Fran Podraza ran out of innings recently in Texas at 82, far away from his Fort Myers baseball odyssey. Dementia and Alzheimer’s had robbed my former baseball manager of memories and the ability to care for himself. In his final years he didn’t know names and somebody needed to shave him. I remember when he was a player manager and catcher in his 50s running my Roy Hobbs Baseball teams in the 1990s and early 2000s. I remember when at age 57 or so he became likely the oldest man to ever homer at Terry Park. I remember. I was there. Maybe standing on deck when he launched a screaming liner down the left-field line and disappearing in the general direction of Palm Beach Boulevard.
I had heard Fran was in memory care somewhere in Texas. Then came the news that he died. I started reaching out to former teammates. One of them was in contact with Fran’s daughter, Jen Shoppach. I remember her as a young woman coming to games to see dad. Jen is now 54 and the mother of three daughters ranging in age from 17 to 27 and a resident of Aledo, Texas. She wanted to talk. I called. Jen and her husband, former big-league catcher Kelly Shoppach, cared for Fran in his final years. He was no longer the robust man in his 50s who could catch nine innings in 90-degree heat and run a team. Our team was sponsored by Hooters. Jen told me about a framed Hooters team jersey signed by all of us that Fran hung on a wall. “He cherished that jersey and he told every single person about it every time they walked through the door,” Jen said. She still has the jersey. “I obviously am not not going to get rid of it,” Jen said. Our team played in the Roy Hobbs World Series and a local league. We didn’t have any ex-big leaguers on the team. Instead, we had a cross-section of amateurs. I recall two doctors and a lawyer or two. There was a plumber and I believe a truck driver and real estate professionals and teacher and roofer and a sportswriter. 'He loved all you guys so much' We had Fran taking care of things, making out lineups and determining whether a certain sportswriter should play shortstop or centerfield and paying tournament and league entry fees. “He loved all of you guys so much,” Jen said. “I just appreciate the friendship you guys had with him. He talked about you guys nonstop up until he really didn’t remember anymore.” One of those guys Fran loved was second baseman Steve Cunningham, now 73. He treasures his Fran memories and the teams.
“A sense of camaraderie that you can’t explain,” Cunningham said. At the heart of the camaraderie was Podraza. “Fran was one of our best hitters and best catchers but he always made sure people played ahead of him,” Cunningham said. “He cared more about his teammates and his friends than he did himself.” What is the first thing Cunningham thinks about regarding Fran? “First thing I think of Fran is kindness,” Cunningham said. As amateur players we chipped in to pay entry fees. Some players had financial troubles. “He would front money for the (Roy Hobbs) World Series and hope to get paid back,” Cunningham said. Fort Myers resident Mike Shevlin was an ace pitcher for Fran and knows he didn’t have to worry about any administrative details. All he had to do was show up and play. “He was in charge of everything, and you knew everything was organized,” Shevlin said. Jen is far away from her hometown, the place where her dad helped bring the Roy Hobbs World Series to Fort Myers and volunteered with the City of Palms Classic basketball tournament. His endless energy involved finding a sponsor for our Hooters team. In the 1990s, Jen worked at Hooters and Mike Cannington was the marketing director for the restaurant chain in the southern half of Florida. “Fran was a great ambassador for us,” Cannington said. Fran’s daughter is far away but feels connected to Fort Myers. “I just appreciate the love that everyone’s been giving me,” said Jen, a Bishop Verot High School graduate. Fran was an Army vet who pursued sports as an athlete, coach, administrator and volunteer. “I can remember when I was a kid growing up my dad was involved in everything.” Jen said. “We always used to laugh and call him a doormat because he would let everybody walk all over him. He would give you the shirt off his back. … He was always so happy all the time.” The Roy Hobbs World Series, an amateur event with hundreds of teams that runs over five weeks in the fall, has been played in Fort Myers since 1993. Fran helped bring it here and when the organization established a Hall of Fame in 2013 he was a charter member. Jen attended many games and heard many stories from dad. “He loved to tell stories,” Jen said. “And I don’t know if any of them were true or not but, OK, they sure sounded good.” Here is a true story: Fran Podraza was a Fort Myers sports treasure. “I don’t want people to forget about him,” Jen said. Glenn Miller is a former News-Press sports writer who is now an adjunct journalism professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and a former Roy Hobbs World Series participant. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fran Podraza was a Fort Myers sports treasure | Opinion