As the Orioles’ spring training season unfolded in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1956, a little-known newcomer sought a roster spot. John Patsy Francona, a 22-year-old outfielder/first baseman from Western Pennsylvania, was a non-roster invitee.
Known as Tito — the nickname his father gave him as a boy — he’d signed with the St. Louis Browns out of high school in 1952. Then, after spending his first two years as a pro in the minors, he’d gone into the military for two years while the Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles. He’d been largely forgotten, but by 1956, Francona was out of the service and ready to play ball. The Orioles weren’t contenders, but they offered opportunity. Losers of 197 games in their first two years in Baltimore, they were looking for anyone who was young and could play.
Francona quickly gained the attention of Orioles manager Paul Richards. He covered a lot of ground in the outfield. And he could hit.
The non-roster invitee made the team and started in centerfield on Opening Day.
As the 1956 season progressed, he played more in right field alongside Dick Williams and Jim Pyburn in center, but he was in the lineup. After a slow start at the plate, he hit .341 with 21 RBI in July. Finishing the season with a .258 average, nine home runs and 57 RBI, he received votes in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting, ending up second behind Luis Aparicio, a shortstop for the White Sox.
It was a nice rookie season, but while Baltimore offered opportunity to young players, there was a string attached. Richards was wheeling and dealing madly to try to improve the club, which meant no job was safe. Before the 1957 season, he acquired another right fielder, Al Pilarcik, who was a few years older than Francona.
Pilarcik became the starter in right in 1957, relegating Francona to a utility role. He still played in 97 games but only hit .233 and was deemed expendable by Richards, who sent him to the White Sox before the 1958 season.
Francona’s time in Baltimore was brief, but it marked the start of one of baseball’s most enduring family dynasties. Since Tito broke in with the Orioles, a Francona has worn a major league uniform as a player, coach or manager in 50 of 71 seasons.
Two years after Richards traded him, Tito came into his own with the Indians. Playing first base and center field, he appeared in 122 games and hit .363 — 10 points higher than Harvey Kuenn’s .353, which won the American League batting title. Francona was just a few at-bats short of qualifying.
“I felt like I had a god on my shoulder every time I went to the plate. There was no way a pitcher could throw a ball by me. No way. Not that season,” Francona said years later in a Society of American Baseball Research article.
Although his average dropped in 1960, he still hit .292 and led the American League in doubles. A year later, he hit .301 and made the All-Star team.
Eventually, his performance at the plate declined, and by time he turned 30 in 1964, he was a utility player. But he lasted so long in the majors in that role that played in three decades — the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. A career .271 hitter over 15 seasons, he played for nine teams: the Orioles, White Sox, Tigers, Indians, Cardinals, Phillies, Braves, Athletics and Brewers.
When he retired in 1970, his son, Terry, was 11 years old. Terry developed into a top prospect in high school, an outfielder coveted by scouts. Taking a different route than his father, he wound up playing college ball at the University of Arizona. A speedy standout, he was drafted by the Montreal Expos with a first-round pick in 1980.
Though more accomplished than his father as an amateur, Terry never reached the same heights as a pro. He did spend a decade in the majors, hitting .274 as a backup with the Expos, Cubs, Reds, Indians and Brewers.
Combined, father and son Francona played for 14 major league teams over 25 seasons beginning with Tito’s start for the Orioles on Opening Day in 1956.
Terry nearly orchestrated a second act for the family in Baltimore. When his playing career ended, he pivoted into coaching and debuted as a major league manager with the Phillies in 1997. Fired after the 2000 season, he was still looking for another shot in October 2003 and interviewed for the Orioles’ managerial opening.
They hired Lee Mazzilli instead.
Whoops.
Mazzilli lasted just a season and a half before being fired while Francona went to the Red Sox and managed them to their first World Series triumph in 86 years in 2004.
His father, who’d never played on a pennant winner, delighted in the triumph.
“It was almost as great a thrill for me as it was for Terry,” Tito said. “Before that, I hardly ever watched a World Series game on television because I was always too jealous of the guys who were in it.”
Terry led Boston to another World Series victory in 2007. His heady tenure in Boston was followed by another terrific run as manager of the Indians, which included an American League pennant in 2016.
Now with the Reds at age 67, Terry has won more than 2,000 games in 25 seasons as a major league manager. He will receive serious Hall of Fame consideration. But almost more importantly, he is widely regarded as one of the sport’s foremost citizens. No one goes on the road and tips the visiting clubhouse guys more. a small gesture that speaks volumes. His father, who died at age 84 in 2018, taught him well.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.