Billy Conigliaro began his public life as “the other Conigliaro” — a younger, different kind of player, and person, than Tony, his brash, supremely-confident older brother.
But together, the two of them captured the imaginations of all aspiring Major League ballplayers on the North Shore and beyond. There they were, in 1970, standing side by side in the Red Sox outfield — Billy in center field and Tony in right.
“I can’t tell you how cool it was to be playing a game and seeing Billy and Tony Conigliaro come to watch your games,” said celebrated Channel 5 sports personality Mike Lynch, who played baseball at Swampscott High with Richie, the youngest of the three brothers.
But the feel-good story wouldn’t last. It was as if some kind of rogue god somewhere took umbrage with such a happy-ever scene. It all ended much too soon.
William Michael Conigliaro, 73, died Wednesday morning after being ill for several years, his godson, Derek January said.
January, owner of the North Shore Navigators, remembers his godfather as “a quiet person. He tried to live his life as normal as possible, which was hard considering what his last name was. But he also tried to keep Tony’s name in the public eye as much as possible too.”
Lynch, who grew up not far from Billy Conigliaro in Swampscott, also alluded to his quiet nature.
“You could misinterpret that, if you didn’t know him, as being aloof,” said Lynch. “But that wasn’t the case. He was a nice guy.”
In 1965, as his celebrated older brother was on way to becoming the American League home run champion at the age of 20, Major League Baseball conducted its first-ever draft. The Red Sox grabbed Billy Conigliaro with the fifth overall pick.
“I was the bat boy when he played at Swampscott High,” said Lynch. “And it was such a thrill. There would be scouts behind the backstop who had come down to see him play.”
Not only was he a great baseball player, Lynch said, but he starred in football too.
“In the 1964 Thanksgiving game, he scored two touchdowns and ran for 174 yards,” said Lynch, who later went on to become a star in his own right for the Big Blue before playing for Harvard.
Conigliaro was born in Revere and played sports for both St. Mary’s and Swampscott. After being drafted, he played in the minors through the 1968 season. Still, he was in the stands on Aug. 18, 1967, when Tony Conigliaro was struck on the left temple by a fastball thrown by Jack Hamilton of the California Angels.
After a year away from baseball, Tony Conigliaro was back in 1969. And with him on the big club was brother Billy. By 1970, they were playing alongside each other in the outfield. Tony hit 37 homers that season while Billy chipped in with 18 — in his best season in the five he played in the majors.
But the brother tandem was broken up during the off-season when Tony Conigliaro was traded to — of all teams — the Angels. And after the 1971 season, Billy was part of one of the biggest trades in the team’s history — a 10-player deal that sent him, George Scott, Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, Joe Lahoud and Don Pavletch to the Milwaukee Brewers for Tommy Harper, Marty Pattin, Lew Krausse and minor-league outfielder Pat Skrable.
He didn’t like Milwaukee, and announced his retirement in the middle of the 1972 season, one year after Tony — plagued by recurring eye problems that resulted from his 1967 beaning — walked away from the game.
However, Billy resurfaced in 1973 with Oakland and had seven at-bats in the World Series that season — which the A’s won, four games to three, over the New York Mets.
Conigliaro had knee surgery in 1974 and walked away from the game again. He tried another comeback in 1977, but declined an assignment to the minor leagues. The aborted comeback left him short of qualifying for a Major League pension, and he spent most of the rest of his life working at Solomon Medals on the Lynnway.
“Personality-wise, they were so different,” Lynch said. “Tony gravitated to the spotlight, but Billy shied away from it. He was kind of embarrassed by the attention. But boy, could he perform on the field.”
Billy and his brother became inextricably linked for another, sadder reason. In January of 1982, while driving his brother back to Logan Airport after an audition with Channel 38 to become the Red Sox color commentator, Tony suffered a debilitating heart attack. Billy rushed his brother to Massachusetts General Hospital, but Tony never fully recovered and lived until 1990 in a compromised state. He was only 45 when he died.
Both Billy and Richie did their best to keep their brother’s legacy alive through the Tony Conigliaro Award, which was won this past season by one-time Red Sox relief pitcher Daniel Baird. The award recognizes spirit, determination and courage.
Billy Conigliaro is also survived by his wife, Keisha.
