June 27, 1955, 70 years ago: Harry Agganis dies, ending what had been one of the most promising sports careers just as it was getting started.
Aristotle George Agganis was born on April 20, 1929 in Lynn, Massachusetts, outside Boston. Harry (a variation of "Ari" for "Aristotle") starred in baseball and football at Lynn Classical High School, and at Boston University, becoming one of a few athletes known as "The Golden Greek."
Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown was interested in him as a potential successor to his Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham, selecting him in the 1st round of the 1952 NFL Draft. But he preferred baseball, and signed with his hometown team, the Boston Red Sox, for $50,000 -- half of what Brown was offering him.
After a star 1953 season with the Sox' Class AAA team in Louisville, he was brought up to the Red Sox for the 1954 season. Red Sox general manager Joe Cronin said, "He's colorful. He's a good competitor. And being a local boy, he can be a great drawing card." Wearing Number 6 and playing 1st base, he batted .251 with 11 home runs and 57 RBIs. Years later, Sox star Ted Williams would say, "Harry Agganis was on the verge."
But in 1955, he struggled. He was hitting .313 with 10 RBIs, but no home runs, on June 2. He never played again. He was taken to Sancta Maria Hospital in Cambridge, across the Charles River from Boston, with pneumonia. He stayed for 2 weeks, rejoined the team for a week, and then was readmitted with a viral infection. His doctor blamed it on his trying to return too soon. He showed signs of improvement, but on July 27, he suffered a pulmonary embolism, and died. He was only 26 years old.
Agganis Arena
Agganis was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974. Gaffney Street, on one side of BU's Nickerson Field, was renamed Harry Agganis Way in 1995. On the other side of Agganis Way, BU's 7,200-seat Agganis Arena was opened in 2005, named for him although he hadn't played basketball or hockey.
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