Francona celebrated by Cleveland fans
Sep. 29—ASHTABULA — The passed on memories from my father flashed through my mind in October of 2004 as the Boston Red Sox, led by Terry Francona (he's well known being referred to as Tito) broke the terrible hex and became World Series champions.
My dad was born in Newton Highlands, just outside Boston, in May 1912, and grew up with the love of the Red Sox deep in his blood.
In the spring, or early summer, of 1939, my dad met Ted Williams outside of Fenway Park and asked him to come speak to his boy scouts and a camp in Maine. Williams said yes and my father waited that morning with great apprehension.
Would he come?
He did. One of my father's favorite possessions was a clip from the Boston Herald stating "Dillaway's faith in Ted pays off".
Unfortunately, my father died in 1997 and never had a chance to see the Francona-led Red Sox win 2004 and 2007 World Series titles. He did have plenty of time to influence my deep dive into the world of Red Sox fandom.
In 2004, I had the opportunity to visit cousins who I had not seen in decades. We watched the World Series with them and there three children at their Connecticut home.
The Red Sox, under Tito's tutelage, won that series and set up an eight-year run before the Boston team decided two world series wins weren't enough to paper over a bad season and fired Francona.
After a year at ESPN as an analyst, Francona reappeared on the banks of Lake Erie where he has been a fixture for 11 years, until Wednesday night.
As most Cleveland area baseball fans know the Indians, now Guardians, have been waiting to break a similar hex and Francona came just short of completing the task in October of 2016.
Six playoff experiences, the World Series appearance, helped create a love affair with the self-effacing manager whose health problems finally broke him down to the point where he decided to step away.
Almost 30,000 people showed up on a school night to express their appreciation for Francona and all he meant to the fans of Cleveland baseball.
Fans received free 'Thank you Tito' shirts when they came through the gates.
Thousands of people put them on and made a wall of red to show their feelings for Francona, who made several encores to wave to the crowd and hug his players.
The tickets I bought happened to be in the bleachers just below the scoreboard where fans took video and clapped for the man who helped create so many amazing baseball memories.
Francona, 64, will now undergo several surgeries before deciding what his next step in life will be.
Thousands of Cleveland baseball fans will Sept. 27 for the rest of their lives.
One Red Sox fan was also very happy to pay his respects for helping make the Red Sox World Champions.
My only regret is my father was not alive to experience the hex removal.
Warren Dillaway can be reached at warren@starbeacon.com
