David Franquero Oral History, Part 1/2

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Part OfDavid Franquero Oral HistoryIntervieweeFranquero, DavidInterviewerMcBride, JoyceBrowse TopicCommunity GroupsEducationSociety and CultureSubjectSchool sports--Arizona--HistoryDescriptionDavid’s paternal and maternal grandparents, the Franquero and Liano families, came from Spain. Adolph Franquero born in Sutter’s Creek, CA, was living in Los Angeles during WWII, when he met and married Mary Carmen Liano. They had two sons and a daughter. The family moved to Globe, AZ in 1946, and Adolph started working in the Liano family business. Purity Brands was a beverage bottling and distributor business with an ice plant on Oak Street. Maternal grandfather Ceferino Liano emigrated from Spain first to Clifton, AZ before he set up a soda pop and confectionary business (the El Indio Bottling Works) in Miami. In 1939, Ceferino Liano relocated his business to Globe and changed the name to Purity Brands. David Franquero and his siblings grew up on Cottonwood Street. He remembers working for the family business when he was very young. He was brought up actively involved as an altar boy in the Catholic Church. He also remembers playing with sports in the Hill Street Elementary School neighborhood and talks about how the Class of ’64 Arizona State Basketball champions was first formed in East Globe’s 5th grade class David was an all-around champion. Purity Brands sponsored the little league. He was equipped to letter all four years in High School Baseball. But even aside from school, when he was a sophomore he played softball in the city Men’s League. As a sophomore, David was picked for Varsity football, quickly moving to both offensive and defensive. He talks about many of the battles between school teams, some lost and most won, as GHS Tigers earned the copper kettle 3 times during 1960-64 and ranked #1 in the State. David played basketball all 4 years, culminating with the State Championship in 1964. He honors former players who set the pace in previous years. Other than sports, academically David was in the top 10 percent of his class. In the middle school years, David played in the band, but dropped it in lieu of sports. He was also a very active Jr. Rotarian, was the editor of the school paper, called the Papoose, was in Thespians, and was the Student Body Vice-President. and Wigwam King. Ironically, it wasn’t sports that took top priority when deciding a college after graduation. David had remained active as an altar boy long after the other older boys had left. In fact, at one point he was considering becoming a priest. His mother encouraged him to go to a Catholic university in Santa Clara, CA. where David got a partial scholarship for football and was on the JV team his freshman year. Known for high academic standards and the well-disciplined athletes this private college run by Jesuit priests was unofficially called the “Notre Dame of the West,” because it had formerly been an all-male campus. David was out on crutches with a broken ankle when Santa Clara played against and stomped NAU. This gave him the opportunity to talk with the Arizona State College coach, who persuaded him to transfer to Flagstaff his sophomore year. However, once transferred, David decided his grades were a priority and so didn’t try out for football. Instead, he got involved with the Delta Chi Fraternity, and worked his way up to president. This fraternity dominated in intramural sports and consequently in 1966 David played for the Lumberjacks in baseball.Date Original2014-07-19Date Range1930s (1930-1939)1940s (1940-1949)1950s (1950-1959)1960s (1960-1969)TypeSound- NonmusicalOriginal FormatOral historiesLanguageEnglishContributing InstitutionGila County Historical MuseumCollectionOral Histories of Globe High SchoolRights StatementThe opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and interviewer only. They do not represent the views of the Gila County Historical Society of Globe High School. Please contact the Gila County Historical Society Museum, located at 1330 North Broad Street, Globe, AZ 85501; call 928-425-7385 or email [email protected] with questions concerning content or the use and reproduction of this resource.

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City or TownGlobeCountyGila CountyStateArizonaCountryUnited StatesGeoNames URIhttps://sws.geonames.org/5296013

Oral HistoryDavid Franquero

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IdentifierDavid Franquero Part 1.mp3Date Digitized2014-07-19Digital FormatMP3

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David Franquero Oral History, Part 1/2