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Francis John Finn bought a sign to replace the one in San Antonio that once proclaimed his uncle's feat.
By CHASE SQUIRES, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 22, 2002
SAN ANTONIO -- Thanks to Francis John Finn and his brother, San Antonio will be forever marked as a place of family honor, small-town pride and a really big fish.
A really, really big fish.
For years -- nobody seems to know how long exactly -- a wooden sign downtown commemorated the 20-pound, 2-ounce largemouth bass caught in May 1923 in a nearby lake by Frederick Joseph "Fritz" Friebel.
For nine years, Friebel's big fish was a world record. And to this day, it's recognized as a state record.
But with time, the old wooden sign commemorating the catch fell apart. The remains were stored in a back room at the San Antonio City Hall.
Then during the summer, on a trip through the east Pasco County towns where he grew up, Finn made his way into City Hall to ask about childhood friends. An afternoon of swapping stories with City Clerk Barbara Sessa got around to Finn's late uncle, Friebel, and the old sign that was no more.
On Monday, he came back. This time, he brought a new, 50-pound sign he and his brother had crafted by an Ohio sign maker out of plastic and other materials. It's weatherproof and built to last, he said.
"When they told me that last sign had come down, I said, "I'll see if I can't find something to make a sign out of that would last,' " Finn said Monday.
His brother, Fred, an avid golfer, found the solution on a golf course in Shelby, Ohio, where the brothers live. It was a tee marker, durable and attractive, Francis John Finn said.
And the sign maker was close, about 50 miles up the road.
"I drove up there, talked with the fellow who made the sign, and he was a big fisherman," Finn said. "He was excited about it."
The new sign features a carved likeness of Friebel, complete with his favorite cigar.
"It looks a lot like him," Finn said. "He loved fishing. He was always fishing, every time he got the chance."
When Friebel died in 1965, Finn said, he took the secret to catching "the big one" with him.
"He didn't pass on the secret to me," Finn said with a laugh. "I wish he had."
Sessa said the city will look for the best place to erect the sign, probably in a downtown park.