Former Redemptorist High School and Loyola University baseball player Frank Fortunato grew up idolizing New York Yankees legendary outfielder Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio was Italian. He played centerfield and wore jersey No. 5 for the Yankees. Influenced by his Italian father, whose favorite player was DiMaggio, Fortunato fashioned himself after the popular Yankee. The youngster’s heritage was also Italian, and while growing up he also roamed centerfield on New Orleans playgrounds wearing No. 5. Now 77 years old, Fortunato says “acts of God” allowed him to meet his hero on two notable occasions.

Fortunato had a familiar upbringing in New Orleans baseball. He ran the gamut of playing all levels of amateur baseball in the city. He was a baseball “junkie” before that term became popular.

He started out in the NORD Playground system as a 9-year-old. He progressed to Babe Ruth league competition in his early teenage years. He played for legendary coach Skeeter Theard for Redemptorist and American Legion teams during high school.

Rags Scheuermann, another renowned coach in the New Orleans area, offered him a scholarship to play baseball for four years at Loyola University. And he also played for Scheuermann for two years on local All-American League all-star teams that competed in national tournaments in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Fortunato was a self-described “early bloomer.” He excelled in the game at an early age. He had the benefit of learning the fundamentals under NORD coaches Ronnie Aucoin and Adolph Strada. He played on nine and ten-year-old city championship teams and won NORD’s home run derby contest as a 12-year-old.

He was selected for the NORD-Maison Blanche All-Star team in the Babe Ruth league in 1964. Local newspaper sports page headlines and photos referred to him as “slugger.” Under Scheuermann, the all-star team ended a five-year drought in the state tournament. After winning championships at the state and regional levels, the team advanced to the Babe Ruth World Series in Woodland, California.

The team did not fare well in the national tournament, losing out to Mobile, Alabama and El Segundo, California. Their loss to El Segundo was brought about by the pitching by Ken Brett, who hurled a no-hitter against them. (Three years later, Brett was pitching in the major-league World Series for the Boston Red Sox.)

Yet the highlight of the tournament for Fortunato was meeting his idol, DiMaggio. He describes the occasion as his first “act of God” experience.

Fortunato recalled, “Joe made an appearance at the tournament in Woodland along with Babe Ruth’s wife, whom the tournament was honoring. After our game with Mobile, DiMaggio began asking around, ‘Where’s this Fortunato kid? I want to meet him.’” To this day, Fortunato says he does not really know how DiMaggio found out about him.”

Fortunato ended up having his picture taken with DiMaggio, Mrs. Ruth, and Lefty O’Doul, another former major-league star. The photo, whose caption mentioned that Fortunato got two hits against Mobile and wore jersey No. 5 like DiMaggio, ended up being picked up by newspapers across the country, including popular baseball periodical The Sporting News. Today, we would say the photo “went viral.”

Fortunato’s DiMaggio story gets even more interesting. He recalled, “For some reason that I can’t explain, I blurted out to Joe that I was going to name my first child after him. What 15-year-old would say that in that situation?”

DiMaggio ended up autographing three baseballs for Fortunato that included personal inscriptions.

Despite going on to play at the high school and collegiate levels, Fortunato says he believes he hit his peak as a freshman. He says, “I never got bigger, stronger, faster. There were better ballplayers than me, but I had a nice ride.” Nevertheless, a review of newspaper articles about Fortunato’s baseball career indicates he was an integral part of every team with whom he played.

Fast forward to 1980. Fortunato and his wife had a son. Fulfilling his prophesy at the meeting with DiMaggio years earlier, they named their son “Jody,” whom the family fondly pronounced as “Joe Di.”

DiMaggio came to New Orleans in 1984 to appear in an old-timer’ baseball game in the Louisiana Superdome. He was not scheduled to play but was slated to throw out the first pitch instead.

Fortunato saw this as a potential chance to catch up with his idol again. He now refers to it as the second “act of God.”

He recalled, “I went to the Hyatt Hotel, where many of the old timers were staying. I figured I would hang out in the hotel lobby to see if Joe came through. Sure enough, I spotted him at the front desk. I went up to him, introduced myself, and reminded him of our encounter at the Babe Ruth World Series.”

Fortunato continued the story. “Joe said he vaguely remembered meeting. I told him I named my son after him, after which Joe offered to sign an autograph for him. Seeing that I had not brought a baseball, Joe asked the front desk agent for a pen and paper for the autograph.”

Fortunato reminisced about their second happenstance. “For all the supposed stories about Joe’s persona being very aloof and reclusive, I found him to be approachable and cordial, a true gentleman.”

Unfortunately, Fortunato says the three autographed baseballs and paper were inadvertently thrown away in the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina. They were among his most prized keepsakes.

There was one more occasion for Fortunato to see DiMaggio, although it would not involve a personal meeting.

He and Joe Scheuermann, current Delgado Community College athletic director and head baseball coach, began attending annual MLB World Series games in 1990 (and continue today). They were able to see the Yankees play Atlanta in 1996, and there was DiMaggio throwing out the first pitch in Game 1 in Yankee Stadium. Again, it is one of Fortunato’s treasured memories of the renowned Yankee.

DiMaggio died in 1999. Fortunato says he would have attended his hero’s funeral had he not been on a skiing vacation at the time.

Fortunato still marvels today at having been able to meet the former baseball star. His framed photo with DiMaggio hangs in a prominent place in his home. And 62 years after their first meeting in California, he still loves telling his personal stories about “Joltin’ Joe.”