Tedy Bruschi squares off against Cy Young in the second round of the Boston’s Biggest Sports Legend tournament.
One of the most overused clichés in sports is that a player has the heart of a lion. In Tedy Bruschi’s case, it’s simply the truth. The only Patriot to play in five Super Bowls, Bruschi has hoisted the Lombardi Trophy three times. When he suffered a stroke in 2005, everyone thought his career was over. Everyone but Bruschi, of course. Just eight months later, Bruschi was back on the field to anchor the Patriots’ defense. He retired prior to the 2009 campaign after 13 seasons (all with the Patriots) with more than 1,000 tackles, 30 1/2 sacks, 12 interceptions and four touchdowns. Even with the stroke, Bruschi played in 189 games out of a possible 208. Whether Bruschi’s bust will rest in Canton is a question mark, but the linebacker will have a permanent home in the hearts and minds of New England football fans.
When your name is synonymous with excellence, chances are you were a pretty impressive performer. “Impressive” just begins to describe Cy Young, the pitcher who defined what it meant to be an ace before the term existed. Young collected 286 wins in the National League prior to joining the Boston Americans in 1901. There, he went 192-112 over eight seasons, pitching more than 2,700 innings and striking out 1,341 batters. Young helped lead the Americans to the first World Series title in baseball history, going 2-1 with a 1.85 ERA against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1903. His 511 wins are nearly 100 more than anyone else, and he’s thrown 1,300 more innings than anybody. His 749 complete games also are the most ever, and shortly after his death in 1955, the Cy Young Award was created to honor baseball’s best pitcher every year.
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