Born Aristotle George Agganis in Lynn, Massachusetts, on April 30, 1930,
Harry Agganis was the seventh and last child of George and Georgia Agganis,
immigrants from the village of Loggonike in Sparta, Greece. Harry's mother
called him “Ari” and over the years this nickname became Americanized to “Harry”
by his friends. Later on, Harry was affectionately known as “The Golden Greek”
in recognition of both his proud heritage and outstanding athletic achievements.
By 1948, Harry was a football, basketball, and baseball
phenomenon at Lynn Classical High School; seventy-five colleges including Notre
Dame tried to recruit the young sensation. Harry's mother-with whom Harry was
close-had been widowed in 1946, and Harry wanted to attend a college that
allowed him to stay near her while he pursued his academic and athletic goals.
Boston University was a perfect fit.
Agganis more than fulfilled his athletic promise while attending Boston
University, winning awards for his exploits on both the gridiron and the
diamond. After his sophomore year, Harry's collegiate career was put on hold
when he was activated for the Korean War; he ultimately served fifteen months in
the Marine Corps in 1950-51. Never called to Korea, Harry spent his service time
at Camp LeJuene in North Carolina, where he played football and baseball and was
named Most Valuable Player of the National Baseball Congress tournament in
Wichita, Kansas.
Harry resumed his collegiate career in 1952 without missing a beat-on the
diamond, his batting average soared to .322 for the season; on the gridiron, he
played both offense and defense and also handled kicking duties. An All-American
quarterback, he left BU holding school records for passing yardage, touchdown
passes, punting average, and interceptions.
Harry had long dreamed of becoming a
professional athlete; it was simply a matter of choosing which sport to play. As
a junior, he turned down a lucrative offer to play football as the number one
draft choice of the Cleveland Browns, opting instead to play baseball for the
Boston Red Sox as the team's starting first baseman. A left-handed batter, Harry
quickly became Boston's best hitter, achieving an impressive .313 batting
average. One memorable Sunday in June 1954, he hit a home run at Fenway Park,
and then raced up Commonwealth Avenue to receive his Boston University
degree.
Sadly, a vibrant young life and a promising future were cut tragically short
on June 27, 1955, when Harry Agganis died of a massive pulmonary embolism at the
age of twenty-five. His legend endures nearly fifty years later, particularly at
Boston University and in Boston's thriving Greek-American community. The
athletic stadium at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, a public square in his
hometown of Lynn, a street on BU's Charles River Campus, and a BU scholarship
are all named in his honor. "The Golden Greek" is also memorialized at the
Sports Museum of New England at Boston's Fleet Center. Boston University is
proud of the new Agganis Arena in the Student Village, the most recent tribute
to this extraordinary individual who left us far too soon.
Mr. Joe Pickering Jr. wrote a CD called Baseball Songs Sports Heroes which
has been accepted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The very first song
on the CD is written for his sports hero Harry Agganis, The Golden Greek.
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 heros 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 right 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, 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
