Tony Conigliaro
| Tony Conigliaro | |||
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| Right fielder | |||
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Born: January 7, 1945 Revere, Massachusetts |
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Died: February 24, 1990 (aged 45) Salem, Massachusetts |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 16, 1964, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| June 12, 1975, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .264 | ||
| Home runs | 166 | ||
| Runs batted in | 516 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–67, 1969–1970, 1975) and California Angels (1971). He was born in Revere, Massachusetts and was a 1962 graduate of St. Mary's High School in Lynn, Massachusetts. During the Red Sox "Impossible Dream" season of 1967, he was hit in the face by a pitch, causing a severe eye injury and derailing his career. Though he would make a comeback from the injury, his career was not the same afterwards.
Conigliaro was signed by the Red Sox in 1962, at the age of 17. In 1963, he batted .363 with 24 home runs playing for the Wellsville Red Sox in the New York–Penn League, after which he was called up to the majors.
During his 1964 rookie season, Conigliaro batted .290 with 24 home runs and 52 RBI in 111 games, but broke his arm and his toes in August. In his first at-bat in Fenway Park, Conigliaro hit a towering home run in the second inning against the White Sox.
In his sophomore season in 1965, Conigliaro led the league in home runs (32), becoming the youngest home run champion in American League history. 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, 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. The batting helmet he was wearing did not have the protective ear-flap that has since become standard.
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