By the time he was five he was a kid with a dream: someday he'd be a baseball player. By the time he graduated from high school he had become a nationally touted hitting machine. A ‘phenom’ they said. There wasn't a pitcher he couldn't hit.
This attracted scouts from every team in professional baseball, including the Boston Red Sox, who played less than five miles from where he’d grown up, and who signed him as a teenager. His other significant teenage experience came when he fell in love for the first time. Eventually, Julie Markakis would go from childhood sweetheart to the love of his life, though several of their experiences would be wrought with heartache.
Gifted with extraordinary skills, a story book romance, rare physical abilities, and Hollywood handsome looks, it appeared Tony had been blessed by the gods. He was even brought up to the big team after only a year in the minors. On his first at bat in front of his hometown fans, he hit a towering home run over Fenway’s famous ‘Green Monster’, which made him the overnight darling of Boston’s airwaves.
Then, on August 18, 1967 at the height of Boston’s Impossible Dream year, he suffered the second worst 'beaning' in baseball history. Doctors feared he would never see again; fans feared he'd never play again; and his family watched in horror, fearing he might never rise again as he lay in the dirt beside home plate, wreathing in agony.
But he clung to his childhood dream. After two years of grueling physical conditioning and medical regimens, he returned to baseball and earned the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Ironically, two years later he was traded to the team that beaned him. No longer in Boston, his enthusiasm waned and he left the game after only a few months. When it seemed all was lost, he was offered the color commentator position on the Red Sox broadcast network, and the chance to live and work with the Red Sox again.
In the midst of this, he was beset with the most challenging experience of his life, an event that nearly killed him. On death’s doorstep, people everywhere rallied to his aid. His friends and fans hadn’t forgotten him, nor would they. Ever.
This is more than a sports story. It's a human interest story, a love story, a story of triumph and tragedy, and is one of the greatest comeback stories in all of sports history.
Such is the stuff of The Tony Conigliaro Story...
Endorsements
Red Sox Nation, The Villages, FL
Art Plant, President
"We’ve made Bruce Fitzpatrick an honorary member for the work he has done on Tony Conigliaro’s life, and for the interest he has generated after having performed two speaking engagements in front our audiences."
Fenway Nation
Ernie Paicopolos, Senior Executive
"This is a must-read for every Red Sox fan—those who lived through it all or those who need to know how it happened. Bruce Fitzpatrick does a masterful job of letting us all recall the amazing life of Tony C. We recommend the book highly."
Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY
Bruce Markusen, Sr. Executive
“The Tony Conigliaro Story is highly recommended, particularly for those of Red Sox Nation."
ESPN
Jay Crawford, Sports Anchor
"I loved it! So much I didn’t know. What a crazy story. I wish more young fans today knew exactly how good he really was! Thanks again!”
Julie Markakis,
Childhood Sweetheart, Lifelong Friend
"I finished the book this morning. I want to express my gratitude for such a great read. You truly captured Tony’s life. I’m sure he is smiling down on you."
Many of our Readers
Have compared The Tony Conigliaro Story to Brian’s Song
This attracted scouts from every team in professional baseball, including the Boston Red Sox, who played less than five miles from where he’d grown up, and who signed him as a teenager. His other significant teenage experience came when he fell in love for the first time. Eventually, Julie Markakis would go from childhood sweetheart to the love of his life, though several of their experiences would be wrought with heartache.
Gifted with extraordinary skills, a story book romance, rare physical abilities, and Hollywood handsome looks, it appeared Tony had been blessed by the gods. He was even brought up to the big team after only a year in the minors. On his first at bat in front of his hometown fans, he hit a towering home run over Fenway’s famous ‘Green Monster’, which made him the overnight darling of Boston’s airwaves.
Then, on August 18, 1967 at the height of Boston’s Impossible Dream year, he suffered the second worst 'beaning' in baseball history. Doctors feared he would never see again; fans feared he'd never play again; and his family watched in horror, fearing he might never rise again as he lay in the dirt beside home plate, wreathing in agony.
But he clung to his childhood dream. After two years of grueling physical conditioning and medical regimens, he returned to baseball and earned the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Ironically, two years later he was traded to the team that beaned him. No longer in Boston, his enthusiasm waned and he left the game after only a few months. When it seemed all was lost, he was offered the color commentator position on the Red Sox broadcast network, and the chance to live and work with the Red Sox again.
In the midst of this, he was beset with the most challenging experience of his life, an event that nearly killed him. On death’s doorstep, people everywhere rallied to his aid. His friends and fans hadn’t forgotten him, nor would they. Ever.
This is more than a sports story. It's a human interest story, a love story, a story of triumph and tragedy, and is one of the greatest comeback stories in all of sports history.
Such is the stuff of The Tony Conigliaro Story...
Endorsements
Red Sox Nation, The Villages, FL
Art Plant, President
"We’ve made Bruce Fitzpatrick an honorary member for the work he has done on Tony Conigliaro’s life, and for the interest he has generated after having performed two speaking engagements in front our audiences."
Fenway Nation
Ernie Paicopolos, Senior Executive
"This is a must-read for every Red Sox fan—those who lived through it all or those who need to know how it happened. Bruce Fitzpatrick does a masterful job of letting us all recall the amazing life of Tony C. We recommend the book highly."
Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY
Bruce Markusen, Sr. Executive
“The Tony Conigliaro Story is highly recommended, particularly for those of Red Sox Nation."
ESPN
Jay Crawford, Sports Anchor
"I loved it! So much I didn’t know. What a crazy story. I wish more young fans today knew exactly how good he really was! Thanks again!”
Julie Markakis,
Childhood Sweetheart, Lifelong Friend
"I finished the book this morning. I want to express my gratitude for such a great read. You truly captured Tony’s life. I’m sure he is smiling down on you."
Many of our Readers
Have compared The Tony Conigliaro Story to Brian’s Song
