This auction is for the following Gene Conley (Deceased) played both MLB baseball for the Boston Red Sox and in the NBA for Boston Celtics winning 3xNBA Championships autographed 8x10 photograph:

BIO: Gene Conley (Deceased) played both in the NBA for Boston Celtics winning 3xNBA Championships and the MLB baseball for the Boston Red Sox where he was 1957 World Series Champ and MLB 4xAll-Star (1954, 1955, 1959, 1959). an American professional baseball and basketball player. He pitched for four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1952 to 1963. Conley also played as a forward in the 1952–53 season and from 1958 to 1964 for two teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is one of only two people (the other being Otto Graham) to win championships in two of the four major American sports: one with the Milwaukee Braves in the 1957 World Series and three with the Boston Celtics from 1959 to 1961.

Conley's debut with the Boston Braves was April 17, 1952, versus the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Braves' third game of the regular season. Conley started and faced a lineup that included four future members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider. In four innings, Conley gave up four runs on 11 hits and two walks, taking the loss as the Dodgers prevailed 8–2.[15] Conley lost his next three starts through early May, ending the season with an 0–4 record and a 7.82 ERA. Conley returned to the majors in 1954 with the Milwaukee Braves, going 14–9 in 28 games with a 2.82 ERA, making the National League All-Star team and finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting[16] behind Wally Moon and Ernie Banks, with Conley's Braves teammate Hank Aaron finishing fourth. The following season in 1955, Conley was named to the All-Star game again, completing the season with an 11–7 record with a 4.16 ERA. Conley pitched for the Braves through 1959, compiling a record of 42–43 including an 0–6 record in his final season in Milwaukee. In his lone postseason appearance in the 1957 World Series on Oct. 5 against the New York Yankees, Conley pitched 1+2⁄3 innings in relief of starter Bob Buhl, surrendering a two-run home run to Mickey Mantle as the Yankees went on to win the game 12–3; but with the Braves winning the series in seven games. In the spring of 1959 with the Celtics in a playoff push, Conley delayed reporting to spring training with the Milwaukee Braves, prompting the team to trade Conley on March 31 to the Phillies. Conley made his third and final All-Star game with the Phillies, going 12–7 with a 3.00 ERA, with his season ending on August 19 after he was hit by a pitch while batting, breaking his hand. After new contract talks bogged down on December 15, 1960, the Phillies traded Conley to the Red Sox; when he debuted with the Red Sox on April 28 against the Washington Senators, Conley became the first athlete to play for three professional teams in the same city along with the Celtics and his short stint with the Boston Braves in 1952. In three seasons with the Red Sox through 1963, Conley had a 29–32 record, with the win total including the final start of his major league career on Sept. 21, 1963, going six innings against the Minnesota Twins in an 11–2 victory.In 11 seasons pitching for the Braves, Phillies and Red Sox, Conley posted a 91–96 record with 888 strikeouts and a 3.82 ERA in 1588.2 innings.

Conley was an above average hitter for a pitcher, posting a .192 batting average (105-for-548) with 33 runs, 19 doubles, 5 home runs and 45 RBI in 276 games. Defensively, he was below average, recording a .944 fielding percentage, which was 14 points lower than the league average at his position.Conley was the winning pitcher in the 1955 All-Star Game and was selected for the 1954 and 1959 games. Conley was the last living player to have played for both the Boston Red Sox and Boston Braves.In the middle of his first season of professional baseball, Conley agreed to sign with the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the struggling American Basketball League (1925–55). On April 26, 1952, the Boston Celtics selected Conley with the 90th pick of the NBA draft. Playing 39 games as a rookie in the 1952–53 NBA season, Conley averaged about 12 minutes a game for a Celtics team that went 45–26 in the regular season under Red Auerbach. Conley did not play in the Celtics' two playoff series that season, with the team losing 3–1 in the Eastern Division finals to the New York Knicks. After a five-year hiatus to focus on baseball with the Milwaukee Braves, Conley returned to the Celtics for the 1958–59 season, again seeing limited usage at about 13 minutes a game for a team that swept the Minneapolis Lakers 4–0 in the NBA finals. Conley averaged 4.2 points and 5.4 rebounds during the regular season and 4.9 points and 6.8 boards in the playoffs. Conley would have his best year as a Celtic the following season, averaging nearly 19 minutes a game during the regular season to score 6.7 points while hauling in 8.3 rebounds on average over 71 games in the regular season. The Celtics repeated as NBA champions with a 4–3 finals win over the St. Louis Hawks, with Conley roughly duplicating his regular-season averages during the playoffs.

Conley would play on one more championship Celtics team during the 1960–61 season, culminating in a 4–1 defeat of the Hawks. Conley skipped the following NBA season while pitching for the Red Sox, then joined the New York Knicks where he averaged 9.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 70 games during the 1962–63 season, before his minutes dropped precipitously the following year which was his last in the NBA. In six seasons in the NBA, Conley averaged 5.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 16.5 minutes of playing time. Conley's No. 17 would subsequently be assigned to John Havlicek and then retired by the Celtics in recognition of Havlicek's career. "When I look back, I don't know how I did it, I really don't", Conley was quoted saying in 2008 by the Los Angeles Times, on playing two professional sports in tandem. "I think I was having so much fun that it kept me going. I can't remember a teammate I didn't enjoy." When Abe Saperstein's American Basketball League (1961–62) was born in 1961, Tuck Tape Company owner Paul Cohen purchased a franchise, gave it the Tapers name, and placed it in Washington, D.C.; the team played its games in the Washington Coliseum. Conley signed with the team. While with the Tapers, Conley often accompanied Cohen on sales calls for his company and gained industry experience.

Conley is one of 13 athletes to have played in both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. The thirteen are: Danny Ainge, Frank Baumholtz, Hank Biasatti, Conley, Chuck Connors, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Groat, Steve Hamilton, Mark Hendrickson, Cotton Nash, Ron Reed, Dick Ricketts and Howie Schultz.

THIS IS AN AUTHENTIC HAND AUTOGRAPHED 8x10 PHOTOGRAPH. I ONLY SELL AUTHENTIC HAND AUTOGRAPHED MEMORABILIA. I do not sell reprints or facsimile autographs. When you bid on my items you will receive the real deal authentic hand autographed items. You will receive the same signed 8x10 photograph that is pictured in the scan. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me. PLEASE NOTE this 8x10 photograph was printed and then autographed post war. I combine S&H when multiple items are purchased. I ship items internationally the price for international S&H varies by country. I currently have other rare autographed military and historical signed items available. Please take a look at my other auctions of rare military and historical autographed items.