I was a fledgling baseball fan in my early teens when the horror story that was Tony Conigliaro's life played out. First, I was, as card collector, aware that Tony C was one of the game's bright young power hitting stars. It was also common knowledge that Jack Hamilton was a grizzled veteran who was unfraid of throwing inside. (A head hunter? Only Hamilton knew for sure).
But that grainy footage of Hamilton drilling Conigliaro in the face was disturbing on several levels. Video highlights from games was still a relatively novel concept for fans, and this was the first such of these incidents I ever saw (missed Roseboro pummeling Marichal with a bat). Then, as an SI subscriber, THIS cover arrived on my doorstep. Impossible to look at, impossible to turn away. That was brought back vividly by this great portrait of Tony C in the new Topps Vault release. What might have been ...
