Boston Red Sox spring training history: from 1901 to 2003.

When the 2003 Boston Red Sox reported to Fort Myers, Florida,

for spring training, state-of-the-art facilities, a battery of instructors, and a full staff of physical-training specialists awaited them. The minor league facility at City of Palms Park, where the team trains before the exhibition season begins, includes eight batting tunnels and sixteen pitcher's mounds. Every effort is made to ensure that the players have access to the best training facilities in major league baseball.

When Johnny Pesky reported to Sarasota, Florida, in 1942 for his first major league spring training session, conditions were comparatively spartan. Pesky was in Fort Myers as a special assignment instructor for the Red Sox in 2003. He has been associated with the club for more than 50 years and has over 60 training camps as a basis of comparison.

"The best way to describe the clubhouse in Sarasota in 1942 was an old barn with some lockers in it. Our manager, Joe Cronin, was a playing manager, so he had to spend time getting himself in shape. And we only had one diamond with a lumpy infield surface and a terrible hitting background.

"But I'll tell you one thing. We were awfully happy to be in Florida at a major league spring training campy

This is the Red Sox 11th spring training camp in Fort Myers. Over the years the team has trained in 19 locations in 11 different states.

THE EARLY YEARS

Professional baseball teams have been heading to warmer climates for preseason training for over 125 years. The earliest teams were located in the North, and the trek south dates back to the beginning of baseball. The New York Mutuals trained in New Orleans, Louisiana, prior to their 1869 season.

The early emphasis of spring training was on getting the players back in shape. The 1886 Chicago White Sox trained in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where they took 20-mile hikes daily. The 2004 Red Sox have no long distance hikes planned for this year's camp.

The Boston Red Sox, or "Boston Americans" as they were known at the time, were formed in 1901 as charter members of the new American League. The team was established to compete with the Boston Nationals, who had been Boston's NL entry since 1876.

The new team assembled for the first time at historic South Station in March 1901, boarding a train headed to Charlottesville, Virginia, for spring training. The first recorded score for the Boston Americans was a 13-O victory over the University of Virginia.