One of only 17 major-league players never to have spent a single day in the minors, Johnny Antonelli was a highly coveted phenom who signed a “bonus baby” contract with the Boston Braves for $52,000 a few days after graduating from Rochester’s Jefferson High School in 1948. It wasn’t until six years later, when he was traded to the New York Giants, that the stylish left-hander began realizing the potential the scouts had seen in him.
