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During baseball's off-season, 6'9" Gene Conley played basketball for the Boston Celtics. He won 14 for Milwaukee and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year balloting in 1954. In the 1955 All-Star Game, Conley struck out Al Kaline, Mickey Vernon, and Al Rosen in the top of the 12th. Moments later, Stan Musial homered for the NL, making Conley the winning pitcher. He won a career-high 15 for the Red Sox in 1962. That year, in a New York traffic jam, Conley and infielder Pumpsie Green deserted their team bus. Green reported to the team hotel the next evening, but Conley remained AWOL nearly three days, unsuccessfully trying to fly to Israel. "I don't know why I did it," he later said. (TJ)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » August 1, 1954: Dodgers Clem Labine beans Joe Adcock in the fourth. Though he is wearing a batting helmet, Adcock is taken out of the game as a precautionary measure. His helmet apparently saves him from a serious injury. He will appear in the starting line-up the next day. Gene Conley reciprocates by knocking down Jackie Robinson in the sixth. Robinson ends up scrapping with Eddie Mathews. The Braves win 10-5, their 10th win in a row, as Conley runs his record to 10-5. » May 2, 1955: At Ebbets, Carl Furillo raps his 8th home run with Jackie Robinson on base in the 12th inning to give the Dodgers a 2–0 win over the Braves. Carl Erskine wins his 4th straight, beating Gene Conley, as both pitchers go the distance. » May 17, 1955: Paced by Joe Adcock's four hits, including a home run, the Braves defeat the Giants, 9–4. Gene Conley is the winner, despite giving up home runs to Willie Mays and Hank Thompson, but he does stop Don Mueller's 24-game hit streak. » July 12, 1955: In the All-Star Game in Milwaukee, the AL takes a 5-run lead on a 3-run HR by Mickey Mantle off Robin Roberts, only to see the NL tie it. Braves P Gene Conley strikes out the side in the 12th, and Stan Musial of the Cards homers off Frank Sullivan of the Red Sox to win it. » June 1, 1957: Braves pitchers Warren Spahn and Gene Conley stop Wally Moon's 24-game streak, but Cards 40-year-old Murry Dickson wins 7-1. » June 5, 1958: The Giants again top the Braves in extra innings, 5–4. In the 12th, Jim Finigan doubles after Mays singles, but Willie is thrown out at the plate by Hank Aaron. Orlando Cepeda, with three hits already, then hits a Gene Conley fastball for the game-winning home run. Cepeda also helps in the field, nabbing Wes Covington in the 9th with a hidden ball trick. » March 31, 1959: In a trade that helps neither team, Milwaukee swaps P Gene Conley, IF Joe Koppe and IF Harry Hanebrink to the Phillies for C Stan Lopata, SS Ted Kazanski and Johnny O'Brien. Conley will go 12–7 before going on the disabled list from August 20th to the close of the season. » May 13, 1960: At Cincinnati, the Reds are down 9–1 when P Raul Sanchez starts a brawl by plunking three of four Phils batters in the 8th inning, the last batter being P Gene Conley. Phils manager Gene Mauch then charges the mound to tackle Sanchez. Both dugouts empty with fights all around. The most cinematic is 2B Billy Martin, 5'11" taking on the 6'11" Conley, though future Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Robin Roberts is a close second. It takes 12 minutes to restore order. The Phils romp 14–3, then lose 5–1 in the doubleheader. » December 15, 1960: The biggest trade in history? The Phils lose more than two 1/2 inches when they acquire P Frank Sullivan from the Red Sox for 6' 9" Gene Conley. In the next two years, Conley will win 26 games for the Sox, the 3rd Boston team he will play for: Conley started with the Boston Braves in their last year before moving to Milwaukee, and played several seasons with the Celtics as Bill Russell's backup. » April 25, 1961: Two weeks after the Celtics win the NBA Championship, reserve center Gene Conley tosses his first American League victory, a 6–1 win over the visiting Senators. Conley, obtained from the Phils over the winter, beats Pete Burnside. » August 15, 1961: Frank Malzone is 5-for-5 with a pair of homers in the Red Sox, 8–0 shellacking of the Indians. Gene Conley throws the shutout and hits a homer. Jackie Jensen and Carroll Hardy hit back-to-back home runs in the 5th. » July 26, 1962: In New York, P Gene Conley and IF Pumpsie Green of the Red Sox mysteriously disappear after a 13–3 loss to the Yankees. They leave the team bus in traffic to use a rest room and fail to return. Conley decides he wants to fly to Israel, and goes to the airport, but is refused a ticket because he does not have a visa. Conley was the loser in the game, pitching two 2/3 inning, and walking in two of the eight earned runs allowed. Pumpsie did not play. Bouton is the winner, shutting out the Hubmen for six innings. » July 29, 1962: Gene Conley contacts manager Mike Higgins by telegram, stating that he is "mostly tired," and has "other plans." He will return the next day to the Red Sox and will be fined $2,000. » August 11, 1962: At Fenway, the Red Sox sweep a day-night pair from Baltimore, winning 3–0 and 7–3. Ike Delock shuts out the Orioles, giving the Red Sox their 3rd shutout in a row. Gene Conley and Bill Monbouquette had previously whitewashed the Indians. Whitey Herzog's home run in the 6th of game two ends the Sox sting of 32 2/3 scoreless innings. » April 27, 1963: Pro basketballers Gene Conley of the Celtics and Dave DeBusschere of the Knicks oppose each other as Red Sox and White Sox pitchers. Conley hurls 4-plus innings for Boston, while DeBusschere relieves for two-thirds of the 4th inning for Chicago. Boston wins the tip-off at Fenway 9–5.