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Anthony Richard Conigliaro
Boston Red Sox
Outfield
Born: January 7, 1945, Revere, MA
Signed: Signed by the Boson Red Sox as an amateur free agent, October 10, 1962
Major League Teams: Boston Red Sox 1964-1967, 1969-1970; California Angels 1971; Boston Red Sox 1975
Died: February 24, 1990, Salem, MA (age 45)
Tony Conigliaro was perhaps on the way to a career as a baseball superstar when a Jack Hamilton (#288) fastball hit him in the face, shattering his cheekbone and causing permanent eye damage. Conigliaro made his debut in 1964, hitting a home run in his first at-bat at Fenway Park and setting the single-season record for home runs by a teenager with 24. He then settled in as the team's regular right fielder in 1965 and 1966, earning MVP votes in both seasons. He was selected for the All-Star team in 1967 and was on his way to a career year when Hamilton's pitch hit him on August 18th. Conigliaro missed the entire 1968 season before making a successful comeback in 1969, earning A.L. Comeback Player of the Year honors.
In 1970, he reached career highs in both home runs (36) and RBIs (116), while sharing the Red Sox outfield with his brother Billy. Following that season he was traded to the Angels. Crushed by being traded from Boston, and hampered by headaches and vision problems, Conigliaro struggled with the Angels and announced his retirement on July 9, 1971. He made a brief comeback attempt with the Red Sox in 1975, appearing in 21 games. Over 8 seasons, Conigliaro batted .264 with 166 home runs and 516 RBIs.
Building the Set
December 25, 2020 from Willow Grove, PA - Card #199
This is one of 32 cards (mostly commons) I received from Jenna and our sons on Christmas morning, as I was asked to do some surrogate shopping on their behalf and I gladly obliged. Hunting specifically for first series cards, this was one of the more difficult cards to track down at a reasonable price. Given his popularity and the number of Red Sox team collectors out there, I searched eBay for quite a while before finding a reasonably priced card from seller ocbp72. I won this card with a winning bid of $6.83.
This is one of 32 cards (mostly commons) I received from Jenna and our sons on Christmas morning, as I was asked to do some surrogate shopping on their behalf and I gladly obliged. Hunting specifically for first series cards, this was one of the more difficult cards to track down at a reasonable price. Given his popularity and the number of Red Sox team collectors out there, I searched eBay for quite a while before finding a reasonably priced card from seller ocbp72. I won this card with a winning bid of $6.83.
The Card / Red Sox Team Set
Conigliaro was named to the 1964 Topps All-Star Rookie Team as one of three outfielders along with Rico Carty (#305) and Tony Oliva (#340). His rookie card can be found in the 1964 Topps set, shared with pitcher Bill Spanswick (#356). A lack of professional baseball statistics led to a lengthy write-up by Topps on the back, and I'll admit I've never heard the phrase, "going along great-guns."
Conigliaro is in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set, but he's not in the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set.
1965 Season
Conigliaro improved upon his rookie season, hitting .269 with a league-leading 32 home runs and 82 RBIs. He and Carl Yastrzemski (#385), the team's every day left fielder, formed a formidable duo in the middle of the Red Sox line-up. On July 28th, a Wes Stock (#117) fast ball broke Conigliaro's left wrist - the third broken bone suffered by the right fielder over a 14 month period due to his refusal to back off the plate. Those injuries would foreshadow the much more serious injury suffered by Conigliaro a few years later.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #287
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1964-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2003 Flair Greats #99
88 - Conigliaro non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/12/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
1965 Season
Conigliaro improved upon his rookie season, hitting .269 with a league-leading 32 home runs and 82 RBIs. He and Carl Yastrzemski (#385), the team's every day left fielder, formed a formidable duo in the middle of the Red Sox line-up. On July 28th, a Wes Stock (#117) fast ball broke Conigliaro's left wrist - the third broken bone suffered by the right fielder over a 14 month period due to his refusal to back off the plate. Those injuries would foreshadow the much more serious injury suffered by Conigliaro a few years later.
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First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #287
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1964-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2003 Flair Greats #99
88 - Conigliaro non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/12/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
I'm impressed that he jumped from the NY Penn League to the majors in one year and did so well. My father taught school with Bill Spanswick's wife. I believe Mr. Spanswick recently passed.
ReplyDeleteJamie - You're correct on Mr. Spanswick: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spansbi01.shtml
ReplyDelete