Carl Yastrzemski squares off against Reggie Lewis in the first round of Boston’s Biggest Sports Legend tournament.
Carl Yastrzemski played 23 seasons in the majors and all of them with the Red Sox. Patrolling left field for the majority of his career, Yaz was an 18-time All-Star and winner of seven Gold Gloves. He is a member of the exclusive 3,000 hit club with 3,419 and was the first AL player to reach 3,000 hits and also 400 home runs in a career. The Red Sox’ all-time leader in career RBIs, runs, hits, singles, doubles, total bases and games played, Yastrzemski trails only Ted Williams on the franchise’s all-time home run list. He led the Red Sox to the AL pennant for the first time in two decades in 1967 and received the 1967 AL MVP award for his outstanding season. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, Yaz is the last player to win the Triple Crown in the majors.
Though Reggie Lewis’ basketball career ended in tragedy, it began with hope and notoriety. Long before the Baltimore native took Boston by storm, he played on the legendary Dunbar High School team that went 50-0 and also featured NBA stars Reggie Williams, David Wingate and Mugsy Bogues. Lewis left Maryland for Northeastern University and finished his collegiate career with an average of 22.2 points per game and a 49.7 shooting percentage from the field, making him the Huskies’ all-time leading scorer. The Celtics selected him with the 22nd pick in the 1987 draft. During the 1991-92 season, he averaged a career-high 20.8 points per game and 28.0 points per game in the 1992 playoffs. The next year, he was named captain of the Green, replacing Larry Bird. Tragically, in Lewis’ first playoff game as team captain, he collapsed on the floor in what would be his final NBA game. Two months later, on July 27, he died at age 27 of cardiac arrest during an offseason practice. The Celtics retired his No. 35 in memoriam.
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