Tony Conigliaro

In the tragic history of Boston Red Sox baseball from 1919 through 2003, the era characterized by the "Curse of the Bambino' (which was brought down on the BoSox after the franchise sold the greatest player in the history of the game to the New York Yankees so Red Sox owner Harry Frazee' could get the funds to finance the play that served as basis for the musical No, No, Nanette (1930)), perhaps no event is more tragic -- not the loses in the seventh, final and deciding games of the 1946, 1967, 1975, and 1986 World Series -- than what transpired on August 18, 1967. On that day, Tony Conigliaro, the 22-year-old Red Sox right fielder who appeared fated for greatness and a Hall of Fame career, was hit in the left cheek by a fastball thrown by California Angels pitcher Jack Hamilton in a home game at Fenway Park. The pitched ball shattered Conigliaro's cheekbone and cracked the orbital bone encasing his left eye. More ominously, the impact severely damaged the retina of his left eye. The