August 18, 1967: Tony Conigliaro Is Beaned

August 18, 1967: Tony Conigliaro of the Boston Red Sox is hit in the head with a pitch. This changes not just his life, but the history of baseball, in ways that can only be imagined.

After winning the American League Pennant in 1946, with near-misses in 1948, 1949 and 1951, the Red Sox fell into mediocrity. In 1961, rookie Carl Yastrzemski replaced retiring legend Ted Williams in left field. In 1964, a new right fielder came in: Tony Conigliaro, 19 years old and from nearby Revere, Massachusetts.

The local boy made his major league debut on April 16, 1964, in a 4-3 11-inning win by the Red Sox against their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees, at Yankee Stadium. The next day, he made his home debut at Fenway Park, and hit a home run in the Red Sox' 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox.

He had a right-handed swing tailor-made for Fenway's left field wall: The foul pole at "The Green Monster" was labeled at 315 feet, was later "corrected" to 310 feet, and some people think it's closer than that. To protect businesses across the street, it's 37 feet high, and had a 23-foot-high screen on top, before 2003 renovations put the "Monster Seats" on top of it.

"Tony C" hit 24 home runs in that rookie season. In 1965, he hit 32, becoming the youngest player ever to lead the AL in home runs. In 1966, he hit 28. Through August 18, 1967, he had 104 career home runs, making him, at 22, the 2nd-youngest player ever to reach 100 homers, behind only Mel Ott.

And, as a good-looking local kid, and an Italian in America's most Catholic city (nuns liked to have their picture taken with him), Boston, and New England as a whole, embraced him. Despite being a Polish Catholic and immensely talented -- he had won the AL batting title in 1963 -- Yastrzemski always seemed a little aloof. So it was Tony C, not "Yaz," who seemed like the natural successor to Ted Williams.

And, as Williams had been Boston's answer to the New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio, so, too, did Conigliaro seem like Boston's answer to the Yankees' Mickey Mantle. But there was a side to him that no one knew about: Like Mantle, he was a carouser whose excesses were covered up by the media, who had a vested interest in keeping up his hero image.

Had his career continued unimpeded, there's no way to know if he truly would have become Boston's Mantle, hitting over 500 runs, winning Pennants, and going to the Baseball Hall of Fame; or if he would have become Boston's Joe Pepitone, the Italian charmer whose "sweet swinging" wasn't just toward his home park's closest fence.

In his book Tales from the Impossible Dream Red Sox, shortstop Rico Petrocelli, said, "While he dated actresses and Playboy bunnies, he wasn't a playboy like Bo Belinsky." (Belinsky was a Los Angeles Angels pitcher of the early 1960s who was wild in more ways than one. He pitched a no-hitter in 1962, and the increased attention that brought him was the worst thing that could have happened to him.) But Petro also cited the recording contract Tony had, which could have become a distraction for him as much as it was for his contemporary, Tiger pitcher and Las Vegas lounge organist Denny McLain.

Petrocelli also said in his book, "Tony was not only a chick magnet, he was a magnet for stray pitches. Five times he had bones broken by pitches, including the one that broke his shoulder blade 5 months earlier in spring training." That does not bode well for a long, stat-heavy career.

After finishing 9th in 1966, the Red Sox hired a new manager, Dick Williams. (No relation to Ted.) He had managed their top farm team, the Toronto Maple Leafs (for whom the hockey team was named), to International League Pennants in 1965 and 1966, so he knew what was available to him. And, unlike previous Sox managers -- they were the last MLB team to integrate -- he was willing to use his more talented players, regardless of race. And he boldly predicted that they would win more than they would lose.

What no one could have predicted was perhaps the greatest Pennant race in American League history. With a lineup that included Tony C, Yaz and Petrocelli, all of them All-Stars, plus future All-Stars Reggie Smith in center field and George Scott at 1st base; and Jim Lonborg on his way to winning 22 games and the AL's Cy Young Award, the Red Sox were right in the thick of it.

When the games of August 17 were over, the Minnesota Twins led the Chicago White Sox by a game and a half, the Detroit Tigers by 3, the Red Sox by 3 1/2, and the California Angels by 4 1/2. With anywhere from 44 to 48 games left in the regular season, 5 teams still legitimately had a shot. In tune with one of the most popular songs of the year, Red Sox fans began to speak of the Pennant as "The Impossible Dream."

On Friday night, August 18, the Red Sox hosted the Angels at Fenway. The game was scoreless in the bottom of the 4th inning, when Scott led off with a single. Smith flew to center. Conigliaro came to bat, against Jack Hamilton.

At some point, someone threw a smoke bomb into the field. Surviving film of the event shows that it was 9:32 PM, and that the smoke hadn't yet cleared. Hamilton had only hit 1 batter all season long, and was not known as a "purpose pitcher." In fact, aside from this one at-bat, he never gained much notice in a career that lasted from 1962 to 1969, going 32-40.

He threw a fastball that tailed up and in, and hit Conigliaro in the face. Conigliaro was wearing a batting helmet, but the ball hit him in the left cheekbone, right under his eye. Although ear flaps had been introduced in batting helmets, most didn't have them yet. Had Conigliaro's helmet had one, he might have sustained a concussion, and been out for a few days, but he would have been all right. Instead, he sustained a life-threatening injury, and it was not immediately clear that he would survive it.

José Tartabull was sent in to pinch-run for Conigliaro, Petrocelli was up next, and hit a triple that scored Scott and Tartabull. Red Sox starting pitcher Gary Bell helped his own cause by singling a run home in the 6th inning. He gave up 2 home runs to Jimmie Hall, but those were the only runs he gave up, and the Red Sox won, 3-2.

Even though Tony recovered quickly, and could rejoin his teammates soon -- in the clubhouse if not on the field -- it could have been a defining blow against the Red Sox' Pennant hopes. Instead, they kept fighting, and won the Pennant on the last day of the season, October 1, finishing 1 game ahead of both the Twins and the Tigers, all of whom entered the last day with a chance at the Pennant. The White Sox still had a chance going into the last weekend, finishing 3 back. The Angels tailed off, finishing 7 1/2 back.

In the Sox' locker room, Tony C was a side figure in the celebrations. Still with a black eye from his injury 44 days earlier, he wondered what he had done to achieve the Pennant. He had batted .287 with 20 home runs and 67 RBIs. Projected over a full season, that would have been 28 home runs and 92 RBIs, a pretty good season. In 1970, when he was ready to tell his side of the story, he told it to Sports Illustrated magazine, which printed one of its most memorable, and most shocking, covers.

He missed the entire 1968 season. In 1969, his vision finally cleared, and he hit 20 home runs and had 82 RBIs. He was named the AL's Comeback Player of the Year. He was joined by his younger brother, Billy, also an outfielder. The Red Sox had tumbled down the standings in 1968, and hadn't come back in 1969, but Tony C had. In 1970, he hit 36 home runs and had 116 RBIs, both career highs. He was 25, and his superstar status seemed assured.

But his eyesight had begun to deteriorate again. And he was making a nuisance of himself within the organization. There was also dissension between him and Billy. After the season, the Sox traded Tony to, of all teams, the Angels, for 2nd baseman Doug Griffin. (Hamilton was already out of the major leagues, never to return.) The New England fans, knowing little about what was going on inside the team, were shocked. But the team decided that Tony C had to go.

He played 74 games for the Angels in 1971, and batted just .222 with 4 home runs and 15 RBIs. He last played on July 9, was sent down, and, rather than report, quit. He was 26 years old.

In 1975, at 30 -- having missed what should have been the 1st half of his prime -- he tried to make a comeback, and the Red Sox were willing to try him again. On April 11, he hit a home run for the Red Sox against the Baltimore Orioles, and Sox fans were ready to believe again.

But he still couldn't see well enough, and batted just .123 with 2 home runs and 9 RBIs before being sent down to Class AAA Pawtucket on June 13. There, he played 37 games, and only batted .203 in 37 games. He was released on September 2, again missing out on a Red Sox Pennant, as they dethroned the 3-time defending World Champion Oakland Athletics in the AL Championship Series, before losing the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. (His brother Billy was a member of the A's 1973 title team -- the only ring the family has ever won.)

He was quickly hired by WJAR-Channel 10 in Providence, Rhode Island, as sports anchor. The following year, he moved to KGO-Channel 7 in San Francisco. On January 9, 1982, he was ready to come home, and interviewed for a position on the Red Sox broadcasting team. While his brother Billy was driving him back to Boston's Logan International Airport, Tony had a heart attack. While in the hospital, he had a stroke, putting him in a coma with brain damage. At 37, his able life was over. He hung on in hospitals until February 24, 1990, shortly after his 45th birthday. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden, Massachusetts.

Later in 1990, the Red Sox established the Tony Conigliaro Award, given to the MLB player "who best overcomes obstacles and adversities through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage that were considered Tony's trademarks." The NHL has an equivalent award, the Bill Masterton Trophy, named for the only player to die as a result of an in-game injury. In 1995, the Red Sox elected Tony C to their team Hall of Fame.

In her book Confessions of a She-Fan, Yankee Fan Jane Heller told of how she and a friend of hers met Conigliaro after hours, and said friend suggested that she was the only fan who ever dated both Conigliaro and the pitcher who beaned him, Jack Hamilton.

Hamilton went into the restaurant business, opening several successful ones in his native Iowa and in neighboring Missouri. He died in 2018, having insisted to the end that he hadn't hit Conigliaro on purpose. To their credit, Red Sox fans, not always the classiest bunch, tended to either take his word for it or leave him alone. Billy Conigliaro died in 2021.

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August 18, 1967 was a Friday. These other baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won the opener, 1-0. Steve Barber pitched a 6-hit shutout, outpitching Jim Kaat. The Twins won the nightcap, 4-3. Rich Reese hit a home run off Fred Talbot in the top of the 9th inning. Mickey Mantle went 1-for-2 with 2 walks in the 1st game, and appeared as a pinch-hitter in the 2nd game, failing to reach base.

* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente did not play, but Willie Stargell went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Ernie Banks did not play.

* The Washington Senators beat the Kansas City Athletics, 7-6 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.)

* The Detroit Tigers were leading the Cleveland Indians, 4-0 at Tiger Stadium, after 5 innings, when the game was called due to rain.

* A doubleheader was split at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Chicago White Sox won the 1st game, 3-1. The Baltimore Orioles won the 2nd game, 8-2. Over the 2 games, Brooks Robinson went 0-for-8 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly, and Frank Robinson went 3-for-9.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros, 5-3 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hank Aaron went 1-for-4.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Pete Rose went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Johnny Bench made his major league debut 10 days later.