Curator’s Corner

A Worcester, MA native, Richard A. Johnson has served as Curator of The Sports Museum since 1982. A varsity athlete at Lawrence Academy and Bates College, Johnson parlayed his Art History degree and an abiding passion for both sports and cultural history into a celebrated career. Johnson has also authored or co-authored 23 books and served as a consultant to projects and clients including The Boston Celtics, New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, Cambridge Seven Associates, WGBH, ESPN, HBO, and The Boston Museum of Science.

Here is Richard Johnson’s “Curator’s Corner” where you will find blog posts written by Richard discussing Boston sports history.

Celebrating History

On January 19, 1986, The Sports Museum mounted a benefit concert at Symphony Hall featuring rock and roll pioneers Bo Diddley and Roy Orbison as well as the Lite Beer All-Stars led by Celtics head coach KC Jones.
In the early seventies, Boston was the undisputed capitol of the hockey world as the Big Bad Bruins led by Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito captured two Stanley Cups and elevated the NHL to hitherto unprecedented heights.
At 8:41 PM on a Friday, August 18, 1967, Boston was aglow with the performance of a Red Sox team, that despite being in fourth place, where only 3 1/2 games behind the Twins...
On the night of August 19th 75-year-old left-hander, Bill Lee was warming up in the bullpen for the Savannah Bananas and had just caught a toss from his catcher when he toppled over backward.
In 1986 the veterans' committee named former Red Sox captain Bobby Doerr to The National Baseball Hall of Fame making him only the second enshrines, after his teammate and lifelong friend Ted Williams, to have played his entire major league career with the Red Sox.
Winning was a magnificent obsession that allowed Mr. Russell a prominent platform from which to advocate for social justice and fairness at a time when such stances weren’t universally embraced by fellow citizens.
One Hundred and Eight Years Ago Today, The Babe Joins The Red Sox. Babe Ruth joined us in the middle of 1914, a 19-year-old kid. He was a left-handed pitcher then, and a good one.
Coach Bill Squires Running
Coach Bill Squires died on June 30 at age 89. He was one of the greats on a par with distance coaching peers such as Bill Bowerman and Arthur Lydiard. He was also a mentor and dear friend.