August 18th 1967

[Fenway tribute for Conigliaro: Forty years to the day after he was hit in the left eye by a pitch from Angels right-hander Jack Hamilton, the late Red Sox slugger Tony Conigliaro will be honored in a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park. Conigliaro's career was never the same after he was beaned on Aug. 18, 1967. Less than a month before, the 22-year-old native of Revere, Mass., had become the youngest player to hit 100 career home runs. ]
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1967 was the year I became a Red Sox Fan. I was 12 and it was the Impossible Dream season. They had Yaz winning the Triple Crown and Jim Lonborg winning the Cy Young Award but Tony C was my hero. I loved his wide batting stance, his swing, his #25 shirt, and his home run prowess. He was a local boy, a star, the youngest player ever to reach 100 home runs and in my mind a surefire Hall of Famer who might actually beat Babe Ruth's home run record (Aaron wouldn't beat it for many years still) and he recorded a record and sang on the Merv Griffin show. I was crushed when he got hit and obviously lost for the season. Jose Tartabull just wasn't a comparable replacement, nor was even Hawk Harrelson who later came to the team as the official Red Sox Slugger (I also loved Hawk, but still he was no Tony C).