I spent time on Twitter Monday night paying tribute to the sausage sandwiches that Frank Quilici's "Pa,'' Guido Quilici, would bring to Comiskey Park for the start of every Twins' series.
Guido brought the sandwiches in what Frank called "Polish luggage'' — paper bags. The sandwiches were prepared by Frank's "Ma,'' Laura, with Roma sausage and Fontana's bread from the South Side.
Note: Frank could get away with both Italian and Polish jokes, since his mother's maiden name was Domanowska.
Quilici died Monday at age 79, after a long battle with kidney disease. He was given a kidney in 2012 by Elizabeth, the wife of a longtime friend named Bobby. It kept him alive as a third kidney, which Frank would refer to with a large and grateful laugh as "Little Liz.''
He was a baseball overachiever — as a Twins player, a manager and an announcer — and, more than that, a great dude.
PATRICK REUSSE
