Page 59 - 1975 BoSox

JAMES EDWARD RICE WAS BORN ON Sunday, March 8, 1953, in Anderson, South Carolina, to Roger and Julia Rice. Residents
of the town say that even as a lanky teenager, “Ed,” as he was — and remains — known to his friends, showed promise. He led his 1969 American Legion team to the state nals. However, it was still a time of segregation in the South, and Rice, despite his promise, had to attend Westside High School, as opposedtotheall-whiteT.LHannaHigh.Sometime before Rice’s senior year, when integration was man- dated, Anderson’s district board drew lines to decide who would attend what school. e resulting line was drawn so that the Rice household was included in the Hanna district. His engaging personality and gentle charm won over most of Hanna, he was elected co-class president, and helped ease the racial tension that accompanied integration.
Rice’s childhood hero was Westside alumnus and American Football League star George Webster, and Rice played football and basketball as well as baseball. In his senior year, Rice starred on Hanna’s football team as an all-state kick returner, defensive back, and wide receiver, and played in the North Carolina-South Carolina Shrine Bowl, leading South Carolina to victory. After some time spent deciding between the Red Sox, who had taken him in the rst round of the 1971 amateur entry draft (15th overall), and football scholarship o ers from Clemson, North Carolina, and the University of Nebraska, Rice eventu-
ally settled on baseball — a $45,000 o er from Mace Brown and Sam Mele of the Red Sox helped.1
After being drafted by the Red Sox, Rice played 60 games in 1971 for Williamsport in the Class-A New York-Penn League at the tender age of 18. He hit .256 with ve home runs and hated it. He wasn’t used to curveballs, people calling him
“Jim” instead of “Jim Ed,” and being so far from home. But things would get better. In 1972 he was sent to Winter Haven in the Florida State League, where he continued to improve his skills, hitting 17 homers in 130 games. In 1973 the Red Sox promoted Rice to Bristol in the Double-A Eastern League, where he quickly ourished, winning the league batting title with a .317 batting average. He hit 27 homers and drove in 93 runs. Later that year, he joined the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox for the International League playo s, and helped lead them to a Junior World Series championship over the American Association Tulsa team; in 10 playo games, he hit .378 with four homers. e next year, 1974, Rice played with the PawSox for almost the whole year, and won the International League’s Triple Crown, Rookie of the Year, MVP, and the honor of e Sporting News’ Minor League Player of the Year (.337, 25 HR, 93 RBIs). 2
e highly prized prospect joined the parent Red Sox for 24 games late in 1974, debuting on August 19. He hit his rst major-league homer on October 1, o Cleveland’s Steve Kline. Rice batted .269 in 67 at-bats.
It took Rice a while to get settled in with the 1975 team. While fellow rookie Fred Lynn secured the center- eld job, the comebacking Tony Conigliaro was the Opening Day designated hitter, a role ear- marked for Rice. Furthermore, Rice was convinced that his di culty tting into the lineup wasn’t all logistics-related. It wouldn’t become public knowledge
for a few years, but at the time, Rice believed that his progression with the Red Sox was being arrested by race. In an interview he’d give to Sport Magazine in 1978, Rice would cause a stir when he complained: “Race has to be a factor when Fred Lynn can hit .240 in the minors and I can hit .340 and he gets a starting job before I do.”
Jim Rice
By Alexander edelman
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