Gone but not forgotten, "Golden Greek" Harry Agganis is one of the greatest high school athletes of all-time

The e-mail arrived in my inbox November 22, the Friday before Thanksgiving. It came from Mike Agganis, who had a difference of opinion with a story I had written. It wasn't uncommon to have readers write to me about a story I had recently posted on MaxPreps, but the story Agganis had in mind was from 2019, nearly five years prior. It was a list highlighting the top 50 greatest high school athletes of all-time.

The story focused on the greatest athletes based more on their high school exploits and less on their time in college and the pros, although their later careers helped provide context for their prep years. The list put Jim Brown, the great Cleveland Browns running back, at No. 1, followed by Brooklyn Dodgers legend Jackie Robinson, NBA Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain and two-sport stars Bo Jackson and Joe Mauer.

Agganis contended that his uncle, Harry Agganis, should be on the list. He said that if the exercise was truly focused on high school accomplishments, his uncle, who played football, basketball and baseball at Lynn Classical (Lynn, Mass.), should be on the list, perhaps even No. 1.

And here's the thing about Mike Agganis's argument: He's not wrong.

The "Golden Greek" Harry Agganis was the seventh and youngest child of Greek immigrant parents. Born in the Boston suburb of Lynn, Agganis grew up poor but rose to fame as a multi-sport athlete, mainly football and baseball in the late 1940s.

MaxPreps recently announced its Male and Female National Athletes of the Year and will recognize the greatest athletes of the first 25 years of the 21st century next month. Many of those selections will likely have resumes similar to that of Agganis.

Much to our disappointment, though, we had overlooked Agganis when choosing our top 50 list of greatest all-time athletes. When it comes to all-time oversights, this might rank right up there with "Shakespeare in Love" winning the Oscar over "Saving Private Ryan." If you have never heard of Agganis, there is a good reason for that. In a tragic turn of events akin to the early deaths of sports stars like Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis or Loyola-Marymount basketball All-American Hank Gathers, Agganis passed away 70 years ago this month from a pulmonary embolism after a bout with pneumonia. In his second year as first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, he was just 26 years old.

Agganis' death ended a sports career that thrilled and amazed Boston-area sports fans on the gridiron and the diamond throughout the late 1940s and into the early 1950s.

Agganis first registered national recognition as a sophomore on the Lynn Classical baseball team. He batted .450 as a first baseman and earned a spot in the Esquire All-American Baseball Game played at Wrigley Field in the summer of 1946.

As a junior quarterback the following fall, Agganis led Lynn Classical to a 12-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in Massachusetts. While the Bay State may not be a national football powerhouse in the 21st century, that was not the case in the 1940s and 50s as multiple teams in the Boston area were recognized among the top teams in the nation during that period. Lynn Classical was one of them.

Among the wins that season included a 21-14 win over Granby (Va.), a team that had won 32 games in a row. The two teams played in the first Shriner's Classic on Christmas Day at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

Agganis earned All-Scholastic by the Boston Globe, essentially the all-state team for Massachusetts, and earned captain status for the all-star team.

After an all-star basketball season, Agganis earned All-Scholastic honors again in baseball for a Rams team that finished 16-1. MaxPreps has retroactively selected the 1947 Lynn Classical team as the best team in the country for that season thanks mainly to a stellar infield anchored by Agganis.

For the second summer in a row, Agganis played in an All-American baseball game, this time the Hearst Sandlot Classic played at the Polo Grounds in New York City.

The national honors continued to pour in for Agganis his senior year in 1947-48. Mose Simms, an entrepreneur out of Oklahoma, selected the first high school All-American football team that year as a prelude to an all-star game he planned to hold later that summer. Simms made Agganis his top choice for his first All-American team.

"Probably the greatest of them all is Harry Agganis," Simms told The Sporting News in February of 1948. "Boy, what a record that guy has. We've made him the captain of our first team."

Agganis completed 122 of 195 passes for 1,577 yards and 20 touchdowns, all huge numbers gained during a time when most teams ran the ball and eschewed the pass. He led Lynn Classical to an 11-1 record and a 38-6 win over Nashua (N.H.) in the Shoe Bowl.

The Rams were set to play in the Shrine Classic again that year, but the Orange Bowl officials determined that Lynn Classical could only play if it left its two Black players at home. Coach Bill Joyce and captain Agganis reportedly agreed that the Rams would only play if all players were invited. Thus, Lynn Classical played Nashua instead.

The day after the Nashua game, Agganis played in an all-star football game and threw for 159 yards and two touchdowns in a 19-6 win.

Many years later in 1959, a real estate agent in Winona, Minn., named Art Johlfs decided to rank the best high school football teams in the nation. As part of his project, he also decided to retroactively select the best team for every season going all the way back to the 1920s. Johlfs' selection for 1947 was Lynn Classical. The national high school football rankings selected by various media outlets today got their start from the work Johlfs began 65 years ago.

When it came time to select the All-Scholastics team in Boston in 1947, the Globe asked coaches across the state to pick the greatest Boston-area player of all time. Out of the 100 ballots collected, 99 had Agganis as the top pick.

The rest of the school year saw Agganis start on the basketball team and earn All-Scholastic honors in baseball for the third season in a row, batting .379. In naming Agganis to the honor squad, the Globe mentioned Agganis' high degree of sportsmanship.

"His name was forever in the papers, he received far more praise than any other schoolboy hereabouts," wrote Ernest Dalton of the Globe. "Yet through it all he has kept a level head, stood up under the pressure far better than most adults might have. He will enter Boston University in September with the same size hat band he possessed as a sophomore."

Agganis chose to play football at Boston University out of the 65 colleges that reportedly wanted the lefthanded passer. He also chose football over baseball, despite nearly every Major League team, including the hometown Boston Red Sox, wanting his services.

After high school, Agganis continued to shine. He played football at Boston University in 1949, 1951 and 1952, playing for the Marines during the 1950 season. While with the Marines at Camp Lejeune, Agganis led the football team to an 8-1-1 record. The football field at Camp Lejeune is now named Harry Agganis Field.

At Boston University, Agganis had a stellar career and became the school's first All-American, ironically as a defensive back when he intercepted 15 passes in 1951 to set an NCAA record (The NCAA does not officially recognize Agganis' total as a record, but it is listed in the school's record book).

Following the 1951 season, the Cleveland Browns drafted Agganis, who was just a junior at the time, with the 12th pick of the first round of the NFL draft. Coach Paul Brown reportedly was looking to Agganis as the heir apparent for quarterback Otto Graham, who had just earned MVP honors during the season while leading the Browns to an 11-1 record and a runner-up finish to the Los Angeles Rams.

Agganis chose to turn down the Browns and return for his senior season at Boston University. Injuries limited his contributions, but he was selected to play in the Senior Bowl, coincidentally for coach Paul Brown (the game was coached by NFL coaches), where he was named the game's MVP.

Brown again made an offer to sign Agganis following his performance in the Senior Bowl, but Agganis had already signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox the previous November.

"I've already proven myself in football. I don't know if I can make the grade in major league baseball," Agganis said. "Although I have confidence I can."

Sent to Louisville, the Red Sox's AAA affiliate, Agganis batted .281 with 38 doubles, nine triples, 23 home runs and 108 RBI in his lone season in the minor leagues. By the 1954 season, Agganis was at the Major League level, playing 132 games. In 1955, Agganis was batting .313 with 10 doubles among his 26 hits.

The first week of May 1955, Agganis had a big day against the Detroit Tigers, going 5-for-10 in a doubleheader. The next day, Agganis went into the hospital with side pain. Diagnosed with pneumonia, Agganis battled the illness for over a month. He made a second trip to the hospital June 6

The huge headline atop the Boston Globe on June 27 simply read "Harry Agganis Dead". The homegrown two-sport standout who had thrilled fans at Lynn Classical, Boston University and with the Red Sox, had passed away from a blood clot in his lungs.

This week, the Boston Red Sox and the Alpha Omega Council will host Greek Heritage Night at Fenway Park while honoring Agganis and his induction into the U.S. Marines Hall of Fame. He becomes just the second Red Sox player, joining Hall of Famer Ted Williams, to be inducted into the Marines Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame induction is the third for Agganis, who is also enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame and the Boston University Hall of Fame, and adds to the many honors attached to his name. The Agganis Foundation awards college scholarships to Boston area student-athletes, which it has done since his death in 1955. The trophy given to Massachussets Interscholastic Athletic Association football state champions is named in his honor. The multi-purpose arena at Boston University, Agganis Arena, also bears his name.

Perhaps the only honor Agganis hasn't received is greatest high school athlete of all-time. With a mythical national championship in football and baseball, high school All-American honors in two sports (MVP in football), five-time all-state selection in two sports, college All-American honors, Senior Bowl MVP honors, NFL first-round draft selection and a Major League baseball career, it's hard to argue with his credentials.

It's also the same argument Mike Agganis made when he e-mailed me back in November. He has certainly made a believer out of me.