Top 10 Athletes From Massachusetts
Honorable Mention to Baseball Hall-of-Famers: William "Candy" Cummings of Ware, outside Springfield; Tim Keefe, John Clarkson and Joe Kelley, all of Cambridge, north of Boston; Tommy McCarthy of Boston; Wilbert Robinson of Bolton, outside Worcester, although he's probably in the Hall more for what he did as a manager; Jack Chesbro of North Adams, outside Pittsfield; Rabbit Maranville of Springfield; and Charles "Gabby" Hartnett of Millville, outside Worcester. (Jeff Bagwell was born in Boston, but grew up in Connecticut, and is in my Top 10 for that State.)
Honorable Mention to Connie Mack of East Brookfield, outside Worcester. Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy never legally changed his name, but thought "Mack" would look better in a box score. An ordinary major league catcher from 1884 to 1896, he began managing in 1894 and didn't stop until 1950. In between, he won 9 Pennants and 5 World Series with the Philadelphia Athletics: In 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929 and 1930.
But because he was also the main owner, he couldn't be removed as manager, despite it becoming clear after World War II that he was senile. Finally, after the 1950 season, his 50th year as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, his sons Earle, Roy and Connie Jr., who agreed on little else, found a way to maneuver him out.
No manager ever managed more games, or won more -- or lost more. Along with his 1905, 1911 and 1913 World Series opponent, John McGraw, he was 1 of the 1st 2 managers elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the only one ever elected while still managing. (The eligibility rules have since changed.)
After he was removed, and the Philadelphia Phillies bought Shibe Park from the family, the Phils renamed it Connie Mack Stadium. After his death, they erected a statue outside, moving it to Veterans Stadium and now to Citizens Bank Park. He and Robin Roberts were the 1st inductees the Phillies placed into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame.
Honorable Mention to Harry Agganis of Lynn, north of Boston. "The Golden Greek" starred in baseball and football at Boston University. In 1955, he was in his 2nd season with the Red Sox, and he had impressed even Ted Williams, when he got sick. He developed pneumonia, and died from a pulmonary embolism at age 24. BU's sports arena is named for him.
Honorable Mention to Tony Conigliaro of Revere, north of Boston. When he was 19, he hit a home run in the Red Sox' home opener. When he was 22, he was the youngest player ever to reach 100 career home runs. He had a local background, good looks, a great personality, and a swing tailor-made for Fenway Park. The future seemed limitless.
On August 18, 1967, baseball history was changed when Tony C was hit in the face with a pitch. The Sox were in a tight Pennant race, and he missed the rest of the season, although they win it anyway. He missed all of 1968, came back strong in 1969 and 1970, but his vision problems returned, and was done at 26 - except for a brief comeback at 30, failing to stick with the Sox' next Pennant team in 1975.
It gets worse. In 1982, his budding broadcast career ended with a heart attack, and oxygen deprivation caused brain damage. He was essentially comatose until his death in 1990. The Sox have inducted him into their team Hall of Fame, but if a New Englander had written Field of Dreams, it might have been about C.
Honorable Mention to Mark Fidrych of Northborough, outside Worcester. Another candidate for the screenplay. His sensational 1st season with the Detroit Tigers - sensational both both the quality of his pitching and his quirky personality - made him the 1976 American League Rookie of the Year.
But he got hurt in Spring Training the next year, and was never the same pitcher. Like Tony C, he was a superstar at 22 and done at 26. He went back to his Northborough farm, made a living, and supplemented that with appearances at memorabilia shows, accepting that he was still popular among baseball fans. But he fell victim to a fatal accident on his farm in 2009. At least he had more time to enjoy it all than Conigliaro did.
Honorable Mention to Fran Healy of Holyoke, outside Springfield, for helping the Yankees win the 1977 World Series. He became a broadcaster for both New York teams.
Honorable Mention to Jeff Reardon of Dalton, outside Pittsfield. A 4-time All-Star, he began his career with the 1979 Mets, and ended it with the 1994 Yankees. In between, he saved more games than any player before him, surpassing Rollie Fingers' record of 341 in 1992 -- but, before he retired with 367, was himself surpassed by Lee Smith. He reached the postseason with the 1981 Montreal Expos, the 1987 Minnesota Twins (winning the World Series), the 1990 Boston Red Sox, and the 1992 Atlanta Braves.
Honorable Mention to Angelo Bertelli of Springfield and Joe Bellino of Winchester, north of Boston. Bertelli quarterbacked Notre Dame to the 1943 National Championship, winning the Heisman Trophy, before a brief career in the All-America Football Conference. Bellino went to the Naval Academy, and the running back won the Heisman in 1960. After fulfilling his military commitment, he played for his hometown Patriots.
Honorable Mention to Mark Bavaro of Danvers, north of Boston. A Notre Dame grad like Bertelli, the tight end won Super Bowls XXI and XXV with the Giants, making 2 Pro Bowls. He has been elected to the Giants' Ring of Honor, but not yet to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention to Ray Flynn of South Boston. He played basketball at Providence College, and, exhibiting the parochialism of that most stubborn of neighborhoods in the City of Boston, got mad at the public address announcer, and told him that, from now on, he was to be introduced as, "from South Boston."
He was named an All-American, and the Most Valuable Player of the 1963 NIT. He was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals, just before their move to become the Philadelphia 76ers, was traded to his hometown Celtics, and was the last player cut from the defending World Champions.
He went into politics, elected to the City Council in 1977, and Mayor in 1983, 1987 and 1991. While Mayor, he ran in both the Boston and the New York City Marathon in 1984, and appeared on a 1989 episode of the Boston-based sitcom Cheers. He resigned as Mayor in 1993, to accept the post of U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican.
Honorable Mention to Massachusetts natives on the U.S. Hockey Team that won the Gold Medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York: Captain Mike Eruzione of Winthrop, north of Boston; goaltender Jim Craig of Easton, and Dave Silk of Scuituate, both south of Boston; and Jack O'Callahan of the Somerville section of Boston. The entire team was named Sports Illustrated's 1980 Sportsmen of the Year.
Honorable Mention to Massachusetts natives on the New Jersey Devils' Stanley Cup winners: Bobby Carpenter of Beverly, north of Boston (1995, he had been the 1st high school hockey player on the cover of SI); Bill Guerin of Worcester (1995, the 1st player of Hispanic descent in the NHL, he was also a member of the 2009 Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins); and Jay Pandolfo of Winchester, north of Boston (2000 and 2003).
Current Devils goalie Cory Schneider is from a certain town north of Boston, which has been part of an insult used by Bruin fans from the beginning of the franchise in 1924: "We got a town around here named after you: Marblehead!"
Honorable Mention to Massachusetts natives on the U.S. Hockey Team that won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey: Guerin; Keith Tkachuk of Medford, north of Boston; Tony Amonte of Hingham, south of Boston; Scott Young of the Worcester suburb of Clinton; Shawn McEachern of Waltham, north of Boston; and Jim Carey of the Dorchester section of Boston.
Honorable Mention to Rod Langway of Randolph, south of Boston. He won the Stanley Cup as a rookie with the 1979 Montreal Canadiens. With the Washington Capitals, he made 6 All-Star Games, and won the 1983 and 1984 Norris Trophies as the best defenseman of the year. The Caps retired his Number 5, and he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the only native of the Boston Bruins' home State yet so honored.
Tkachuk is not yet in the Hall of Fame, but is in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. This is also true for Tom Barrasso of Stow, west of Boston. Jeremy Roenick of Marshfield, south of Boston, is not yet in either, despite 9 All-Star Games and 513 goals. So Honorable Mentions to them as well.
Honorable Mention to John Souza and Ed Souza of Fall River, closer to Providence, Rhode Island than to Boston. Despite not being closely related, they played together for Ponta Delgada Soccer Club of Fall River, founded by Portuguese immigrants and named for the capital of the Azores, islands off the coast of Portugal. Both forwards, they were members of the U.S. team that shocked England at the 1950 World Cup.
Honorable Mention to Debbie Belkin of Needham, west of Boston. She was a member of the U.S. team that won the 1st Women's World Cup in 1991. Under her married name of Debbie Radamacher, she became the 1st coach of the women's team at the University of Michigan.
Honorable Mention to Tracy Ducar of North Andover, north of Boston. She was the backup goalkeeper to Briana Scurry on the U.S. team that won the 1999 Women's World Cup, and was collectively named Sportswomen of the Year by Sports Illustrated.
Honorable Mention to Chris McCarron of the Dorchester section of Boston. He never rode a horse until he was 16. At 19, in 1974, he raced professionally for the 1st time, and won 547 races, a new record. He also led all U.S. jockeys in wins in 1975 and 1980.
He won the 1986 Belmont Stakes aboard Danzig Connection. He won the 1987 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and the 1988 Breeders' Cup Classic (the 1st of 5 times he would win that race), aboard Alysheba. He won the 1992 Preakness Stakes aboard Pine Bluff. He won the 1994 Kentucky Derby aboard Go for Gin. He won the 1997 Belmont Stakes aboard Touch Gold.
He finished his career in 2002 with 7,141 wins, and $264 million in winnings, a record at the time. While still active, he was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention to Tony DeMarco of the North End of Boston. He was Welterweight Champion of the World for 11 weeks in 1955. That was enough to get DeMarco, who just turned 86, a statue in the North End.
Honorable Mention to Paul Pender of Brookline, west of Boston. He fared a little better than DeMarco, ending Sugar Ray Robinson's 5th and last reign as Middleweight Champion of the World, holding it for nearly a year and a half in 1960 and 1961, and then holding it again for a year, in 1962 and 1963.
Honorable Mention to John Thomas of Cambridge, north of Boston. The 1st man to clear 7 feet in the high jump, he won the Bronze Medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome and the Silver Medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He had the misfortune to be a star in the event at the same time as the great Siberian Valeriy Brumel.
Honorable Mention to Johnny Kelley of Arlington, west of Boston. He ran his 1st Boston Marathon in 1928, at age 20, but didn't finish it. He won the race in 1935 and 1945. He competed in the Olympic marathon in 1936 in Berlin and 1948 in London, although he didn't come close to winning either one. (The Olympics of 1940 and 1944 were canceled due to World War II.) He ran his last Boston Marathon in 1992, at age 84, and finished it for the 58th time in his 61 attempts.
In 1957, John J. Kelley won the Boston Marathon. Not related, he became known as "Kelley the Younger," as his predecessor was nicknamed "Kelley the Elder." In 1993, a statue of Kelley the Elder -- 2 figures, showing him as the 27-year-old 1935 winner and the 84-year-old 1992 competitor -- was erected outside City Hall in Newton, which faces the course.
Honorable Mention to Alberto Salazar of Wayland, west of Boston. He won the New York City Marathon in 1980 and 1981, and won in both Boston and New York in 1982.
Honorable Mention to Tenley Albright of Newton, west of Boston. She won the Silver Medal in ladies' figure skating at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway. She topped that with the Gold Medal in 1956 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This made her the 1st American to win in, preceding, thus far, Carol Heiss in 1960, Peggy Fleming in 1968, Dorothy Hamill in 1976, Kristi Yamaguchi in 1992, Tara Lipinski in 1998 and Sarah Hughes in 2002.
Dishonorable Mention to Leo Durocher of West Springfield. A half-decent player who linked the 1928 Murderers' Row Yankees (he wasn't up yet in 1927) to the 1934 Gashouse Gang St. Louis Cardinals, he was an indecent human being.
He managed the Brooklyn Dodgers to the 1941 National League Pennant, and the New York Giants to the 1951 Pennant and the 1954 World Championship. But the disreputable parts of his character meant that, despite winning over 2,000 games as a manager, he wasn't elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame until after he died. No one wanted to hear his acceptance speech.
Now, the Top 10:
10. Harold "Pie" Traynor of Somerville, north of Boston. His nickname, inspired by his childhood love of the pastry, aside, as late as the 1969 Centennial of professional baseball, he was considered the greatest 3rd baseman who ever lived.
Fielding statistics weren't readily available in the 1920s and '30s, but contemporary observers believed that the Pittsburgh Pirate had surpassed Boston Red Sox star Jimmy Collins as the all-time best third sacker.
He wasn't a home run hitter. Forbes Field was considerably more conducive to doubles and triples, and, like later 3rd base stars Brooks Robinson, George Brett and Wade Boggs he took advantage of that, batting ,320 lifetime, with 2,416 hits, and 12 seasons of at least 100 RBIs.
He helped the Pirates win the 1925 World Series and the 1927 National League Pennant. He was the NL's starting 3rd baseman in the 1st 2 All-Star Games, in 1933 and 1934. He nearly managed the Pirates to the 1938 Pennant, and later served as a broadcaster, calling their 1960 World Series win along with Bob Prince.
He was the 1st 3rd baseman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the writers (in charge of handling the recently retired, as Collins had been elected by the Veterans Committee). He lived long enough to see the Pirates win the 1971 World Series and retire his Number 20. In 1999, The Sporting News named him to their 100 Greatest Baseball Players.
9. Howie Long of Milford, outside Worcester. To look at Howard Matthew Moses Long today, with his short hair, glasses, suit, calm demeanor, and highly intelligence pronouncements on the game of football on Fox NFL Sunday, it's easy to guess that he is a cultured New England gentleman who went to a tweedy Northeastern school -- which he did, Villanova University, outside Philadelphia. What's not so easy to guess, even with his football knowledge, is that he played for the team that defines NFL badness, the Raiders.
He played in their last season in their 1st run in Oakland, 1981; and all but their last season in Los Angeles, 1982-93. He made 8 Pro Bowls, won Super Bowl XVIII with them in the 1983 season, and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1985. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL's 1980s All-Decade Team. The Raiders don't retire uniform numbers, so his 75 is still in circulation.
His son, Chris Long, a defensive end who just made it back-to-back Super Bowls with different teams, the New England Patriots last year and the Philadelphia Eagles this time, might make the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well. But he grew up in the Los Angeles area, and would qualify for California, not Massachusetts. Howie's songs Kyle and Howie Jr. also played in the NFL.
8. Patrick Ewing of Cambridge, north of Boston. He was actually born in Jamaica, on August 5, 1962, the day before Jamaica was granted independence by Britain. There he excelled at cricket and soccer, the British games from which baseball and American football, respectively, evolved. But when the family moved to Cambridge when he was 13, his growth led him to basketball.
At Georgetown University from 1981 to 1985, he was arguably the best player in college basketball all 4 seasons, reaching 3 NCAA Finals, but only winning 1, in 1984, and he was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He helped the U.S. team win the Gold Medal at the 1984 Olympics, and was a member of the 1992 "Dream Team" in Barcelona.
It is still suggested that the 1985 NBA Draft was fixed for the Knicks to get him. The question at that point was not if the Knicks would win an NBA title, but how many. Over 15 seasons, he became an 11-time All-Star, the 1986 Rookie of the Year, and the Knicks' all-time leading scorer.
But they could never break through, blocked first by the Detroit Pistons of Isiah Thomas, then the Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan, then the Orlando Magic of Shaquille O'Neal, and finally the Miami Heat of Alonzo Mourning. They made the Finals twice: In 1994, while Jordan was away; and 1999, after Jordan's 2nd "retirement," and Ewing was hurt and missed the Finals.
It became a joke: Like Joe Namath and Mark Messier, Ewing predicted titles; unlike them, he couldn't deliver. He left the Knicks, still without a title since 1973 -- and still without one today. For all his achievements, he is the biggest failure in the history of New York Tri-State Area sports, ahead of Don Mattingly. Heck, even Alex Rodriguez won a title.
After a season in Seattle and another in Orlando, he retired, serving on the staffs of Washington, Houston, Orlando and Charlotte. He is now the head coach at Georgetown. The Knicks retired his Number 33, and he was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and, while still active, the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players.
7. Doug Flutie of Natick, west of Boston. Boston College had some good teams, especially in the 1930s and '40s, but the program had been in the dumps for a few years when, as a freshman in a 1981 game that the Eagles were losing badly, head coach Jack Bicknell told him, "Okay, Flutie, see what you can do." He didn't lead a comeback win, but brought them to 5-6. Repeating this story in their 1982 College Football Preview Issue, Sports Illustrated noted BC's tougher schedule, and wrote, "Good luck, Flutie."
In 1982, he led them to an 8-3-1 record, and into the Tangerine Bowl, which they lost. In 1983, they began moving some home games from Alumni Stadium, then seating only 32,000, to the Patriots' 61,000-seat Foxboro (then Sullivan) Stadium, beating Penn State, Alabama, and local rival Holy Cross there, finishing 9-3 and reaching the Liberty Bowl (but losing).
In 1984, they went 10-2, losing only away to West Virginia and Penn State, beating North Carolina and Syracuse in Foxboro, and winning that Day After Thanksgiving thriller in the rain at the Orange Bowl, beating Miami 47-45 on Flutie's desperation pass to his roommate, Gerard Phelan. If he hadn't already clinched the 1984 Heisman Trophy, that pass would have done it. Had there been a Big East Conference at the time, they would have won it back-to-back in 1983-84. He then led them to a Cotton Bowl win over the University of Houston, BC's 1st bowl win in 44 years.
But the NFL balked at him because of his height, 5-foot-9¾. The USFL's New Jersey Generals tried him out, and then he was signed by the Chicago Bears. His hometown Patriots also gave him a shot. But it was in Canada where he achieved professional success, winning the Grey Cup with the Vancouver-based British Columbia Lions in 1992 and the Toronto Argonauts in 1996 and 1997. He was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player 6 times in 7 years from 1991 to 1997.
Finally, in 1998, when he was 36, the NFL could ignore him no longer, and he got the Buffalo Bills into the Playoffs. In 1999, he got the Bills into the Playoffs again, but coach Wade Phillips – who said he was acting on the orders of owner Ralph Wilson – benched him in favor of Rob Johnson for a Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans. The Titans won, on the play known as the "Music City Miracle." The Bills didn't make the Playoffs again for 18 years.
He went to the San Diego Chargers, and closed his career on January 1, 2006 with the Patriots. In his 1st attempted kick in NFL play, Flutie executed a dropkick for a field goal, the only one in NFL play since 1941.
He is now a motivational speaker. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, and is the only non-Canadian in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. A short stretch of road connecting the Natick Mall in his hometown of Natick and the Shoppers' World Mall in Framingham is named Flutie Pass. And it took Tom Brady's 12 to make Flutie's Number 22 the 2nd-most familiar uniform number in Boston football history.
6. Nick Buoniconti of Springfield, in Western Massachusetts. The site of the invention of basketball, and of its Hall of Fame, the greatest athlete it's produced has been a football player. An All-American linebacker at Notre Dame, he was a 6-time AFL All-Star for the team then known as the Boston Patriots, who named him to their team Hall of Fame. He played on their team that reached the 1963 AFL Championship Game, but was beaten badly by the San Diego Chargers.
He was traded to the Miami Dolphins, and won 3 AFC Championships, including Super Bowls VII and VIII in 1972-73 and 1973-74, as the leader of their "No-Name Defense." He was also elected to the Pro Bowls in those seasons, making 8 All-Star berths. The Dolphins named him to their Honor Roll, and he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sure, he has a tough name to spell and pronounce, but he's hardly a "No-Name."
5. Marvelous Marvin Hagler of Brockton, south of Boston. He actually grew up in the Central Ward of Newark, but after the 1967 riot, the family moved to the Boston area, where he learned to fight -- hence, he is included here, not with New Jersey's athletes.
At first, "Marvelous" was a nickname. He noticed that broadcasters didn't use it. So he had his name legally changed to "Marvelous Marvin." It wasn't just a boast: Aside from Tony Zale, whose reign included World War II and its manpower drain, nobody ever continuously held the Middleweight Championship of the World longer: 7 years, from 1980 to 1987.
He got his 1st shot at the title, against Vito Antuofermo in 1979, and it was a tough one that was ruled a draw. Antuofermo then lost the title to Alan Minter, who gave Hagler a shot. Despite being at the Wembley Arena in London, Hagler slaughtered him. He then welcomed Antuofermo into the Boston Garden, and beat him even worse.
The list of fighters he beat also includes Mustafa Hamsho (twice), Roberto Duran, a devastating 3-round demolition of Thomas Hearns, and a knockout of John "The Beast" Mugabi. The Ring
magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1983 and 1985.
He was shocked by former Welterweight Champion Sugar Ray Leonard, a split decision that people still dispute. Tired of waiting for Leonard to give him a rematch, he retired in 1988, with a record of 62-3-2 -- and, unlike most boxers (Leonard sure didn't, "unretiring" more than Roger Clemens or Brett Favre), he stayed retired.
Since his retirement, he has moved to Italy, acted in films there, and served as a color commentator on European boxing broadcasts. Ironically, Antuofermo went the other way: He came from Italy, and became an actor in America.
4. Rebecca Lobo of Southwick, a little west of Springfield and a little north of Hartford, Connecticut. The center had a pretty good 1994-95 season at the University of Connecticut: 35-0, National Champions, National Player of the Year, and the Honda-Broderick Cup as the nation's outstanding female collegiate athlete. She then played on the greatest women's basketball team ever, the U.S. team that won the Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Her professional career wasn't as extraordinary, due to a recurring knee injury. With the founding of the WNBA in 1997, she was put on what was intended to be the league's marquee team, the New York Liberty. She did help them reach the Finals 3 times, but never won it.
A writer for Sports Illustrated, Steve Rushin, mocked the WNBA in a 2001 article. Shortly thereafter, they just happened to meet in a Manhattan bar. She challenged him to actually watch a game. He accepted. He was won over. He asked him to marry her. She accepted. The ceremony was held at the Basketball Hall of Fame, to which she was elected last year. They now have 4 children. She is a color commentator for ESPN.
But she was born in Hartford. Despite all the legends for the Boston Celtics, and the fact that the sport was invented in Springfield by Dr. James Naismith in 1891, the only person born in Massachusetts to make the Hall of Fame is Bill Laimbeer, a Detroit Pistons player that Celtic fans came to hate, and he grew up outside Los Angeles.
3. Tom Glavine of Billerica, to the north of Boston. 1995 World Series MVP. Had the Braves never moved to Milwaukee, and later to Atlanta, he would have pitched for his hometown team. He was also a high school hockey star, good enough to be drafted by the Los Angeles Kings, ahead of Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille in that 1984 NHL draft.
He chose baseball, and it was the right choice. A 10-time All-Star, he led the National League in wins 5 times. He won the NL Cy Young Award in 1991 and 1998. He helped the Braves reach the postseason 12 times, and the Mets once. He won Pennants with the Braves in 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1998. When they won their only World Series in Atlanta in 1995, he was named the Most Valuable Player.
Met fans will remember his horrendous season finale in 2007 more than how he contributed to their near-Pennant in 2006. Greg Prince, of the blog Faith and Fear In Flushing, named him "The Manchurian Brave" -- as if the Braves, rather than the Phillies (or the Yankees) were the Mets' true rivals. But he won 305 games, with 2,607 strikeouts. The Braves retired his Number 47, and he has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2. Mickey Cochrane of Bridgewater, to the south of Boston. "My father named me Mickey after his favorite player," Mickey Mantle said. "His real name was Gordon. I'm sure glad he didn't name me Gordon Mantle."
He chose baseball, and it was the right choice. A 10-time All-Star, he led the National League in wins 5 times. He won the NL Cy Young Award in 1991 and 1998. He helped the Braves reach the postseason 12 times, and the Mets once. He won Pennants with the Braves in 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1998. When they won their only World Series in Atlanta in 1995, he was named the Most Valuable Player.
Met fans will remember his horrendous season finale in 2007 more than how he contributed to their near-Pennant in 2006. Greg Prince, of the blog Faith and Fear In Flushing, named him "The Manchurian Brave" -- as if the Braves, rather than the Phillies (or the Yankees) were the Mets' true rivals. But he won 305 games, with 2,607 strikeouts. The Braves retired his Number 47, and he has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2. Mickey Cochrane of Bridgewater, to the south of Boston. "My father named me Mickey after his favorite player," Mickey Mantle said. "His real name was Gordon. I'm sure glad he didn't name me Gordon Mantle."
"Cochrane" is a Gaelic name, and Gordon Stanley Cochrane was nicknamed "Mickey" because somebody thought he looked Irish, which he was, as his father had immigrated from Omagh in Northern Ireland. Some people called him the greatest catcher who ever lived, and when Mickey Mantle was born in 1931, and for a few years thereafter, it was a valid suggestion.
There was no All-Star Game until 1933 (although he was named to it in 1934 and 1935), and there were no Gold Gloves until 1957, so his defense was never quantified in his time. But from 1925 to 1933, he whipped the Philadelphia Athletics' pitching staff into shape, and they won 3 straight Pennants from 1929 to 1931, and the 1929 and 1930 World Series.
When Connie Mack needed money, among his fire sale items was Cochrane to the Detroit Tigers, and as both catcher and manager, he led them to the Pennant in 1934 and the World Series in 1935. Unfortunately, it was a Yankee pitcher, the unfortunately nicknamed Irving "Bump" Hadley (ironically, a native of nearby Lynn), who ended his career with a beanball in 1937. He left the manager's job a year later.
His lifetime batting average was .320. He was named American League Most Valuable Player in 1928 (ahead of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig of the World Champion Yankees) and 1934 (ahead of Gehrig again, despite Lou winning the Triple Crown). He was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame and to The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players.
The Athletics, now in Oakland, have never retired his Number 2, and the Tigers are finally retiring the Number 3 he wore with them, but for Alan Trammell. Nevertheless, the Phillies honored him in their Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame (the A's honorees's plaques have been moved, but their names are inscribed on the base of Mack's statue), and the Tigers have placed his name with their other Hall-of-Famers on the outfield wall at Comerica Park.
1. Rocky Maricano of Brockton, to the south of Boston. "The Brockton Blockbuster" was the Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1952 to 1956, and retired undefeated, at 49-0. And 43 of those wins were by knockout. And unlike most boxers, he stayed retired. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1952, 1954 and 1955.
Sure, he almost lost a few fights, but almost beating The Rock was the worst thing you could have done, because it made him reach down deep and find something that allowed him to mess your face up. Muhammad Ali liked to say that his opponents were ugly, but few fighters made their opponents ugly as much as did Marciano.
Two men who learned to fight in Brockton, Massachusetts. Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler. The Rock and the Marvelous One. Both longtime champions, 30 years apart. Both retired and stayed that way.
Marciano was born when Jack Dempsey was Heavyweight Champion. He knocked Joe Louis out when Louis was at the end. He filmed a "computerized bout" with Ali in 1969, long after his retirement -- and right before he was killed in a plane crash, on the eve of his 46th birthday. And he never saw Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, or the huge Eastern European fighters who've held pieces of the title recently. I'd love to have seen what he would have done with any of them.
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