Police in Riot Gear Arrest 37 People After Red Sox Sweep World Series

BOSTON – Boston police in riot gear worked to clear several large crowds gathered around Fenway Park after the Red Sox won their second World Series title in four years.

Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said 37 arrests were made early Monday in the city, mostly for disorderly conduct. No serious injuries were reported.

At least one small fire was set and at one point, the crowd flipped a pick up truck on to its side. Young people sprayed each other with beer and some climbed street signs or utility poles.

"Two World Series in four years is pure heaven," Andrew Dumas, a Boston University student from West Boylston, told the Boston Herald.

Police shut down access to Kenmore Square as Game 4 neared its end in Denver. The Red Sox won the game 4-3, touching off celebrations in Boston and around New England.

Hundreds of police officers took positions on foot, bicycle and horseback around Fenway, hoping to discourage fans from congregating around the ballpark.

"Mere presence is deterrent," Boston Police Captain John Kervin told The Boston Globe, as he stood outside the Cask 'n Flagon, a popular bar across from Fenway.

The police department had announced it would have more than 50 cameras trained on the city to record any vandalism. Boston authorities cracked down on rowdy sports celebrations after an Emerson College student was struck and killed by a pepper pellet fired by police into an unruly crowd celebrating the Red Sox' 2004 victory over the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

The victorious Red Sox were expected to arrive back in Boston at about 3:30 p.m. Monday and head over to Fenway Park. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told WBZ-AM the city would meet with team officials later in the day before announcing details of a public celebration, possibly as early as Tuesday.

Menino said he expected the parade to be similar to the "rolling rally" that was held after the 2004 title, in which players rode around the city in Duck Boats.

Elsewhere around the region, some 1,500 University of Massachusetts-Amherst students poured out of their dormitories after Boston completed its World Series sweep.

The university said on its Web site that the crowd was boisterous but peaceful, with no damage reported. Six people were arrested for disorderly conduct or for failing to obey a dispersal order that was issued at about 12:45 a.m.

One person suffered a minor injury when he fell to the ground while body surfing.

In Durham, N.H., several thousand University of New Hampshire students gathered on Main Street, many carrying brooms and chanting "sweep, sweep, sweep."

Several dozen police officers, some in riot gear, pushed the crowds back toward campus and no arrests or injuries were immediately reported.