Early Life
MacFayden was born in North Truro, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod but in 1920, his mother moved the family to Somerville, located across the Charles River from Boston. His father had died when he was four years old, and they went to live with his mother Sarah's brother, building contractor Joshua Knowles. His uncle eventually adopted Danny.
He made a name for himself as a high school athlete. He was the captain of the Somerville High School baseball team in 1923, a team that boasted three future major leaguers: MacFayden, Josh Billings and Shanty Hogan. On May 7, 1924, pitching for Somerville against Everett High, MacFayden struck out between 31 and 33 batters in 17 innings while giving up only four hits. He lost the game 2–1.
After graduating from Somerville High in 1924, he attended Hebron Academy (Hebron, Maine) to prepare himself for attending college. His mother wanted him to go to Dartmouth College. (He would return to Hebron in the 1931-32 offseason to serve as the school's hockey coach.)
He played in the semi-pro Boston Twilight League in the summers of 1923 and 1924 for the Osterville team, then for Falmouth in 1925.
Read more about this topic: Danny Mac Fayden
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