THE DAY NEW ENGLAND AND THE SPORT'S WORLD CRIED By Joe Pickering ON JUNE 27, 1955 NEW ENGLAND AND THE SPORT'S WORLD CRIED. HARRY AGGANIS THE GOLDEN GREEK PASSED AWAY AT BARELY 26 WITH ...TAKE CARE OF MY MOTHER...ON HIS LIPS. WHO WAS HARRY AGGANIS? HARRY WAS NEW ENGLAND'S GREATEST ATHLETE AND ONE OF THE NATION'S GREATEST COMPETITORS. HE WAS MULTI DIMENSIONAL IN ALL SPORTS. A STAR FIRST BASEMAN FOR THE BOSTON RED SOX HE WAS BATTING 313 AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH. HARRY WAS COVETED BY THE CLEVELAND BROWNS AND WAS THEIR FIRST DRAFT PICK TO REPLACE OTTO GRAHAM ONE OF THE GREATEST QUARTERBACKS IN NFL HISTORY. HE WAS ALSO PURSUED BY THE BALTIMORE COLTS AND THERE WAS DISCUSSIONS THAT HARRY WOULD PLAY BOTH FOR THE BOSTON RED SOX AND THE BALTIMORE COLTS ACHIEVING A RARITY THAT MICHAEL JORDAN COULD NOT ACHIEVE. SOME OF THE GREATEST PLAYERS IN BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL INCLUDING THE COACHES KNEW AND ADMIRED HIM. IF YOU ARE YOUNG YOU MAY NOT HAVE HEARD OF HIM. BUT, TED WILLIAMS, JOHNNY PESKY, CURT GOWDY, JOE PATERNO OF PENN STATE, RED GRANGE, CASEY STENGEL, JOHNNY UNITAS AND HUNDREDS OF SPORTS FIGURES IF NOT THOUSANDS DID. RECENTLY, I WAS FORTUNATE TO RECEIVE AN E-MAIL FROM JOHNNY UNITAS THE GREATEST QUARTERBACK IN NFL HISTORY, JOHNNY UNITAS SAID THAT HARRY AGGANIS WAS AN OUTSTANDING FOOTBALL PLAYER, OUTSTANDING QUARTERBACK AND OUTSTANDING BASEBALL PLAYER. NOT A BAD COMMENT FROM A VERY GREAT ATHLETE. BUT, WHY SHOULD WE CARE? HE HAS BEEN GONE FOR DECADES. WE SHOULD CARE BECAUSE OUR YOUNG AS WELL AS ALL OF US NEED ROLE MODELS. HARRY AGGANIS WAS NOT ONLY A VERY GREAT SPORTS STAR BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY A GREATER HUMAN BEING. I HAVE WRITTEN A TRIBUTE SONG CALLED: THE GOLDEN GREEK. IT IS THE FIRST SONG ON THE CD BASEBALL SONGS SPORTS HEROES. I HOPE IT GIVES YOU INSIGHT INTO A MOST REMARKABLE HUMAN BEING AND MAKES YOU (AND ALL OF US) REFLECT ON THE VALUE OF LIVING A GOOD LIFE. THE GOLDEN GREEK TIME WASHES AWAY PEOPLE WHO DEPART YOU WHO REMAIN CHERISH HEROES OF THE HEART THEY SELDOM GRACE EARTH BUT, NOT FOR LONG THE GOLDEN GREEK LIVES IN THIS SONG TOO MANY ATHLETES SPELL TEAM AS M-E THE GOLDEN GREEK KNEW TEAM MEANT ONLY WE THIS ALL AMERICAN TRULY STOOD APART THE GOLDEN GREEK WAS SIMPLY PURE OF HEART FOUR HUNDRED CHURCHES HONORED FOR FORTY DAYS THE MAN WHO TOUCHED MANY HEARTS IN SO MANY WAYS FIFTY THOUSAND SAID GOODBYE AS HIS CHURCH CHOIR SANG LOVE FOR THE MAN WHO SET THE SPORTS WORLD AFIRE CHORUS HARRY AGGANIS STIRRED HEART AND SOUL DID GOD TAKE HIM SO HE WOULD NEVER GROW OLD? HEROES LIVE FOREVER THOUGH HARRY DIED YOUNG THE SONG OF THE GOLDEN GREEK WILL ALWAYS BE SUNG THOUSANDS OF MARINES IN THE CAROLINA SUN NAMED A FIELD FOR THE MARINE WHO LEFT NO DEED UNDONE THE FIRST OLYMPIC HEROES WON OLIVE WREATHS HIS SILVER WREATH FROM THE KING AND QUEEN OF GREECE THE SEVENTH CHILD OF IMMIGRANTS BORN IN LYNN LEARNED PLAYING THE GAME THE RIGHT WAY WAS THE WAY TO WIN HE HIT MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHING AT FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE THEN,WENT ON TO GLORY ON THE SPORTS PAGE THIS HALL OF FAMER SCRAMBLED FORTY YARDS FROM THE POCKET HE THREW FEATHER PASSES OR SHOTS LIKE A ROCKET! THOUGH HE LOOKED AND PLAYED LIKE A GREEK GOD THIS FLESH AND BLOOD HERO WAS ONE WITH THE LORD REPEAT CHORUS HE GAVE TO THE POOR AND CHURCH, THE GIFTS HE RECEIVED HARRY LIVED THE GOLDEN RULE, AS HE BELIEVED HIS SMILE WARM AND BRIGHT LIKE SUNSHINE IN JULY WHY AT TWENTY-SIX DID THIS RED SOX STAR DIE? THE NFL PLAYED GAMES IN HONOR OF HIS NAME ALL FOR A MAN WHO NEVER PLAYED A PRO GAME HE PLANNED TO PLAY FOR THE SOX AND THE N-F-L WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ONLY GOD CAN TELL THIS HERO OF THE HEART WAS LIKE NO OTHER HIS LAST WORDS WERE: TAKE CARE OF MY MOTHER IN THE PANTHEON OF SPORTS, THE GOLDEN GREEK REIGNS HIS MEM'RY GLOWING LIKE THE OLYMPIC FLAME REPEAT LAST LINE AND FADE @2000 Joe Pickering Jr. Writer |
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