On June 15, 1958 Hall of Fame 3B Wade Boggs is bone in Omaha, Nebraska, the youngest of three sons of Winfield Kennedy Boggs Jr. and Sue Nell Graham, Wade had a regimented military upbringing. Winfield and Sue met in 1946 at a military base in Georgia. Winfield served with the Marines in World War II and flew for the Air Force in the Korean War, while Sue piloted mail planes in World War II. The Boggs family lived in several different places (including Puerto Rico and Savannah, Georgia) before settling in Tampa, Florida when Wade was 11 years old. He attended Plant High School in Tampa, where he played baseball and was an All-State football player as a senior. Boggs played quarterback until his senior year when he switched positions to avoid injury and thereby protect his baseball career. His success as a left-footed placekicker and punter earned him a scholarship offer from the University of South Carolina.[4] He graduated from Plant High School in 1976 and was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round of the 1976 MLB draft on the advice of veteran scout George Digby. He signed with the club for $7,500.
One of the best pure hitters of his era, most of his prime was spent with the Boston Red Sox in the 1980s. Wade was a 12X All-Star, won 5 batting titles, won 2 Gold Glove Awards, and was a member of the 1996 World Series champion New York Yankees. His uniform #26 is retired by the Red Sox and his uniform #12 is retired by the Tampa Bay Rays. Boggs was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005 (91.9% on the 1st ballot).
In his 18-year career (1982-1999), Wade had 3,010 hits, 578 doubles, 1,014 RBI, 1,513 runs, 1,412 BB, .328 BA, .415 OBP (leading the AL 6X), .443 Slg., & .858 OPS.
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