LANSDOWNE STREET (UPI) - The 1978 Boston Red Sox have become synonymous with the word collapse.  In this tournament they did anything but collapse.  Somewhere, someplace Mr. Yawkey is smiling as his Beantown Boys righted history and won the Best of the 1970's Tourny World Series Championship.  In reverse fashion the Red Sox began this series behind the 8-ball after dropping the first 2 games.  Unaware of their real life history the '78 Bosox rose to the occasion and overcame adversity to take 4 straight from the Expos to win the World Series 4 games to 2.

Game 1 was all Montreal.  The Expos chased Boston starter Dennis Eckersley in the second inning and feasted off of mop up many Tom Burgmeir to post a lopsided 13-3 score and jump out to a 1-0 lead in the series.  Bill Lee tossed 6 scoreless innings for the Expos and Gary Carter went 4 of 4 with a HR.

Game 2 saw the Expos increase their series lead to 2-0 behind Scott Sanderson who gave up only 1 run in 7.2 innings.  Gary Carter was again the offensive star as he went 3 for 4 and hit another huge HR.

Game 3 saw the series head north to Canada as the Expos looked to build on their 2-0 series lead in the cavernous Olympic Stadium.  To stop the bleeding Boston sent Mike Torrez to the hill.  Torrez was 4-0 in the post season heading into game 3.  At the end of the 1st Boston was down 2-1 and Torrez did not look sharp.  Steve Rogers, Montreal's ace, did look sharp.  Both teams exchanged 2 spots in the 3rd and a bunch of goose eggs until the 7th, when the wheels came off the Expo bus and the momentum of the series turned.  Rogers could not get an out as the Sox posted 3 big runs to take a 2 run lead.  Third baseman Butch Hobson led off with a double.  Pinch hitter Bernie Carbo followed with a good looking walk.  Jerry Remy followed with a huge double which plated Hobson.  A wild pitch and sac fly later saw the Bosox score 3.  Boston tacked on another insurance run in the 9th and Dick Drago blanked the Expos the rest of the way to get the Sox their first win in the Series.

Game 4:  Looking to knot the series at 2 the Bosox sent Game 1 loser Dennis Eckersley to the hill, while the Expos countered with lefty Dan Schatzeder.  Eckeresley rebounded from his poor game 1 performance to post 8 innings of 2 hit ball.  Unfortunately for "the Eck" he gave up a solo shot to normally light hitting SS Chris Speier, so he did not figure into the outcome.  The game headed into extra innings with the score knotted at 1.  Neither team could score until Boston busted it wide open in the top of the 12 behind a huge Grand Slam by rifle armed right fielder Dewey Evans.  Montreal didn't score in the bottom half of the inning and the series was now tied at 2 games each.

Game 5:  What was supposed to be the series clinching game for Montreal now turned into a must win game for them.  After heading home ahead 2 games to 0 the Expos only needed to win 2 of 3 at home to clinch the Series title.  Now they needed to win game 5 in order to break Boston's momentum and not allow the Soc to head home up 3 games to 2.  Montreal fought hard, but by this point their bats had gone cold.  By the end of regulation the game was tied at 1 apiece.  Boston's #5 starter Jim Wright had the right stuff as he allowed only 1 run over 6 and a third innings.  The Expos got equally fantastic pitching from "the Spaceman" Bill Lee, but just could not score.  Again in extra innings the Bosox busted it open with 4 runs.  Jim Rice delivered the big blow with a bases clearing triple off of normally reliable reliever David Palmer.  In a strange twist of fate and logic Boston's Bill Lee came on in the 9th to get the win and send his team back home to Fenway up 3 games to 2.

Game #6 saw Montreal's ace, Steve Rogers take the hill vs the aging El Tiante (Luis Tiant).  Rogers, on short rest had nothing in the tank and was chased before he could put 4 innings in the book.  The Sox dropped 5 quick runs on the Expos in the 4th to take a 6-1 lead and all of Red Sox nation began to think the curse might be dead.  In the bottom of the 7th Boston tacked on 3 more insurance runs to push the score to 9-1 as the Fenway faithful began to sing Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey Goodbye.  With Alan Ripley on the hill Montreal went quietly.  Their manager, Dan Holm was heard to say "at this point we could get a hit of a position player much less this Ripley guy, who is a BAD pitcher".

After Dave Cash ended the game with a 6-4-3 Double play all of New England let out a collective sigh just before the partying began.  Fireworks could be heard as far north as Nashu, NH and as far south as Middletown, CT.  The celebration was for a team that went on a magical 16-4 run through the post season to capture the crown for the Best team of the 1970's.  Along the way they snuffed out a 60 year curse and re-wrote history.