Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League

 
A few months after his high school graduation, Francona once played for a basketball all-star team in a game against the Harlem Globetrotters. But as an athlete, John Patsy Francona was no joke. Nicknamed Tito at a young age, he was a standout at New Brighton in three sports – football, basketball and baseball. In football, he was a halfback who also threw passes and was the team’s kicker. In football, he won one WPIAL title in 1951 and one co-championship in 1950 and was the leading scorer in Beaver County as a senior. He was on a section championship basketball team in 1951 and also was part of a section championship baseball team in 1952. Baseball was his best sport and he went on to play 15 seasons of Major League Baseball. He made the MLB All-Star Game once and hit .363 one year with the Cleveland Indians. He hit better than .300 three other times. Tito’s son, Terry, is a former manager of the Boston Red Sox and now the Cleveland Indians.