Father shares his son's achievement

ST. LOUIS -- There was a coveted ticket for Game 4 of the World Series, but the gentleman in third-base loge section 258, row 13, aisle seat, wasn't in position to watch as much of the game as he would have liked.

"They keep standing up here. It's tough to see," said John Patsy "Tito" Francona, who knows how rabid St. Louis baseball fans are. That's because during a 15-year major league career, Tito Francona played two seasons for the Redbirds (1965-66). The trip back here had nothing to do with warm feelings for his old team; it had everything to do with family and the love of baseball.

Tito Francona's son, Terry, is the man who managed the Red Sox to their first World Series victory in 86 years, a feat that might take days, months, years to sink in. Who knows? Maybe it never will, but the proud father knows this: "It's the highlight for our family, no question."

When his playing career ended in 1970, Tito Francona never had a desire to manage. "Too much time away from home," he said.

He settled down in the area of Pennsylvania he had always loved -- the New Brighton/Beaver Falls area outside of Pittsburgh -- and ran the town recreation program. Terry followed in his dad's footsteps and played 10 seasons for five major league teams, his career coming to a halt in 1990. Unlike his dad, however, Terry Francona chose to stay in baseball, first as a coach, then as a manager with the Philadelphia Phillies.

"Whatever he wanted to do was OK with me," said Tito Francona.

He said he doesn't attend a lot of games. "I like to watch it at home, on TV," he said. "The knees bother me and it's tough getting around these stadiums now." Does he keep in touch via the phone? The man who hit .363 in 1959 smiled again. "I can't catch him, so I just leave him messages." And no, he didn't plan on heading to the locker room, either, not with the mob scene that figured to be there.

"I'll try and catch up to him at the hotel. But who knows?"

Next Thursday, Tito Francona turns 71, but he looked like a man who received an early birthday present with last night's Red Sox sweep of the Cardinals.

He had held his own against the best competition, but never made it to the World Series. Now, his son has won the Series and Tito Francona smiled widely.

He was a proud father sharing a lifetime achievement.