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Tony Conigliaro
Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1967, 1969–1970, 1975) and California Angels (1971). Born in Revere, Massachusetts, he was a 1962 graduate of St. Mary's High School in Lynn, Massachusetts. Conigliaro started his MLB career as a teenager, hitting a home run in his first at-bat during his home field debut in 1964, and reaching 100 career home runs faster than any player in American League history.
During the Red Sox "Impossible Dream" season of 1967, he was hit in the face by a pitch that caused a severe eye injury and derailed his career. He did not play in 1968, but in 1969 he came back and had a good year with 20 home runs and 82 runs batted in. In 1970, Conigliaro had an even better year. He hit 36 home runs and knocked in 116 runs. Then, in 1971, the Red Sox sent him to the California Angels for reasons that were never explained. That 1971 season with the Angels was not a good one for Conigliaro, and following that year he retired. After retirement from baseball, he had a heart attack and suffered brain damage at age 37, leaving him severely impaired until his death in 1990.
Conigliaro was born in Revere, Massachusetts, on January 7, 1945. He was raised in Orient Heights, East Boston, Swampscott and Nahant, Massachusetts. He attended St. Mary's High School in Lynn, Massachusetts, where he played starting quarterback on the football team and starred in baseball. In 2020, the school retired his jersey number (12), and unveiled a portrait of Conigliaro that is in the lobby of its Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium.
Conigliaro was signed by the Red Sox in 1962, at the age of 17, for $20,000. In 1963, he batted .363 with 24 home runs, and an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of 1.139, playing for the Wellsville Red Sox in the Single-A New York–Penn League. He was the league's Rookie-of-the-Year and its Most Valuable Player. In the fall of 1963, he played instructional league baseball in Sarasota, and was included on the Red Sox 1964 roster coming into spring training. At 19 years old he made the team going into the 1964 season, without returning to the minor leagues.
During his 1964 rookie season, Conigliaro batted .290 with 24 home runs and 52 RBI but played in only 111 games due to a broken arm from being hit by a pitch and further breaking some of his toes in August. On the first pitch of his first at-bat in Fenway Park, in the team's 1964 opening home game, Conigliaro hit a towering home run in the second inning against the White Sox. The proceeds of that game went to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, to honor the recently assassinated President, and those in attendance that day included among others Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and Governor Endicott Peabody. (His first major league hit came a day earlier against the New York Yankees, in New York.)
In 1965, Conigliaro led the league in home runs (32), becoming the youngest home run champion in American League history. He batted .269, with 82 RBI and 82 runs scored, and a .850 OPS. He suffered a cracked wrist from a pitched ball that year, but still played in 138 games. In 1966, he hit .265, with 28 home runs and 93 RBI, playing in 150 games.
During spring training in 1967, Conigliaro suffered a hairline arm fracture from a pitched ball. Through 95 games, he had 20 home runs in only 349 at-bats, while batting .287 with 67 RBI, 59 runs scored, and an .860 OPS. He was selected for the All-Star Game in 1967. In that season, at age 22, he not only reached a career total of 100 home runs, but attained that milestone at the youngest age for an American League player.
On August 18, 1967, in his 95th game of the season, the Red Sox were playing the California Angels at Fenway Park. Conigliaro, batting against Jack Hamilton, was hit by a pitch on his left cheekbone and was carried off the field on a stretcher. He sustained a linear fracture of the left cheekbone and a dislocated jaw with severe damage to his left retina. He was left with 20–300 vision and stabbing headaches. Those in attendance knew the injury was serious from the sound of the ball striking Conigliaro. The batting helmet he was wearing did not have the protective ear-flap that has since become standard partly due to this incident.
Tony Conigliaro
Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1967, 1969–1970, 1975) and California Angels (1971). Born in Revere, Massachusetts, he was a 1962 graduate of St. Mary's High School in Lynn, Massachusetts. Conigliaro started his MLB career as a teenager, hitting a home run in his first at-bat during his home field debut in 1964, and reaching 100 career home runs faster than any player in American League history.
During the Red Sox "Impossible Dream" season of 1967, he was hit in the face by a pitch that caused a severe eye injury and derailed his career. He did not play in 1968, but in 1969 he came back and had a good year with 20 home runs and 82 runs batted in. In 1970, Conigliaro had an even better year. He hit 36 home runs and knocked in 116 runs. Then, in 1971, the Red Sox sent him to the California Angels for reasons that were never explained. That 1971 season with the Angels was not a good one for Conigliaro, and following that year he retired. After retirement from baseball, he had a heart attack and suffered brain damage at age 37, leaving him severely impaired until his death in 1990.
Conigliaro was born in Revere, Massachusetts, on January 7, 1945. He was raised in Orient Heights, East Boston, Swampscott and Nahant, Massachusetts. He attended St. Mary's High School in Lynn, Massachusetts, where he played starting quarterback on the football team and starred in baseball. In 2020, the school retired his jersey number (12), and unveiled a portrait of Conigliaro that is in the lobby of its Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium.
Conigliaro was signed by the Red Sox in 1962, at the age of 17, for $20,000. In 1963, he batted .363 with 24 home runs, and an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of 1.139, playing for the Wellsville Red Sox in the Single-A New York–Penn League. He was the league's Rookie-of-the-Year and its Most Valuable Player. In the fall of 1963, he played instructional league baseball in Sarasota, and was included on the Red Sox 1964 roster coming into spring training. At 19 years old he made the team going into the 1964 season, without returning to the minor leagues.
During his 1964 rookie season, Conigliaro batted .290 with 24 home runs and 52 RBI but played in only 111 games due to a broken arm from being hit by a pitch and further breaking some of his toes in August. On the first pitch of his first at-bat in Fenway Park, in the team's 1964 opening home game, Conigliaro hit a towering home run in the second inning against the White Sox. The proceeds of that game went to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, to honor the recently assassinated President, and those in attendance that day included among others Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and Governor Endicott Peabody. (His first major league hit came a day earlier against the New York Yankees, in New York.)
In 1965, Conigliaro led the league in home runs (32), becoming the youngest home run champion in American League history. He batted .269, with 82 RBI and 82 runs scored, and a .850 OPS. He suffered a cracked wrist from a pitched ball that year, but still played in 138 games. In 1966, he hit .265, with 28 home runs and 93 RBI, playing in 150 games.
During spring training in 1967, Conigliaro suffered a hairline arm fracture from a pitched ball. Through 95 games, he had 20 home runs in only 349 at-bats, while batting .287 with 67 RBI, 59 runs scored, and an .860 OPS. He was selected for the All-Star Game in 1967. In that season, at age 22, he not only reached a career total of 100 home runs, but attained that milestone at the youngest age for an American League player.
On August 18, 1967, in his 95th game of the season, the Red Sox were playing the California Angels at Fenway Park. Conigliaro, batting against Jack Hamilton, was hit by a pitch on his left cheekbone and was carried off the field on a stretcher. He sustained a linear fracture of the left cheekbone and a dislocated jaw with severe damage to his left retina. He was left with 20–300 vision and stabbing headaches. Those in attendance knew the injury was serious from the sound of the ball striking Conigliaro. The batting helmet he was wearing did not have the protective ear-flap that has since become standard partly due to this incident.
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