BOSTON—A scout? That was never the plan. Chuck Koney was going to the big leagues. He was 17 when the Red Sox signed him out of Bowen High School on Chicago’s far South Side, and he had steadily made his way up the Sox system. A second baseman, Koney was still in Triple-A with Louisville, where he’d become a fan favorite, but only because his path to Boston was temporarily blocked by Bobby Doerr, a future Hall of Famer. But no one doubted his ultimate destination.
They’d played a series in Milwaukee, and had a couple of off-days before their scheduled return to Louisville, so Chuck Koney headed home to Chicago.