It was 40 years ago this season that the Boston Red Sox Impossible Dream season began. With the joys that Yaz, George Scott, Rico Petrocelli, Reggie Smith, Joe Foy and, of course, New England's own Tony Conigliaro brought to the bewildered city, fans were reinvigorated with Red Sox in their blood. This wasn't just any Red Sox team, this was a team that the previous season had two years earlier in '65 been arguably one of the worst teams in baseball history going 62-100. Though the Red Sox would shock the world and take the dream all the way to game 7 of the world series against the St. Louis Cardinals, there was a casualty along the way that no true Red Sox fan could ever forget.
Tony C entered the league at age 19, playing outfield for the Sox and hitting 24 longballs before breaking his arm in August of that year. Quite a feat for a teenager in the majors, 24 HR, rookie season, not even a full year played. His sophomore season he would improve on those numbers, leading the league hitting 32 homers. In '66 he would hit 28 homers, well on his way to 100 homers at the young age of 22.
In the year of the Impossible Dream, Tony C had 20 homers, making him at the age of 22 the youngest player ever in the AL to reach 100 homers. Then, in the middle of the magical season, the tragedy struck.
On August 18, 1967 the Red Sox were facing the Anaheim Angels at Fenway Park. Tony C was batting against pitcher Jack Hamilton when he was hit by a pitch in the left cheekbone, turning out the lights in Tony's head. He suffered a broken cheekbone and severe damage to his left retina. There was no earflap on the batting helmet to protect the side of his face. Tony C's season and peak effectiveness were done for good. Boston had lost one of their hometown hero at the tender age of 22. Hamilton would deny that he intentionally threw at the batter, but a fastball to the head is hard to defend as a Major League pitcher. The Conigliaro family never forgave him, even as Hamilton attempted to visit Tony in the hospital, but was denied access by the family. Hamilton never truly recovered from the incident either, as he became wary of pitching inside to hitters, for fear of severely injuring another batter. His strikeout rate declined and ERA rose over the next couple years and he retired in 1969.
Though Tony C would go on to win the Comeback Player of the Year in 1969, his eyesight had permanent damage that could never be back to the naturally perfect vision he had before the incident. He would go on to hit 162 home runs in his shortened career and drive in 501 RBIs. He would suffer another blow at age 37, this one proving to eventually be fatal, as he had a heart attack and lapsed into a coma in 1982 in Boston. He would never fully recover as he died at age 45 in 1990.
Tony C has not been forgotten in baseball lore though, as each year a player who has overcome an obstacle or adversity in his life to perform at top levels on the field again is awarded the Tony Conigliaro Award. This year the Red Sox have unveiled a new bleachers section this year to be known as "Conigliaro's Corner" in memory and tribute to the storied, maligned homegrown outfielder. The seats are $25, the same as the number that Tony C wore during his times with Boston.
Tony still holds the MLB record for most home runs hit as a teenager (25) and he was well on his way to 600, maybe even 700 with the jump start he had in age. The question will always be...what could have been?
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