In 1920 Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth (known as the Bambino to his legion of fans) to the New York Yankees.  The Red Sox, who had won five of the first 15 World Series, never won another, while the Yankess, who had to win a single Championship, went on to dominate the sport of baseball.  Some people call that the The Curse of the Bambino.

Babe Ruth and his wife Helen rented a cabin on Willis Pond in Sudbury, MA for the winter of 1917-1918, and in the book "The History of Sudbury" it is recorded that their piano was lost in the lake.

Just as the Curse of the Bambino haunts the Red Sox, so does the stigma that undermines the hope of success for people with mental illness.  That's why Resoration Project has undertaken the recovery of this piano.  We believe that by raising the piano we can raise awareness of the incredible capabilities of the mentally ill and handicapped.
 
 

	Babe Ruth at Willis Pond, prior to spring training 1918, waiting for his ride into Boston. "I'll see you kids at Fenway Park this summer."
Divers search Willis Pond, Sudbury, Mass. for the old upright piano thought to have been left in the lake since the winter of 1917-18

Restoration Project has a permit from the state of Massachusetts to find Babe Ruth's piano. We hope to raise and conserve it to draw attention to the recovery of people with mental illness and the stigma that undermines their success - just as the Curse of the Bambino haunts the Red Sox.

With a state permit - and the donated services of a professional underwater search team - Restoration Project hopes to have the piano raised this spring, with the ultimate goal of restoring the instrument to playing condition.

You can view photos of a previous dive HERE

We've also assembled a page of Frequently Asked Questions about the Piano Project HERE

Some publicity includes...

• Click HERE for a very recent Dave Barry piece on the search. (Thanks, Dave, for the great column!) 
• New York Times National News feature story on 9/30/02. Click HERE 
• Sports Illustrated's coverage for the first dive from Sunday 2/24/02 can be seen by clicking HERE 
• Click HERE to visit the site on Alan Wood's wonderful book on the last year the Red Sox won the World Series. 

Restoration Project has also received coverage on NBC's "Today Show", National Public Radio and elsewhere.

Photography by Larry Maglott