Red Sox, Swampscott Mourn Hitting Standout Billy Conigliaro

SWAMPSCOTT, MA – The Boston Red Sox and Swampscott High School both lost a beloved piece of history this week after former two-sport Swampscott star and first-round Major League Baseball draft pick Billy Conigliaro died.

He was 73 years old.

Before the younger brother of Sox star Tony Conigliaro was the hometown team’s fifth overall pick in the first MLB draft in 1965, Conigliaro was a football and baseball star at Swampscott High, where he played the outfield.

Bill Conigliaro debuted with the Red Sox in 1969 and played five years, while winning a World Series with the Oakland A’s.

He also played for the Milwaukee Brewers before going to the A’s for the 1973 season where he played in three World Series games, including the clincher.

Billy Conigliaro retired after that season because of knee injury, but stayed involved with the Red Sox and served on the committee that selects the winner of the annual Tony Conigliaro Award, named in honor of his late brother.

In 2014, Billy Conigliaro was invited to throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park in honor of the 50th anniversary of Tony Conigliaro's debut with the Red Sox.

Tony Conigliaro was severely injured when struck in the head by a pitch in 1967, then returned in 1969 to appear with his younger brother for the first time on April 20.

Twice that season the brothers homered in the same game with Billy Conigliaro homering 18 times over his first two years in Boston.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)