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Tito Francona’s 1961 Home Run Gives New Meaning to the Term:
“Dead-Ball” Era!
As Harry Caray used to say, “Oh…you can’t beat fun at the old ballpark!” But on March 26, 1961, during a spring training game played at Tucson, Arizona’s Hi Corbett Park, I don’t think anyone was in the mood for fun…especially after a rather bizarre discovery!
Some of our more “senior’ readers will recall the name of the fine journeyman outfielder/first baseman, Tito Francona, who also happened to be the father of the highly successful long-time big league manager, Terry Francona.
Tito came to my attention as I recently discovered that he was involved in one of baseball’s more lop-sided trades 66 years ago this past week. On March 21, 1959, the Tigers traded Tito to the Indians for future Hall of Famer, Larry Doby. The trade turned out to be a great one for the Tribe, as Tito went on to hit .363 for his new club. As for the Tigers? Well, let’s just say the deal didn’t work out quite so well for them. Larry hit just .241 in only 18 games and was soon sent packing to the White Sox where he finished his career after only 21 games in Chicago’s South Side.
That’s interesting, but that’s not what really caught my attention. As I’ve said many times, whenever you look past the surface and go deeper into the career of almost any major leaguer, you’ll invariably find some little tidbit of information that’s interesting or unusual. Such was the case when I was investigating the career of Tito Francona.
Tito’s “Dead-Ball” Home Run!
On March 26, 1961, Francona poked a rather routine home run over the right field fence during a spring training exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox at the Indians’ home park facility, Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona. Nothing terribly unusual so far, but stay with me on this one…
Hi Corbett Field is still in use and is the current home of the University of Arizona Wildcats. As Tito was rounding the bases, I’m sure the thought never entered his mind that the flight of the ball and where it landed would eventually help the Tucson police solve a murder case! But that’s exactly what happened.
An Unusual Discovery
When a city park employee, one John Cota, went looking to retrieve the ball, he made a discovery that he undoubtedly wasn’t expecting. Unless, that is, you think it’s normal to find a dead body on the other side of the outfield fence!
That’s right…as Cota was innocently looking for Tito’s dinger, he stumbled onto a dead body in a shallow trench later identified as 50-year-old Fred Victor Burden. This guy was wanted by the Tucson police in connection with the shooting death of a former prizefighter named James Cocio, who had been shot five times at the home of Burden’s estranged wife. Police had been searching for Burden for about five days. As it turned out, Cocio was reputed to be the lover of Burden’s wife. A gun was found with the body and after the coroner’s inquest, Burden’s death was ruled a suicide.
One positive result of Cota’s rather macabre discovery – which was prompted by Tito’s “dead-ball” home run – was that it allowed the Tucson police to “close the books” on the murder case. However, it’s not known if city park employee John Cota later asked Tito to autograph the ball!
Tito Francona’s Career
This unusual story aside, Tito Francona had a fine 15-year major league career (1956-1970). After making his major league debut with the Orioles on April 17, 1956, the Aliquippa, Pennsylvania native went on to hit .272 for his career, with 125 home runs and 656 RBIs. A prototypical baseball journeyman, he played for nine different major league teams. Tito’s best years were with the Indians (1959-1964) where he hit .284 with 85 home runs, 378 RBIs, and a .353 on-base percentage.
A fine defensive outfielder, he had three top-ten finishes in fielding percentage for left fielders and led the league in this category in 1961. That year he also was named to the American League All-Star team (Game Two), although he did not see action in the game. Following his playing career, Tito served as the Director of Parks and Recreation in New Brighton, Pennsylvania until his retirement in 1977. He passed away at his New Brighton home on February 13, 2018, aged 84.
I’ve heard of the “Dead Ball Era” and the “Live Ball Era,” but I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a “Dead-Ball” home run! So let’s take a moment to recall Tito Francona’s fine career and a rather unusual day at the old ballpark – to say the least!
Gary Livacari
We’d love to hear what you think about this or any other related baseball history topic…please leave comments below.
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Information: Excerpts edited from Tito Francona Wikipedia page
I’m pretty sure that Ditka was also from Aliquippa too and they would be similar ages.
Thanks Joe…I think you’re right!
Whenever I think of Tito Francona, I think of Norm Cash, too. Two good but not great left handed first basemen who each had one outrageous and statistically improbable season, Francona in 1959, Cash in 1961.
Great observation, Vince…thanks!
I sure do remember Tito Francona. What a great name. And he surely was a fine player especially in the early sixties for Cleveland. I once saw him hit a home run in Yankee Stadium but all the fans in the stands were alive and kicking.
Haha! Thanks Steve…nice memories!
Over on Facebook, someone wrote in the comments: “1961 was hardly the ‘dead ball era.’ Why do you keep calling it that?” I calmly explained to the guy, that I was making a joke, a pun. I said the ball led to the discovery of a dead body, so I jokingly referred to it as a “dead-ball” with a hyphen and quotation maarks around it. Really didn’t think I’d have to explain that…but I guess I was wrong!
Hi Gary! I remember Tito as a feared hitter with Cleveland as they battled the White Sox for the ’59 pennant.
I also read that Tito was a friend of Ted Williams, who was nice to Tito’s son Terry.
From the CF bleachers at Wrigley Field, I saw Terry as young Cubs player. He had a very smooth swing. I had no idea he would become one of the most successful of major league managers!–Joe Cunniff
Very nice -. Turned the sad suicide into a funny story all these years later. Also funny for me personally is that I always thought of Francona as a star. I guess I was so impressed as a young fan by his great year in Cleveland that it stuck in my head as a regular year for him. Characterizing him as a “fine journeyman “ is correct based on his stats.