LYNN — The name Tony Conigliaro rolls off the tongues of Lynn-area residents, especially those who remember the late Boston Red Sox star back when he was a brash young athlete at St. Mary’s High.
He went from being Swampscott’s Tony Conigliaro to simply “Tony C” in an astonishingly short amount of time. Between the time he was a 19-year-old rookie in 1964 and August of ’67, he’d surpassed the 100-homer mark — the youngest person, at age 22, to have done so in the American League.
The night he was hit by a Jack Hamilton fastball — Aug. 18, 1967, in the middle of the “Impossible Dream” pennant race — is a date that’ll live forever in the minds of Red Sox fans. It might be the most significant and devastating injury ever suffered by a Boston athlete.
Even though Conigliaro played again after taking a year off to recuperate, he was never the same and ultimately retired in 1971 — only seven years after his rookie season.
On Thursday, Aug. 17, at the Lynn Museum on 590 Washington St., fans who want to know more about how Tony Conigliaro became “Tony C” can hear three of his closest friends, and high school teammates, will wax nostalgic about him at a forum moderated by Ted Grant, publisher of The Item.
Frank Carey, Tom Iarrobino and Tony Nicosia all played baseball with Conigliaro at St. Mary’s. They also had a front-row seat during Conigliaro’s career with the Red Sox, as the four remained friends during Coniglairo’s life, both as a Major League baseball player and beyond.
All three — Carey, Iarrobino and Nicosia — are accomplished in their own right.
Carey coached the North Reading High School baseball team to 736 career victories, a state record. Iarribino is a successful businessman who is currently the secretary of the Lynn School Committee. And Nicosia established Tony’s Place on Franklin Street in Lynn. All three also coached together for the Shoemaker American Legion Post baseball team .
The evening, which is being sponsored by Essex Media Group/The Daily Item and St. Mary’s High School, is set up as a night to hear the three ex-teammates share stories and anecdotes about their friend, who died in January of 1990 at the age of 45 — eight years after suffering a debilitating heart attack.
Tickets are $25. Those wishing to attend should RSVP by Aug. 10. Tickets can be purchased online at lynnmuseum.org; via email at [email protected]; or by calling 781-581-6200.
