New England Pivot: The Red Sox and the Region in 1972

By Christopher D. Chavis

This work tells the story of 1972 as a hinge year in northern New England, a moment when long-standing political, cultural, and institutional assumptions quietly began to fracture. In New Hampshire and Vermont, insurgent campaigns challenged entrenched power, from Meldrim Thomson's anti-tax crusade to Tom Salmon's upset victory, foreshadowing the anti-establishment energy that would later carry figures like Bernie Sanders. At the same time, demographic shifts and the rise of populism signaled that the region's future would look very different from its past.

Set against this backdrop is the 1972 Boston Red Sox season, shaped by baseball's first league-wide work stoppage and the emergence of a new generation of stars. As the team battled expectations and authority within the sport, it mirrored a region wrestling with its own identity. Blending sports and political history, this work reveals how a single year planted transformations that still define New England today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 147665834X
• ISBN13: 9781476658346
• Release Date: July 2027
• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Length: 164 Pages
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up