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Tony Conigliaro
1945-1990

  • Brother of Billy Conigliaro
    [Courtesy Arnie Braunstein]
  • OF 1964-67, 69-71, 1975 Red Sox, Angels
    • Led League in hr 65
    • All-Star in 1967

    GamesAverageHRRBI
    Career 876.264166516

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    Tony Conigliaro hit .290 with 24 home runs in 1964, but broke his arm in August; Tony Oliva won the AL Rookie of the Year award. When the 20-year-old Conigliaro hit 32 HR in 1965, he became the youngest home run leader in AL history. The hometown hero was enjoying another standout year in 1967 when, on August 18, he was struck by a Jack Hamilton fastball that broke his cheekbone and so damaged his eyesight that he missed the entire 1968 season. He returned in 1969 to win Comeback of the Year honors, and in 1970 hit 36 HR. But his vision was still impaired, and he left the majors in July 1971, returning for a short comeback try in 1975. Further tragedy befell Conigliaro at age 37, when he suffered a heart attack (while riding in a car with brother Billy) that left him severely incapacitated. (TJ)


    Contribute your recollections of Tony Conigliaro by clicking here.
    FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
    » July 26, 1964: LF Tony Conigliaro suffers a broken arm in a 6–1 Boston win at Cleveland.

    » July 28, 1965: RF Tony Conigliaro suffers a broken left wrist when hit by a Wes Stock pitch in a 6–0 Boston win. He will miss 24 games.

    » April 16, 1967: At Yankee Stadium, The Red Sox and Yankees struggle for 18 innings before New York wins it, 7–6, in a game that lasts five hours and 50 minutes. Carl Yastrzemski and Tony Conigliaro each have five hits for the Sox, but it is Joe Pepitone's two-out single that beats Lee Stange. Al Downing is the winner.

    » August 18, 1967: A baseball tragedy occurs when Tony Conigliaro of the Red Sox is beaned by the Angels Jack Hamilton. Hit on the left cheekbone, just below the eye socket, Conigliaro will miss the rest of 1967 and all of 1968. He was hitting .267 with 20 home runs and 67 RBI in 95 games. Despite the loss of Tony C, the Red Sox will sweep the 4-game series with the Angels. The sweep will still leave Minnesota in 1st place, with Boston, Detroit, and Chicago all within two games.

    » April 2, 1968: Tony Conigliaro returns to Boston with vision trouble. He will miss the 1968 season.

    » April 8, 1969: After a long recovery following a August 1967 beaning, Tony Conigliaro starts his first game for Boston. His dramatic 2-run 10th-inning home run gives the Red Sox a brief lead, and his 12th-inning run wins it, 5–4 over the O's at Baltimore.

    » June 11, 1969: Red Sox outfielder Joe Lahoud bangs out three homers to help beat Minnesota, 13–5. Lahoud's efforts cure Tony Conigliaro's neck ailment and Lahoud will be back on the bench for the game on the 13th against Oakland as Tony C. returns to the lineup.

    » July 13, 1969: Undefeated O's ace Dave McNally wins his 13th but needs relief help in subduing the Red Sox, 6–3. Jim Lonborg, making his first start since breaking his toe June 21, takes to loss. Tony Conigliaro has a pair of homers and Reggie Smith stretches his hit streak to 20 games.

    » July 18, 1969: Red Sox pitcher Ray Jarvis drives in two runs and beats the Orioles, 6–1. The only score for the O's is a homer by Don Buford with Dave May on 1B. May holds up to watch Tony Conigliaro fall into the RF stands in a vain attempt to catch the drive and Buford passes May. May scores but Buford is called out and is credited with a single.

    » July 25, 1969: Tony Conigliaro of the Red Sox suffers a wrenched back while hitting a home run against the Seattle Pilots. The injury forces him to walk slowly around the bases before being replaced. The Red Sox win 7–6.

    » July 4, 1970: At Fenway, Tony Conigliaro & Billy Conigliaro homer for the Red Sox in a 5–1 win over the Indians. Sonny Siebert is the winner.

    » August 25, 1970: In Minnesota, a bomb scare delays the game with Boston for 43 minutes in the 4th, but the only bomb is an 8th inning homer by Tony Conigliaro to give the Sox a 1–0 win. The Sox end the game with a double play, a 1–6 force at 2B, then a throw home to nab Tony Oliva trying to score. Ken Brett is the winner in relief over Tom Hall.

    » September 1, 1970: The Red Sox take an 8–1 lead at Fenway, but Detroit rallies to win 10–9. The Sox take the lead on a Mike Andrews homer and a grand slam by Tony Conigliaro. The Tigers then use the long ball as well, collecting four homers, including a grand slam by Jim Price, to win. Patterson is the winner over Siebert.

    » September 19, 1970: Boston's Billy Conigliaro connects for a 4th inning home run off Washington's Jim Hannan, and in the 7th frame, brother Tony Conigliaro wallops a solo shot off Joe Grzenda. The Red Sox win 11–3 after taking the first game, 7–3. The brothers also homered in the same game on July 4. Billy will end the year with 18 home runs, while Tony will connect for 36. Frank Howard is frustrated with five strikeouts in game 1.

    » October 11, 1970: Boston's Tony Conigliaro (OF) and California's Doug Griffin (2B) switch clubs in a 6-player swap.

    » July 11, 1971: Tony Conigliaro, who had gone 0-for-8 with five strikeouts for the Angels during their 20-inning loss two days earlier, calls a five A.M. press conference to announce his retirement. Later tests will show that the sight in his left eye, injured in a 1967 beaning, has deteriorated.

    » March 5, 1975: Tony Conigliaro signs a contract with Pawtucket (International League) in an attempt to make a comeback.

    » April 8, 1975: In a club house meeting, Boston captain Carl Yastrzemski criticizes his teammates for their poor attitude in spring training when they went 10–20. In the game, the Sox bomb Jim Slaton for five runs in three innings and defeat Milwaukee, 5–2. Hank Aaron is hitless in his AL debut, while teammate Robin Yount homers. Tony Conigliaro is the Sox DH and is 1-for-4 in his Boston return.

    » January 9, 1982: Former Red Sox OF Tony Conigliaro, in Boston to interview for a broadcasting position, suffers a massive heart attack while being driven to the airport by his brother Billy Conigliaro and lapses into a coma. The 37-year-old Tony C. will remain hospitalized until March 2nd.

    » February 24, 1990: Former Red Sox slugger Tony Conigliaro dies of pneumonia and kidney failure at the age of 45. Conigliaro was the youngest ML player ever to reach 100 career home runs and then was nearly blinded by a 1967 beaning.

    » August 12, 1998: Seattle loses to Toronto, 11–5, despite a home run by SS Alex Rodriguez. It is the 100th homer of Rodriguez's career, making his the 4th–youngest player to reach the plateau. The only players to do so at a younger age were Mel Ott, Tony Conigliaro, and Eddie Mathews.

    » September 6, 1998: Atlanta OF Andruw Jones hits his 50th career home run in a 4–0 win over the Mets. He becomes the 3rd–youngest player in history to reach that level. Only Mel Ott and Tony Conigliaro did so at a younger age. Atlanta P John Smoltz limits the Mets to just three hits, while fanning an even dozen batters en route to his 14th win.