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John Patsy Francona
Atlanta Braves
Outfield-First Base
Born: November 4, 1933, Aliquippa, PA
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1956-57; Chicago White Sox 1958; Detroit Tigers 1958; Cleveland Indians 1959-64; St. Louis Cardinals 1965-66; Philadelphia Phillies 1967; Atlanta Braves 1967-69; Oakland Athletics 1969-70; Milwaukee Brewers 1970
Died: February 13, 2018, New Brighton, PA (age 84)
A journeyman bench player for most of his career, Tito Francona found his greatest success during the late 1950s/early 1960s with the Indians. He was an All-Star in 1961, the year in which he hit his career high in RBIs with 85. Francona batted a career best .363 over 122 games for the Indians in 1959 and led the league in doubles with 36 in 1960. Over his 15-year career, Francona never appeared in the postseason.
Francona was sold to the Cardinals in December 1964, beginning a six-season odyssey that would take him to the Phillies, Braves, Athletics and Brewers where he wrapped up his playing days in 1970. In 1,719 career games, Francona amassed 1,395 hits, 125 home runs and 656 RBIs. His son Terry played for 10 seasons in the majors and went on to manage the Phillies, Red Sox, Indians/Guradians and Reds. Terry won two World Series titles with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, and he took the Indians to the World Series in 2016 where they lost to the Cubs in seven games.
A journeyman bench player for most of his career, Tito Francona found his greatest success during the late 1950s/early 1960s with the Indians. He was an All-Star in 1961, the year in which he hit his career high in RBIs with 85. Francona batted a career best .363 over 122 games for the Indians in 1959 and led the league in doubles with 36 in 1960. Over his 15-year career, Francona never appeared in the postseason.
Francona was sold to the Cardinals in December 1964, beginning a six-season odyssey that would take him to the Phillies, Braves, Athletics and Brewers where he wrapped up his playing days in 1970. In 1,719 career games, Francona amassed 1,395 hits, 125 home runs and 656 RBIs. His son Terry played for 10 seasons in the majors and went on to manage the Phillies, Red Sox, Indians/Guradians and Reds. Terry won two World Series titles with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, and he took the Indians to the World Series in 2016 where they lost to the Cubs in seven games.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #619
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)
The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Phillies Career
On April 10, 1967, Francona was sold by the Cardinals to the Phillies. In 27 games with the club, he hit .205 (15 for 73) with a double and three RBIs. His services were needed solely for him to fill in at first for an injured Bill White (#588) and when White was activated in late May, Francona served only as a pinch-hitter or late inning defensive replacement.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1957 Topps #184
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1957-70, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2016 Topps Archives #306
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 96 in the Beckett online database as of 1/25/26.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table. I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2. I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4.
I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop. This was the 25th of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 60th of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day. Unsleeved, this card cost less than $1 after a dealer discount.
The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Topps took photos of Francona by the batting cages at a visiting ballpark at some point in 1967, after he had joined the Braves, and two photos from the session appear on his 1968 and 1969 Topps cards. The back of the card explains how Francona had filled in for the injured Rico Carty (#590) in 1968, batting .286 in 122 games.
Accuracy Index: It's another +5 for this card.
1969 Season
Francona split the season between the Braves and Athletics, batting a healthy .318 overall with five home runs and 42 RBIs. From his SABR biography, written by Joseph Wancho:
Francona split the season between the Braves and Athletics, batting a healthy .318 overall with five home runs and 42 RBIs. From his SABR biography, written by Joseph Wancho:
For the most part he came off the bench to play all three outfield positions as well as first base. His average dropped a bit (.258 over five years in the National League). "I believe Tito is a better hitter now than I've ever seen him," said Atlanta manager Lum Harris (#196). "I know one thing. When they throw that steamer (fastball) up there, he can hit anybody who walks out to the mound."
On August 22, 1969, the Braves sold Francona to the Oakland Athletics. Again he was thrust into the reserve role. Three weeks after joining the A's, on September 12, Francona equaled his career-best mark of five hits in a game. He went 5-for-5 against Chicago, driving in two runs and scoring twice in a 12-5 Oakland win.
On April 10, 1967, Francona was sold by the Cardinals to the Phillies. In 27 games with the club, he hit .205 (15 for 73) with a double and three RBIs. His services were needed solely for him to fill in at first for an injured Bill White (#588) and when White was activated in late May, Francona served only as a pinch-hitter or late inning defensive replacement.
With his playing time significantly decreased, the Phillies sold him to the Braves on June 12th, a little over two months after they had acquired him. His very short tenure with the Phillies is memorialized on his 1967 Topps card.
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First Mainstream Card: 1957 Topps #184
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1957-70, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2016 Topps Archives #306
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 96 in the Beckett online database as of 1/25/26.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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