1946-1947

Eddie Pellagrini became the 22nd player (and first Red Sox) in history to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat. 

He was born on March 3, 1918, in Boston. Growing up less than four miles south of Fenway Park, baseball played a significant role in his youth. In 1936 the high school senior served as captain of the Roxbury Memorial High School for Boys baseball team (he excelled at football and track and was an honor roll student as well). His parents wanted him to go to Boston College, but he was interested only in pursuing a career in baseball. Two years later the Red Sox signed him to a professional contract.

From 1938-1940 he displayed some offensive promise in the low minors. Just before the 1941 season the Red Sox sent him to the San Diego Padres in the Pacific Coast League. Eddie thrived, placing among the team leaders in most offensive categories. 

The Sox’ 1942 spring camp competition between the shortstops proved friendly, eventually developing into a lifelong bond. As it happened, Eddie seemed to have the inside track for reasons other than field performance. When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Johnny Pesky had a 1-A classification and appeared certain to be headed overseas. Eddie, classified 3-A (dependents), seemed a less likely candidate for war since he did not start a family.

This thinking was turned on its head in April when Eddie's status was inexplicably changed to 1-A and Pesky prevailed in the shortstop competition. The Red Sox briefly considered carrying Eddie on the roster but chose instead to assign him to Louisville in the American Association, where he could get steady play before Pesky’s expected departure. This plan worked only until May when Eddie was drafted into the US Navy. 

He was assigned to the Great Lakes, Illinois Naval Training Station north of Chicago. where he stayed for over a year. They successfully beat local semipro clubs and upset several major league teams in local exhibitions.  He was pacing the club in homers while tied with a .463 batting average. In 1944, while he was serving in the Pacific Theatre, he led the 14th Naval District to a win over a US Army All Star team. In October, 1945, 41 days after Japan’s formal surrender, he earned his release from the service.

In 1946 the same Pesky-Pellagrini spring competition was established. By mid-March the Red Sox began trying Eddie at third base. The hot corner was an open competition with no fewer than seven players manning the post during the Sox pennant-winning season. Despite the sparing play, in September, he was honored as the only homegrown player on the Red Sox and was given a new car.

The Red Sox third base post remained a veritable turnstile in 1948. In the April season opener Eddie earned the first crack. Though he had some pop, swinging for the fences hampered his natural swing and he stumbled into a 1-for-23 hole. He bounced back, batting .293 through May. After spending nearly a month riding the bench, he was returned to the third base platoon and finished with an uninspiring .202

In November, Eddie was traded to the St. Louis Browns with five others. A promising 1948 spring camp gave way to a dreadful start as he finished the first month of the season with a dismal .095 average. He found his footing in May, only to be sidelined 19 games with a pulled leg muscle. His defense afforded continued play as he placed among the league leaders in double plays turned and was the only AL shortstop to participate in two triple plays during the season. 

Injuries marred much of his next season, as he was limited to just 79 appearances. In June, 1949 he dislocated his left shoulder diving for a groundball that made its way to centerfield. A month later he sustained a split lip and broken tooth after being hit in the face by a thrown ball. He finished with a disappointing .238 BA. Two years removed from pension eligibility, he was stunned (and threatened to quit) when he discovered he was sold to the Baltimore Orioles of the International League in November.

For the second of three consecutive years he joined a barnstorming squad playing against semi-pro clubs in New England and Canada (years later he was joined by Pesky). In December he traveled south to play in the Cuban Winter League for the first time.

Eddie raced to a .321-BA in his first 61 games of the 1950 season. An injury to his right hand from a pitched ball slowed him in the second half, but he finished among the team leaders in most offensive categories (including a surprising 19 home runs). A move to the National League champion Phillies took place after the season.

He was inserted in the lineup, beginning in May, 1951, but was sidelined by a severe thumb injury that relegated him to pinch-hitting and pinch-running through most of August. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds as part of a seven-player swap after the season. He received just four at-bats through the first 34 games of the 1952 season. 

Infrequent use caused his average to dip below .200 and he finished batting .170 in 100 at-bats. Resigned to strictly a utility role, he was one of the first players to sign. In March, 1953, six weeks removed from becoming a 10-year pension eligible player, he was released to the Baltimore Orioles.

Eddie returned to his Weymouth, Massachusetts home, vowing once again to quit. On the verge of landing a lucrative position with a sales promotion firm, he was elated when he received word that the deal to Baltimore was canceled and he was sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

In February, he signed a contract to play with the 1954 Pirates. He made 73 appearances with the Bucs during the 1954 season; more than half (41) as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner. In October, he was given his release and returned home.

In 1955 Eddie entered a real estate venture called Twin Shores Realty Company, alongside some prominent Red Sox alumni, Johnny Pesky,  Dom DiMaggio, Walt Dropo, and Sam Mele

In 1958 Eddie was hired as Boston College baseball coach. In 1960 and 1961 he led the Eagles to the College World Series, a feat he repeated in 1967. Four additional NCAA District I playoff appearances were added to a 30-season résumé ending in 1988. He compiled 359 wins, a school record.

In 1968 he was appointed to the board of directors of The Bosox Club. Two years later he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1994. he was ushered into the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. In May, 1997 the B.C. baseball field was rededicated as "Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at John Shea Field". In 2000 the Edward C. Pellagrini Scholarship Fund was established to benefit Boston College athletics. 

Eddie Pellagrini died on October 11, 2006, in Weymouth, Mass, at age 88.