Seventy years after his premature death, there's still never been anyone in these parts quite like Harry Agganis

Boston Globe

4 hours ago

I was one of the many young lads growing up in the '50s who was enraptured by the fictional exploits of Clair Bee's Chip Hilton, a brilliant three-sports star who also never said or did anything wrong. But young people growing up in our area from 1945-55 actually had such a real-life model in Agganis, who received equal praise in his lifetime for his athletic accomplishments and the way he carried himself on a daily basis.
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He began compiling his résumé in his early teens, when he attracted attention for his summertime baseball exploits. Before he was out of high school, he would play in baseball All-Star Games in Wrigley Field, Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds, and, of course, Fenway Park. His Lynn Classical baseball team would win a state championship. He would have a high school football career without equal. Then came Boston University, a brief stint in the Marine Corps, and a move to the Boston Red Sox, who beat out the NFL for his services.
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One more thing: Agganis's basketball exploits also were worthy of a college scholarship. A teammate happened to be Kentucky great — and future Celtic — Lou Tsioropoulos, who played with Agganis at Classical before graduating from Lynn English.
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Agganis's influence on his collegiate alma mater is on display 365 days a year with the presence on Commonwealth Avenue of the dazzling Agganis Arena. Naming it in his honor was an easy call.
Along the way, he twice landed on the cover of Sport magazine, which was a must-read for any serious fan at that time. The first time it was a solo, and the second time it was shared with Allie Reynolds, Doak Walker, and Jackie Robinson, which was pretty good company.
Agganis made such an impression as a Marine in his one year in uniform that a field has been named for him at Camp Lejeune.
And, are you ready for this? On June 6, 1954, he hit a winning home run at Fenway against the Tigers, and when the game was over he hustled down Comm. Ave. to Braves Field, where he received his BU degree. Even Chip Hilton never did that. Nor Mickey Mantle. It was the only time a local athlete was cheered in two major league ballparks on the same day.
Have I mentioned he had a fan club while in high school? Or that he also had the lead in his high school's production of 'Stage Door'?
His Lynn Classical days will never be repeated. With southpaw quarterback Harry Agganis at the controls, Classical became a power. 'Manning Bowl was the place to be,' says Johnson. No kidding. Classical played to an estimated 160,000 people during the 1947 season. That was the follow-up to the fabulously successful 1946 campaign, when Classical topped it off by defeating Granby High of Norfolk, Va., in the North-South Shrine Game, which was played in the Orange Bowl.
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Classical made news the following year by spurning an invitation to defend its crown for a most exemplary reason. Led by Agganis, Classical refused to leave behind Black teammates Paul Pittman and Tom Smith. This was in sharp contrast to the shameful Boston College decision six years earlier to play in the Sugar Bowl without Black running back Lou Montgomery.
It is impossible to exaggerate Agganis's football skill. He passed. He ran. He punted. His nephew Mike Agganis loves to point out that one year he also intercepted a pass for every TD toss.
Statistics and touchdowns are only the beginning of the Harry Agganis story. His elders had never encountered anyone like him. 'I have never once heard him say an unkind word about anybody nor utter an oath or curse,' said his high school football coach, Bill Joyce. 'In all my 28 years of coaching boys at Classical, he is the only boy from whom I have actually learned and from who I have actually sought advice.'
Harry Agganis was not a mere local phenomenon. In 1947, he was chosen captain of the All-America high school football team by the 'Wigwam Wisemen of Oklahoma.' The word was out. He was recruited by more than 60 schools, which was a lot in those days. Among his most ardent pursuers was Notre Dame immortal Frank Leahy.
It turned out those outsiders never had a chance. To the delight of Terriers coach Buff Donelli, Agganis chose BU because he didn't want to go far away from his widowed mother. A few years later, he would use the same reasoning to choose the Red Sox.
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Before that choice, however, there was a stellar career at BU. It did not take long for people to take notice. In November 1949, Agganis's sophomore year, legendary Washington Post columnist Shirley Povich wrote the following: 'With each succeeding Saturday, what was Agganis's purely localized fame in New England has been burgeoning all over the football landscape.'
The big issue eventually confronting Agganis was deciding between a professional career in football or baseball. Cleveland Browns pooh-bah Paul Brown lusted for him, but in the end Agganis chose to stay with the hometown team in what was still America's favorite sport.
As was the custom everywhere he went, Agganis became the toast of Louisville en route to Fenway. He was named 'Colonel of the Year' by the Triple A affiliate, citing his 'brilliant performances on the field and his gentlemanly disposition.'
After going through an up-and-down rookie season in 1954, he was figuring things out and was batting a robust .313 with some power when he was stricken with a blood clot issue in early June. He entered the hospital on June 5, 1955. He died of a pulmonary embolism emanating from the blood clot on June 27.
The front page of the June 27, 1955, Boston Evening Globe shared the news of the death of Harry Agganis.
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The news was stunning. Harry Agganis was Boston's young prince. He was only 26. How could this be?
Austen Lake of the Boston Record-American spoke for countless thousands when he wrote, 'Now Harry is dead! My ears hear it, but my mind rejects the idea.' Mike Gillooly of the Record-American added this: 'He appeared immune to pain, plague, pox, virus, and that's why the death of Harry Agganis yesterday pierced the heart of the city; plunged the entire sports world into deep grief.'
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The story was only going to get better. A deal was being worked out with the Red Sox allowing Agganis to report to training camp with the Baltimore Colts in 1955. Nope. You couldn't make this up. With Harry Agganis, you never had to fabricate anything. He just was.
Bob Ryan can be reached at