Unofficially, it’s Marathon Monday, and since 1959, the Red Sox have always played a home game that morning, typically at 11 a.m. Officially, it’s Patriots’ Day, an otherwise obscure holiday celebrated almost nowhere else in the country. Schools in Boston are always closed on the third Monday in April. Why, in the wake of such sadness, fear and tragedy did a baseball team play such a vital role in the recovery and resurgence of a city and its people? Because, it turns out, that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Even now, 10 years later, the Red Sox play a prominent role in marathon bombing-related events - the team and its players serving as symbols of a resilient city, something to cheer for amidst difficult memories. They couldn’t heal a wound or track down a terrorist, but when the manhunt was over, David Ortiz became the city’s voice, Fenway Park its place of refuge, the World Series its light at the end of the tunnel. The 2013 Red Sox were in that spirit, underdogs on the field coming off a last-place finish in 2012, but iconic within the community. Egos were set aside so that individuals could do their jobs, then ask if they could do more. A study by Harvard University labeled the local and national response, “the ingenuity of swarm intelligence.” In Boston, there was no singular leader, but rather a collective sense of responsibility. The bombing aftermath has become a model for other communities dealing with tragedy and trauma. The collective grief of an entire nation. He was at the marathon, and as deputy administrator of FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), Serino was thrust immediately into action for all that came next. When the bombs exploded on April 15, 2013, Serino was not at the ballpark. Even today, the association is both unusual and inevitable.Īnd Serino sits squarely in the middle of it. Their connection is built on cosmic fate and deliberate hard work in-the-moment decisions and relationships that spanned decades. The tragedy itself had nothing to do with the team, but 10 years later, the Red Sox and the bombing are inextricably linked. Ballplayers from anywhere but Boston came to epitomize the community’s grief and determination. In the decade since the attack, a baseball team - of all things - has become synonymous with the city’s recovery and resilience. The Tony Conigliaro Award has been given every year since he died to the MLB player who best “overcomes an obstacle and adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination, and courage that were trademarks of Conigliaro.Even on the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. After his death eight years later, the Red Sox wore black armbands for the entire season in his honor. In 1982, he suffered both a heart attack and a stroke that left him permanently disabled. His baseball career over at age 30, Conigliaro opened a restaurant with his brother Billy, who also played for the Red Sox, and worked as a sports broadcaster. After taking four years off he returned to the Red Sox in 1975 as a designated hitter, but continuing eyesight problems led to his retirement that year. The following season he hit his career-best in home runs (36) despite the permanent damage to his eyesight.Ĭonigliaro played for the California Angels for a single season in 1971. Photos of the slugger with his eye blackened with bruising and swollen shut would become burned into the memory of a generation of Red Sox fans.Īfter a lengthy recovery, Conigliaro returned to the Red Sox roster in 1969 and hit an amazing 20 home runs during the season and was named MLB Comeback Player of the Year. On August 18, in a game at Fenway Park against the California Angels, Conigliaro was struck in the left cheekbone by a pitch, which broke his cheekbone, dislocated his jaw, and seriously injured the retina in his left eye. By the 1967 season, he already had a career total of 100 home runs, at the youngest age ever at that time for a player in the league.īut tragedy struck the promising young player, nicknamed “Tony C” by fans, late in the 1967 season. He still holds the record for the most MLB home runs hit by a teenager. He went on to be the home run leader in the league in 1965 (with 32) and was the youngest player to achieve this distinction in American League history. After one season in the minor leagues, he was called up to the majors for the 1964 season and hit a home run in his first time at bat. He was signed by the Red Sox at age 17, soon after graduating from St. Red Sox slugger Tony Conigliaro’s comeback after a serious facial injury included a season in which he hit his career-best in home runs (36) despite the permanent damage to his eyesight.Ĭonigliaro was a hometown boy, born and raised in Revere. BOSTON – Boston Red Sox slugger and right fielder Tony Conigliaro died on this day in 1990 at the age of 45.
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