Early Years
Born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, he was one of Ed and Lorraine Flanagan's four children and the younger of their two sons. Under the coaching of his father and grandfather Ed Sr., who both played in the Boston Red Sox organization, Flanagan once struck out 18 batters in a six-inning Little League game.
Flanagan graduated from Manchester (NH) Memorial High School, where he was on the baseball and basketball teams that each won consecutive New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) Class L titles in 1970 and 1971. His pitching was limited in 1971 due to an arm injury he had sustained while playing American Legion Baseball for the local Henry J. Sweeney Post the previous summer. This factored into him not signing a contract after he was picked by the Houston Astros in the 15th round (346th overall) of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft.
Read more about this topic: Mike Flanagan (baseball)
Famous quotes related to early years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)