On the day after Christmas 1967 a front page headline rocked Sox Nation from the lakes of Vermont to the beaches of Cape Cod. It read: "Sox' Lonborg Hurt Skiing."
The story by Globe legend Will McDonough came right to the point: "Red Sox pitching ace Jim Lonborg has suffered a serious knee injury and may need an operation." The article went on to say that the accident happened near Lake Tahoe the previous Saturday. "Jim was trying to execute a snow plow," said Dr Eugene Solkovieff, who treated Lonny at St Mary's Hospital in San Francisco and placed his knee in a cast. For us non-skiers, in a snow plow the person puts the points of his skis together in an effort to slow down. If the skis split apart, however, injuries can occur.
It was typical Sox luck. When Lonborg had signed his contract weeks before, Jim had been asked if skiing, the hurler's winter passion, would be allowed or not. He replied that nothing in the contract prohibited the sport and emphasized that it was his way of staying in shape.
When Lonny returned to Boston, orthopedic surgeons at Sancta Maria Hospital operated immediately. The results were not positive. Not only was there a tear in his medial collateral ligament (MCL) , but there was also damage to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The operation was a serious one, lasting over two hours. "We were practically in a state of shock when it ended," one doctor admitted.
Lonborg's injury, which to all intents and purposes ended his career as a top-flight hurler, was unnecessary. Both the Sox and Jim himself have to share the blame. For some unknown reason, Lonny did not immediately seek medical help. He skied another mile, rode about 75 more miles and spent the night before seeing a doctor. "He must have kept his leg straight out, using it as a human cast," said surgeon Dr John McGillicuddy. Did that worsen his condition? Possibly. But even more blame has to go to front office men Dick O'Connell and Haywood Sullivan.
Money was only a small part of the equation; Lonborg's $50,000 salary was a paltry one compared to today's millions. But O'Connell and Sullivan should have realized how important Gentleman Jim was to the success of the Sox. His 22 wins in 67 were almost a quarter of the team's 92 victories. Other stats: 15 complete games, 2 shutouts, 273 innings pitched, and a league-leading 246 strikeouts. No other Boston hurler had as many as 13 wins. Without Lonborg, the Sox would have probably contended, but not won.
As in the case of fellow Townie Tony Conigliaro, newspaper stories tried to play down the damage. There was speculation that Lonborg could be ready for opening day, but other stories stated that he would not even be out of a cast until early February.
Ever the optimist, Lonborg tried to justify his decision to go to Tahoe. He remarked that all athletes take risks and that Bill White of the Phillies had been injured the previous winter playing handball. But handball is not skiing. It is an exhilirating but sometimes deadly sport- many of us recall the fate of the late Sonny Bono.
With a healthy Lonborg and Tony C, one wonders what the Sox would have been like in the late 60's and early 70's. A conservative estimate would be two more pennants and possibly a World Series win. We will never know. The team ended 67 as they had begun it- full of question marks.
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