Carlton Fisk

Carlton Ernest Fisk grew up in Charlestown, New Hampshire, a town of fewer than 1,000 people, and played fewer than 100 organized baseball games before turning professional. He caught 2,226 major league games across 24 seasons, hit 376 home runs, won the unanimous AL Rookie of the Year in 1972, and in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series waved a fly ball fair with both arms while bouncing down the first base line, producing the most replayed image in the sport's history. He played 11 seasons in Boston and 13 in Chicago, refused to slow down until the White Sox released him at 45, and then hired a plane to tow a banner reading "IT ALL STARTED HERE. THANKS BOSTON FANS. PUDGE FISK" over Fenway Park. The BBWAA elected him to the Hall of Fame in 2000 with 79.6% of the vote.

Charlestown

Fisk was born on December 26, 1947, in Bellows Falls, Vermont, and raised across the Connecticut River in Charlestown, New Hampshire. He insisted his Hall of Fame plaque reflect the New Hampshire upbringing rather than the Vermont birthplace. His father Cecil engineered tools and dies, ran a farm, and played tennis and basketball. His mother Leona bowled championship candlepin. The Fisks were an athletic family across generations. Brother Calvin captained the soccer team at the University of New Hampshire, was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, then drafted by the United States Army and served in Vietnam. By the time he returned at 25, Baltimore considered him too old. Brother Conrad signed with the Montreal Expos as a pitcher, threw without a loss in his senior year of high school, and then blew out his arm.

Fisk attended the University of New Hampshire on a basketball scholarship and led the freshman team to an undefeated season. The Boston Red Sox drafted him in the first round in January 1967. He joined the Army Reserve, completed basic training at Fort Dix, and served monthly weekend drills with the 393rd Service and Supply Battalion in Chester, Vermont, until 1971. His first at bat for the Bellows Falls American Legion team produced a home run at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown.

Boston

Fisk reached the Red Sox in September 1969, went hitless in his debut, and spent two more years in the minors before establishing himself in 1972. He caught 131 games, batted .293 with 22 home runs, won the Gold Glove, and became the first player to win the AL Rookie of the Year unanimously. He finished fourth in MVP voting. Manager Eddie Kasko said of him, "If you play against him you hate him, but if you play with him and want to win, you love him. He plays as if he were on the Crusades."

Fisk tore the ligaments in his left knee on June 28, 1974, in a collision with Leron Lee at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Doctors told him to expect chronic problems. The injury transformed his approach to conditioning. Before the collision, he treated the offseason as recreation. Afterward, every workout pointed toward catching another game.

He broke his forearm on a spring training pitch in 1975, missed three months, returned to a standing ovation on June 23, and batted .331 the rest of the season. The Red Sox won the American League pennant. On August 1, 1973, a collision at the plate with Thurman Munson and Gene Michael sparked a brawl that required Yankees manager Ralph Houk to crawl under the pile and pry Fisk's arm off Michael's throat. Houk said afterward, "I had no idea Fisk was that strong, but he was scary."

Game 6

The 1975 World Series between the Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds went to Game 6 on October 21 at Fenway Park. Boston trailed three games to two. Fred Lynn hit a three run homer in the first inning and the Red Sox led 3-0 before the Reds rallied to take a 6-3 lead. Bernie Carbo tied the game with a three run pinch hit homer in the eighth. The Red Sox loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth and failed to score.

Fisk led off the bottom of the 12th inning against Pat Darcy, the eighth Reds pitcher of the game. On a 1-0 sinker, Fisk lofted the ball high and deep down the left field line. He bounced along the first base line waving both arms to the right, using body english to will the ball fair. It struck the foul pole. The Fenway Park organist launched into Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. In Charlestown, a man rang the bell at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. NBC cameraman Lou Gerard, stationed inside the left field scoreboard, was supposed to follow the flight of the ball. A rat near his position distracted him, and he kept the camera locked on Fisk instead. The resulting footage of Fisk waving the ball fair changed sports television permanently. Reaction shots became standard practice in broadcasts from that night forward.

The Reds won Game 7 the following night. Fisk hit two home runs in the Series overall. "There is a right way and a wrong way to play this game," he said more than once across his career. Game 6 was the right way.

Chicago

Boston's general manager Haywood Sullivan mailed Fisk a new contract two days after the contractual deadline in 1981, making Fisk a free agent by clerical error. The White Sox offered $3.5 million, and Fisk signed. He chose number 72 because he won Rookie of the Year in 1972, his son Casey was born that year, and 72 is the reverse of his Red Sox number 27.

Fisk caught more games in Chicago than he caught in Boston. He hit 37 home runs in 1985, a career high at 37 years old. On May 16, 1984, he hit for the cycle against the Kansas City Royals. On May 9, 1984, he caught all 25 innings of a game against the Milwaukee Brewers and threw out four base stealers. On August 17, 1990, at 42, he hit his 328th home run as a catcher, breaking Johnny Bench's record. His son Casey was in the stands. On May 22, 1990, he dressed down Yankees rookie Deion Sanders for failing to run out an infield popup. "Run the ball out," Fisk told him. He believed the game deserved effort whether the play looked routine or not.

Fisk caught his 2,226th game on June 22, 1993, passing Bob Boone for the record. The White Sox released him six days later. Ivan Rodriguez eventually broke the record in 2009.

The Fisk Pole

Fisk finished with 2,356 hits, 376 home runs, 1,330 RBI, and a .269 batting average across 2,499 games. He caught 11 All-Star Games, won one Gold Glove, earned three Silver Sluggers, and spent the equivalent of five and a half seasons on the disabled list. Both the Red Sox and the White Sox retired his number. Boston retired 27 in 2000, and Chicago retired 72 in 1997. On June 13, 2005, Boston officially named the left field foul pole at Fenway Park the "Fisk Pole." The White Sox unveiled a bronze statue of the waving pose outside their ballpark.

Fisk chose a Red Sox cap for his Hall of Fame plaque despite spending more years in Chicago. His relationship with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf soured after the team released him and then asked him to leave the clubhouse when he returned to wish his former teammates well during the 1993 playoffs. He wore the cap from the town that never asked him to leave.

When asked about his proudest accomplishment, Fisk said, "Probably to have a wife and kids who still call me 'Dad' and love me and kiss me when I'm going and kiss me when I'm coming."