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.
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. Such was the case when I was investigating the career of Tito Francona.
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.
Nothing terribly unusual so far, but stay with me on this one…
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!
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. Cocio was reputed to be the lover of Burden’s ex-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). The Aliquippa, Pennsylvania native 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. Tito passed away at his New Brighton, Pennsylvania 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!
