Steve Horgan saw the picture even before he left Fenway Park that night.

"I saw it on my iPhone," he said. "I'm like, 'Oh, my God!'"

He didn't plan it. You couldn't plan it.

Horgan was in his first full year as the Boston police officer assigned to the Red Sox's bullpen. A lifelong Red Sox fan, Horgan loved the view. And the guys in the bullpen found him to be a pleasant companion.

But he was hardly famous ... at least not before he raised his arms in celebration as David Ortiz's grand slam cleared the fence and Torii Hunter went headfirst into the bullpen with his legs raised in perfect symmetry with Horgan's arms. At least not before a handful of photographers captured the moment.

The home run was the most important any Red Sox player hit all year, bringing the team back into the American League Championship Series. The photo became the most recognized image of a Red Sox October.

And it made a 28-year veteran of the Boston police force an instant celebrity.

"I could never have imagined it," Horgan said one day this past summer. "But it's all been good."

He rode in the duck boat parade after the Red Sox won the World Series. ("All my colleagues were directing traffic.") He joined Red Sox players in shaving his beard for charity. ("I grew it back within a week.") His police hat was retired and put in the Sports Museum of New England.

"Horganing" became a recognized verb in New England. He was honored at a local Law Day. He got his own bobblehead. ("How many cops can say that?") He threw out the first pitch at the Pawtucket Red Sox opener. ("That's not as easy as it looks.") Fans lined up for two hours waiting for his autograph. He posed for 75 to 100 pictures before every Red Sox home game, and for 50 more every postgame.

The fame began almost as soon as Game 2 ended, when Horgan's son telephoned to tell him there were eight television news trucks lined up in front of his house.

"That's what it's been like," Horgan said. "At first, it was very overwhelming, although not in a bad way. Since then, it's been great."

When the Tigers visited Fenway this season, Hunter tipped his cap to Horgan, and Horgan did the same in response.

"I do feel there is a bond," Horgan said.

An accidental bond forged from one of the most remarkable plays in baseball's long postseason history,

"You couldn't time that," Horgan said. "If I tried to do that, I couldn't do it. Besides, I've never seen anyone dive over that fence before."

It never happens the way it happened the night of Oct. 13. It never does.

And it never happens that "bullpen cop" becomes a recognizable, Google-searchable term. It never happens that a police officer like Steve Horgan becomes a regional (maybe even national) celebrity.

But Steve Horgan did.

-- Danny Knobler