Bill Monbouquette has died

LoweTek

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I just heard this news moments before Corsi's post. I knew Monbo and his wife fairly well. They are both wonderfully warm and generous people. We have lost one of the true nice guys from the Red Sox alumni ranks. It's a very sad day.

I will never forget his kindnesses.

Rest in Peace, my friend. Your life touched many souls.

LT
 

jacklamabe65

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Jack Lamabe just loved the guy. Was lucky enough to see him pitch in person on a number of occasions including my first game ever at Fenway in September, 1963. They don't make men like Monbo anymore.
 

bankshot1

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Feb 12, 2003
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Damn
 
Bill was one of the few good Sox pitchers when I was a kid.
 
I used to work with his brother Fred, a really nice guy, everyone called him "Bill's brother"
 
RIP Bill
 

Homar

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Aug 9, 2010
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Loved him and Yaz and Rico as a kid.  All those exotic sounding last names helped make me a Sox fan growing up in Colorado, 800 miles from the nearest big league team.  Learned about his human kindness later.  Good man.  Will be missed.
 

fineyoungarm

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Monbo Jumbo said:

 
RIP 
 
The ace of the staff back in the day.  Starting pitcher on my first trip to Fenway. 
 
Same here, Monbo.  My (French Canadian) grandfather used to try and make his games, because Monbo was, well, French Canadian. (To be more precise, they were Franco American, but that sounds too much like cheap, canned spaghetti.)
 
In addition to the no hitter, he had a 17 K game and, best of all, threatened to punch out Pinky Higgins and a couple of other racists on the Red Sox of a certain era for using the N word regarding Pumpsie Green.
 
He was my first Red Sox "hero". (The Higgins et al story came out many years later.)
 

amh03

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Oh, damn...he was such a sweet man!
 
I ran into Mr. Monbouquette and his wife at a pizza shop in West Medford a few years ago.  I went in to pick up my pizza and glanced over and instantly recognized him.  I double checked with the owner who confirmed that's who it was and added - "he'd probably love it if you said hi".  So, of course I did...the man couldn't have been more gracious.  Genuinely, a very kind man!
 
RIP, Mr. Monbouquette!
 

sheamonu

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Nov 11, 2004
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The Remains song "Monbo Time" will be one of the pop culture artifacts associated with someone who seems to have been a genuinely nice man. The one that I'll remember is found in George Plimpton's book "Shadow Box". He took Marianne Moore, the poet, to the old toilet in the Bronx and Monbo was pitching. She noticed that he adjusted his cup after each pitch but decided against telling him since it might destroy his concentration. She then went on to repeat his name "Monbouquette - my little bouquet - absolutely correct" she said.

Ar dheis de go raibh.
 
Dec 10, 2012
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One of the few sweet parts of post ASB 2012 was watching him throw out the first pitch on the 50th anniversary of his no-no. What a great spirit what a great smile.
 

santadevil

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fineyoungarm said:
 
Same here, Monbo.  My (French Canadian) grandfather used to try and make his games, because Monbo was, well, French Canadian. (To be more precise, they were Franco American, but that sounds too much like cheap, canned spaghetti.)
 
In addition to the no hitter, he had a 17 K game and, best of all, threatened to punch out Pinky Higgins and a couple of other racists on the Red Sox of a certain era for using the N word regarding Pumpsie Green.
 
He was my first Red Sox "hero". (The Higgins et al story came out many years later.)
 
I went and looked that up.
Good Story at BP here (that's Part 2). Here's Part 1.
 
Here's the relevant portion from Part 2:
 
DL: You won 20 games in 1963, but then had a bit of a run in with Mike “Pinky” Higgins, the team’s general manager.
BM: I went 20-10, and they offered me a $3,000 raise. I thought that was an insult, so when I got that contract, I just ripped it up and threw it in the fireplace. I was at the Boston Writers’ Dinner, in the lounge, and Higgins says to me, “You don’t even have the decency to send the contract back.” I said, “You don’t deserve any decency.” He walked up right up to me, into my face. He has this big, tall glass of bourbon — straight bourbon — and boom! I hit him right over his eye. He says to me, “I’ll see you in my office tomorrow morning, at nine o’clock.”
So, over I go. I walked into his office and he said, “Sign the contract!” There’s an envelope, I open it up, and it’s the same thing. I ripped it up, went over the desk, and knocked him right out of his chair. There we were, rolling on the floor. Mike Higgins and I never got along.
When I first got called up, in 1958, I was 21 years old and the Red Sox also called up a guy named Pumpsie Green, a teammate of mine in Minneapolis and one of the nicest guys I’ve ever known. Higgins was the manager [in Boston] and Del Baker was his first base coach. They didn’t like blacks. I overheard them say one day: “That black S.O.B. — blah, blah, blah.” That wasn’t the word they used; they used the N word. I had grown up in a mixed neighborhood — they were in our house and we were in their house — so I didn’t like that.
I went to up to Del Baker and told him, “If I hear you say that again, I’m going to knock you right on your ass, and I’m not hesitating, pal. There is no need for that.” Higgins came over to ask what was going on, and I told him the same thing.
 
RIP. You were a good man.
 

fineyoungarm

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santadevil said:
 
I went and looked that up.
Good Story at BP here (that's Part 2). Here's Part 1.
 
Here's the relevant portion from Part 2:
 
DL: You won 20 games in 1963, but then had a bit of a run in with Mike “Pinky” Higgins, the team’s general manager.
BM: I went 20-10, and they offered me a $3,000 raise. I thought that was an insult, so when I got that contract, I just ripped it up and threw it in the fireplace. I was at the Boston Writers’ Dinner, in the lounge, and Higgins says to me, “You don’t even have the decency to send the contract back.” I said, “You don’t deserve any decency.” He walked up right up to me, into my face. He has this big, tall glass of bourbon — straight bourbon — and boom! I hit him right over his eye. He says to me, “I’ll see you in my office tomorrow morning, at nine o’clock.”
So, over I go. I walked into his office and he said, “Sign the contract!” There’s an envelope, I open it up, and it’s the same thing. I ripped it up, went over the desk, and knocked him right out of his chair. There we were, rolling on the floor. Mike Higgins and I never got along.
When I first got called up, in 1958, I was 21 years old and the Red Sox also called up a guy named Pumpsie Green, a teammate of mine in Minneapolis and one of the nicest guys I’ve ever known. Higgins was the manager [in Boston] and Del Baker was his first base coach. They didn’t like blacks. I overheard them say one day: “That black S.O.B. — blah, blah, blah.” That wasn’t the word they used; they used the N word. I had grown up in a mixed neighborhood — they were in our house and we were in their house — so I didn’t like that.
I went to up to Del Baker and told him, “If I hear you say that again, I’m going to knock you right on your ass, and I’m not hesitating, pal. There is no need for that.” Higgins came over to ask what was going on, and I told him the same thing.
 
RIP. You were a good man.
 

Rough Carrigan

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Met him at a SABR event at the Baseball Tavern.  He couldn't have been nicer and his memory was very sharp.  He told of being picked up by the Tigers in '67 and how his lasting memory of Denny McLain was that the guy drank a bizarre amount of soda.  Sure enough, an SI article about fallen star turned fat crook Denny McLain noted parenthetically that the guy drank something like a case of cokes or pepsis each day.  Monbo also had some interesting recollections of Herman Franks and the '68 Giants.  Very nice guy and anyone who knocked Higgins on his ass deserves a toast.
 

RoDaddy

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Mombo was born 52 years too early as his 20-10 record and games like the 17 punch-out one would've made him the ace we're looking for right now.
 
Some good arms in the rotation back then despite being a pretty bad team - Mombo winning 20 that year, Earl Wilson, Morehead and Lamabe, all backed up by the great Dick Radatz 
 

LoweTek

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He was a tough as nails SOB too; a pretty accomplished hockey player who loved to talk the game (hockey) and tell stories about his playing days.

His family's request:

In lieu of flowers please honor Monbo by making a contribution to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/ Jimmy Fund, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or to the Crotched Mountain Foundation, c/o Development Office, 1 Verney Dr. Greenfield, NH 03047.
 

Monbonthbump

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Nov 6, 2005
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Condolences to family. Obviously he was one of my personal favorites. Monbouquette and Berberet, a memorable Red Sox battery for at least one game in my youth.
 

Caspir

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Jul 16, 2005
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amh03 said:
Oh, damn...he was such a sweet man!
 
I ran into Mr. Monbouquette and his wife at a pizza shop in West Medford a few years ago.  I went in to pick up my pizza and glanced over and instantly recognized him.  I double checked with the owner who confirmed that's who it was and added - "he'd probably love it if you said hi".  So, of course I did...the man couldn't have been more gracious.  Genuinely, a very kind man!
 
RIP, Mr. Monbouquette!
Amici's?
 

Pumpsie

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fineyoungarm said:
 
Same here, Monbo.  My (French Canadian) grandfather used to try and make his games, because Monbo was, well, French Canadian. (To be more precise, they were Franco American, but that sounds too much like cheap, canned spaghetti.)
 
In addition to the no hitter, he had a 17 K game and, best of all, threatened to punch out Pinky Higgins and a couple of other racists on the Red Sox of a certain era for using the N word regarding Pumpsie Green.
 
He was my first Red Sox "hero". (The Higgins et al story came out many years later.)
Yeah, this was also my era growing up and I remember Monbo well.  My Dad's fave because, well, he was French-Canadian.  Tough competitor on lousy teams.  My Dad would often say, after a Don Buddin error, or a team baserunning miscue, would lose Monbo another game, "guy just doesn't have any luck." Glad to see that he was such a good person and that he punched Pinky Higgins a few times, including while defending Pumpsie Green against that rat bastard's racist slurs.  R.I.P., Monbo.