SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A funeral service was held in Springfield Thursday for Manuel Paniagua, also known as Tito Stevens, a longtime sports page editor for the Boston Globe.
Services were held at St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church Thursday morning. Paniagua who died Sunday at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield at the age of 79, had a distinguished career first as a sports writer in Puerto Rico and then many years as sports editor for the Boston Globe.
During his professional life, he went by the name of Tito Stevens, Steven was his mother’s maiden name. His daughter, Leilani Paniagua, told 22News, she remembers fondly what it was like for her, having a famous sportswriter for a father.
“We grew up in baseball. I grew up going to Fenway park, when we came to Massachusetts got to go to the press box,” Leilani said.
The famed Puerto Rican sportswriter succumbed to a series of illnesses.
He had been living in Springfield for the past 10 years.
