Bill Monbouquette was a local boy who grew up in West Medford, Mass. with a bulldog demeanor as a ballplayer.

He pitched in high school for the Medford Mustangs. He first made the Boston newspapers in the spring of 1953, when he threw a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts in a game against Quincy.

In August 1954, he represented New England as a starting pitcher in the annual Hearst Sandlot Classic at the Polo Grounds in New York on his 18th birthday. He pitched the first two innings and struck out five of the six batters he faced and was the unanimous choice as the MVP. In his senior year, he pitched in 17 of Medford's 23 games, was 10-4, and played center field when he wasn't pitching, batting .375.

In 1955, Monbouquette signed with the Red Sox and was assigned to the Appalachian League (Class D) to pitch for the Bluefield, West Virginia Blue-Grays. His first full season was for Corning in 1956, also in Class D, where he went 15-7 with a 2.45 ERA.

The Greensboro Patriots (Class B) were his team in 1957 and also had the opportunity to pitch for Class-A Albany. In 1958 he pitched in Triple-A for the Minneapolis Millers and was brought up to Boston in mid-July at 21 years old.

Monbo's first two decisions were losses, but on August 5th at Fenway, he got his first win, a complete-game 7-1 decision over Washington. By the end of the season, he had pitched in ten games and had a 3.31 ERA, second-best on the team. Red Sox pitching coach Boo Ferriss was pleased with his work, even with the pressure of pitching in his hometown.

Near the end of the season, he entered the United States Army and served in the 182nd Medical Unit at Camp Curtis in Massachusetts from September into July 1959, though he was able to pitch for the Red Sox throughout.

In 1960, Monbo led the team with 14 wins, four more than anyone else. His standout game was a 4-0 one-hitter on May 7th. He also pitched in the All-Star Game and was also named to the AL squad in 1962 and 1963.

He won 14 games again in 1961 with his best game a 17-strikeout win over Washington. It set a Red Sox team record at the time, topping 15 strike-outs by Smoky Joe Wood back in 1911.

The Sox finished dead last in 1962, but Monbo won 15 and threw a no-hitter against the White Sox in Chicago. In a tight 1-0 game, the Red Sox scored their one run in the eighth inning. When the team arrived home, the city sent fire engines, lights flashing, to meet the plane at Logan Airport and gave him a parade ride home.

Monbo's best year in some regards was 1963. The Sox finished in seventh place, and yet his record was 20-10, fourth in the league in wins.

The 1964 Sox finished in eighth. Bill allowed 258 base hits, leading the league. He gave up 34 homers and one of the homers cost him a tough 2-1 loss to the Twins. It was a complete game one-hitter, but the one hit was a two-run homer.

In 1965, his 18 losses were the most in the league and in October, the Red Sox traded him to the Detroit Tigers, for George Smith, and George Thomas.