Terry Francona
| Birthdate | 04/22/1959 |
| Death Date | |
| Debut Year | 1997 |
| Year of Induction | |
| Teams | Brewers, Cubs, Indians, Phillies, Red Sox, Reds |
| Positions | First Base, Left Field, Manager, Pinch Hitter |
The Boston Red Sox had an 86-year World Series Championship drought before hiring Terry Francona in 2004; they won two titles together.
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Terry Francona and his father Tito combined to play 25 seasons in the big leagues
Terry Francona and his father Tito combined to play 25 seasons in the big leagues
Terry Francona will likely enter the Hall of Fame someday as a manager. It’s easy for some to forget that he also enjoyed a ten-year playing career.
Francona grew up in a baseball family. His father Tito was a big leaguer who started in the show in 1956. Tito finished tied with the Indians Rocky Colavito for second in Rookie of the Year balloting behind Hall of Fame shortstop Luis Aparicio.
An All Star in 1961, Tito’s best years came from 1959-1962. During the four-year run he hit .302, averaging 163 hits, 28 doubles, and 249 total bases. His OPS+ was 124 in that period. He retired in 1970 with 1,395 hits and a .275 career average.
Terry broke into the big leagues in 1981 with the Montreal Expos. His decade in the majors included stops at Chicago with the Cubs, in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Milwaukee. Terry ended his career with a .274 lifetime average.
In 1985 the Topps Chewing Gem company came out with a subset of their regular set that included a father/son series. This card shows the Franconas, Tito and Terry. Both men have signed the card.
Terry Francona's baseball journey likely ends with a plaque in Cooperstown
Terry Francona's baseball journey likely ends with a plaque in Cooperstown
Terry Francona will go down in baseball history as the manager of the Red Sox team that ended the Curse of the Bambino. Boston owned the game’s greatest player in Babe Ruth. After the 1919 season Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees.
At the time of the sale, the Red Sox were one of baseball’s most successful teams, winning the World Series five times. Once they sold Ruth in 1919, Boston faced a championship drought for the rest of the century. Ruth’s Yankees became the supreme baseball franchise.
That all changed in Francona’s first season with the Sox. His 2004 team exorcised the curse, beating the hated Yankees in the ALCS and winning the World Series.
Francona earned another ring in 2007 before moving to Cleveland. Francona was voted Manager of the Year for his work with the Indians in 2013. In 2016 he led Cleveland to it’s first World Series appearance in 20 years. Francona’s resumé makes it a matter of time before gains baseball’s highest honor.
In the collection is the last Topps contract signed by Terry Francona as a player. The agreement was signed May 5, 1990, a month after his final big league game of April 19, 1990.
Terry Francona was inducted into the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame in 2006
Terry Francona was inducted into the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame in 2006
Among the many accolades Terry Francona earned is induction into the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame in 2006. He was one of four who earned the distinction that year. The others included Art Clarkson, Wayne Martin, and Rondal Rollin.
The Barons Hall describes Terry on its website,”A future Major League Manager, Francona became one of the most successful managers the Barons organization has seen since the franchise’s inception. Francona guided the club from 1993-1995 and earned Southern League Manager of the Year and Baseball America’s Minor League Manager of the Year in 1993. In addition, Baseball America labeled him as the Top MiLB Managerial Prospect in 1994. Birmingham won the Southern League crown in 1993 under Francona’s watch.”
Shown here is a correspondence on ornate Birmingham letterhead. Dated July 6, 1950, it is signed by Eddie Glennon, Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame class of 2010. The letter is to George Trautman, the president of the National Association.
Glennon writes of the recall of Dick Littlefield for his big league debut. Littlefield is best remembered as the pitcher the Giants traded to the Dodgers for Jackie Robinson on December 13, 1956. Rather than report to his rival team, Robinson retired from the game.
