling, and the trauma was so profound that even a retired Buckner felt compelled to relocate from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts due to harassment from young Red Sox fans directed at his children.
