One of sports' most famous rivalries will be renewed on one of baseball's biggest stages.

The Yankees' win over the Oakland A's Wednesday night means they will square off with the Red Sox in the American League Division Series, starting Friday night in Boston. It will be the fourth time the teams play in the playoffs, and the first since 2004.

New York and Boston have a long-standing rivalry that dates back to the early part of the 20th century. Here's a look back at the rivalry, and their past October battles.

"The Curse of the Bambino"

The first World Series was played in 1903, and it was won by Boston. The team went on to win four World Series titles in the following decade (1912, 1915, 1916 and 1918).

Then, everything changed. After the 1919 season, the Red Sox sold a player who was in the midst of transitioning from being primarily a pitcher to primarily an outfielder. His name? Babe Ruth. He, of course, turned into one of the best hitters in baseball history.

At the time they acquired Ruth, the Yankees had not won a World Series. Since they acquired the Babe, they have won 27, including their first four with Ruth.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, would begin one of the longest title droughts in professional sports history, one famously dubbed "The Curse of the Bambino."

1978: Bucky Dent and the one-game playoff

Due to the MLB's playoff format, the Yankees and Red Sox did not meet in the postseason before 1999. But a wild 1978 AL East race – the Red Sox led the Yankees by as many as 14 games in July – ended with both New York and Boston tied atop the standings.

The teams played a one-game playoff to determine the division winner. The Red Sox led until the top of the seventh, when Bucky Dent – who hit 40 home runs in his entire 12-year career – hit a three-run home run over the Green Monster to give the Yankees the lead.

New York won the game 5-4 to clinch the division. They would go on to win the World Series.

1999: First postseason meeting

MLB's decision to create a wild card in 1994 set up the possibility of the Yankees and Red Sox playing each other in the postseason. It happened for the first time in the 1999 American League Championship Series.

The Yankees were in the midst of a dynasty that saw them win the World Series four times in a five-year span. They won Game 1 in extra innings on a walk-off home run by Bernie Williams and went on to defeat the Red Sox in five games on their way to another title.

2003: Aaron Boone wins it

The teams met again in the ALCS four years later, with the Red Sox now 85 years removed from their last World Series victory.

The teams split the first two games in the Bronx ahead of what turned out to be a wild Game 3. A hit batter and an inside pitch led to tempers flaring and benches clearing in the fourth inning, and Don Zimmer – the Yankees' 72-year-old bench coach – charged at Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez. Martinez pushed Zimmer to the ground. There was also an altercation in the Yankees' bullpen in the ninth inning involving two Yankee players and a Red Sox groundskeeper.

In the end, the Yankees won Game 3 4-3. They took a 3-2 series lead back to the Bronx, but a Red Sox win in Game 6 set up a Game 7 for the ages.

The Red Sox led 5-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 7, but the Yankees rallied for three runs to tie it after manager Grady Little left a tiring Martinez in the game. Then, in the bottom of the 11th, Aaron Boone – who is now the Yankees' manager – etched himself in the lore of the rivalry with a game-winning home run.

The Yankees lost the World Series that year to the Marlins – but they extended their biggest rival's pain for another year.

2004: The collapse

As it turned out, though, they only extended it for one more year.

The rivals met again in the 2004 ALCS. At first, it looked like the Bronx Bombers would inflict more misery on Red Sox fans. The Yankees won the first three games in the best-of-seven series – including a 19-8 thrashing of the Red Sox in Game 3 in Boston.

No team in MLB history had erased a 3-0 series deficit up to that point, but the Red Sox fought back. They tied Game 4 in the ninth inning off of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and won it in the 12th on a 2-run home run by David Ortiz.

Ortiz was the hero again the next night, winning Game 5 with a single in the bottom of the 14th.

Back in New York, Red Sox starter Curt Schilling, nursing an ankle injury, won Game 6, despite a noticeable bloodstain on his right sock.

The Red Sox then scored six runs in the first two innings of Game 7 and completed the comeback with a 10-3 win.

Boston not only erased the 3-0 series deficit, they also wiped out the Curse of the Bambino. They went on to sweep the Cardinals to win their first World Series in 86 years.