Tito Francona---1962
What a great baseball name and a
good looking card. Leaning up
against his favorite bat, Tito
Francona surveys the field with an
unassuming smile. Life was good for
Francona in Cleveland, as the left-
handed swinger put forth his best
efforts wearing an Indians uniform.
Originally signed by the St. Louis
Browns in 1952; Francona shuttled in
relative mediocrity from the Orioles to
the White Sox and to Detroit, before
seizing an opportunity in Cleveland in
1959.
Obtained from the Tigers for an
aging Larry Doby part-way through
Spring Training, Francona began the
’59 campaign on the Indians’ bench
serving as a lefty pinch-hitter. He
collected two pinch-hits, while driving
in a run with a sacrifice fly over a
three-game stretch against the White
Sox in mid-April as manager Joe
Gordon and GM Frank Lane took
notice:
And the Indians proved to have a
dangerous pinch-hitter in Tito
Francona. Three times against the
White Sox he produced. Lane
immediately gave Tito a $100 gift
certificate to be used to purchase a
gift for his first child, a son born the
previous week. (TSN, May 6, 1959)
Tito got the hits and his newborn son
Terry collected the goods.
On June 2, he took over for Jimmy
Piersall in centerfield and collected
two hits. And he didn’t stop. By the
All-Star break Francona was hitting a
lofty .394 and earning praise from his
manager:
“He has no obvious weakness right
now,” said (Joe) Gordon, praising his
outfielder. “And he made himself a
good hitter by sheer hard work.
When I started using him as a pinch-
hitter, he’d come to the park early
every day and work on leveling off his
swing. When he pinch-hit so well, he
forced us to use him regularly. He
made the most of his opportunity.”
(TSN, July 22, 1959)
As a result news leaked out on how
John Patsy Francona, became known
as Tito:
Asked why he nicknamed his son
“Tito,” the elder Francona said, “It
means little one in Italian, but I
understand that in the Slavic
language it means ‘Go to It.’ Right
now I’d have to say the latter
meaning is the appropriate one.”
(TSN, July 22, 1959)
The opposite field hitter, finished the
1959 campaign with a .363 average
in 122 games, but fell short of at bats
needed to win the batting title, as
Detroit’s Harvey Kuenn claimed the
batting crown with a .353 mark.
Francona would place fifth in MVP
voting right behind teammate Rocky
Colavito and well far back of the
winner, Chicago’s Nellie Fox.
The father of the future manager of
the Boston Red Sox would hit .270 or
better in each of the next three
seasons for Cleveland. Francona
would lead the AL in doubles (36) in
1960, be selected to the 1961
American League All-Star squad and
also be one of four consecutive
Indians’ to homer off the Angels’ Paul
Foytack on July 31, 1963 (Woodie
Held, Pedro Ramos, Francona and
Larry Brown).
After losing his stroke in ’63 & ’64 for
Cleveland; he would be an on-and-
off player from 1965 to 1972, with
stops in St. Louis, Philadelphia,
Atlanta, Oakland and Milwaukee. All
totaled, Francona would finish with a .
272 average and 125 long balls
during his 15-year career.
Not a bad little career for John
Patsy-- I mean, Tito-- Francona.
(8/27/08)
Editor’s note: As traveling secretary
of the Cincinnati Reds from 1986-88,
I got to know Terry Francona who
was a bench player on the club for
the 1987 season. During our trips to
Pittsburgh, Tito would come to the
games and often sit with me as I
charted pitches. He is one really
great guy and a pleasure to share a
game with.
good looking card. Leaning up
against his favorite bat, Tito
Francona surveys the field with an
unassuming smile. Life was good for
Francona in Cleveland, as the left-
handed swinger put forth his best
efforts wearing an Indians uniform.
Originally signed by the St. Louis
Browns in 1952; Francona shuttled in
relative mediocrity from the Orioles to
the White Sox and to Detroit, before
seizing an opportunity in Cleveland in
1959.
Obtained from the Tigers for an
aging Larry Doby part-way through
Spring Training, Francona began the
’59 campaign on the Indians’ bench
serving as a lefty pinch-hitter. He
collected two pinch-hits, while driving
in a run with a sacrifice fly over a
three-game stretch against the White
Sox in mid-April as manager Joe
Gordon and GM Frank Lane took
notice:
And the Indians proved to have a
dangerous pinch-hitter in Tito
Francona. Three times against the
White Sox he produced. Lane
immediately gave Tito a $100 gift
certificate to be used to purchase a
gift for his first child, a son born the
previous week. (TSN, May 6, 1959)
Tito got the hits and his newborn son
Terry collected the goods.
On June 2, he took over for Jimmy
Piersall in centerfield and collected
two hits. And he didn’t stop. By the
All-Star break Francona was hitting a
lofty .394 and earning praise from his
manager:
“He has no obvious weakness right
now,” said (Joe) Gordon, praising his
outfielder. “And he made himself a
good hitter by sheer hard work.
When I started using him as a pinch-
hitter, he’d come to the park early
every day and work on leveling off his
swing. When he pinch-hit so well, he
forced us to use him regularly. He
made the most of his opportunity.”
(TSN, July 22, 1959)
As a result news leaked out on how
John Patsy Francona, became known
as Tito:
Asked why he nicknamed his son
“Tito,” the elder Francona said, “It
means little one in Italian, but I
understand that in the Slavic
language it means ‘Go to It.’ Right
now I’d have to say the latter
meaning is the appropriate one.”
(TSN, July 22, 1959)
The opposite field hitter, finished the
1959 campaign with a .363 average
in 122 games, but fell short of at bats
needed to win the batting title, as
Detroit’s Harvey Kuenn claimed the
batting crown with a .353 mark.
Francona would place fifth in MVP
voting right behind teammate Rocky
Colavito and well far back of the
winner, Chicago’s Nellie Fox.
The father of the future manager of
the Boston Red Sox would hit .270 or
better in each of the next three
seasons for Cleveland. Francona
would lead the AL in doubles (36) in
1960, be selected to the 1961
American League All-Star squad and
also be one of four consecutive
Indians’ to homer off the Angels’ Paul
Foytack on July 31, 1963 (Woodie
Held, Pedro Ramos, Francona and
Larry Brown).
After losing his stroke in ’63 & ’64 for
Cleveland; he would be an on-and-
off player from 1965 to 1972, with
stops in St. Louis, Philadelphia,
Atlanta, Oakland and Milwaukee. All
totaled, Francona would finish with a .
272 average and 125 long balls
during his 15-year career.
Not a bad little career for John
Patsy-- I mean, Tito-- Francona.
(8/27/08)
Editor’s note: As traveling secretary
of the Cincinnati Reds from 1986-88,
I got to know Terry Francona who
was a bench player on the club for
the 1987 season. During our trips to
Pittsburgh, Tito would come to the
games and often sit with me as I
charted pitches. He is one really
great guy and a pleasure to share a
game with.
