The Red Sox, my birthday, and my Dad
Around 1922 Preston Bruce (my Dad) starting pulling for the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
For over 80 years they never won the World Series but he never gave up hope. Because he was involved in so many things and with so many people here in the Cowichan Valley when we flew out to Boston the Red Sox invited him onto the field and for 15 minutes tens of thousands of Boston fans got to hear about a loving dad and our great community of Duncan. While at the game he prayed to the baseball gods to please allow the Red Sox to win the World Series before he got too old.
The “old man” never missed a Christmas — never missed a birthday and never missed one of my games. One night in bed with no warning he suddenly died (age 86). To ease our pain we made jokes that now the baseball gods were going to finally hear from him face to face.
The season after he died the Red Sox were down three games to zero against the Yankees. Somewhere in heaven there must have been a quiet conversation because the Sox came back and won four straight and then went on to win four more against St. Louis to finally win the World Series. I will never forget the day, it was Oct. 27, my birthday, and Dad had shown up again.
Roger Bruce
Lifetime Red Sox fan