A Milwaukee native teaching school in Tampa, Florida took a break from the classroom this week to catch World Series Game 4 with his brother — and ended up photographing a sign that turned into something much bigger than a souvenir. Darryl Griffin's picture became a tribute to Christine Franken, a lifelong Brewers fan fighting stage 4 lymphoma, after a high school friend reached out with an unusual request in the middle of the game.
A Text Message Mid-Game Changes Everything
According to WISN, Griffin checked his phone during the game and found a message from a high school friend asking him to photograph her relative and share the picture out onto the field. That relative was Franken, and Griffin made a sign that ended up displayed throughout the ballpark, per the station's report. He sent the photograph back to his friend, and Franken's daughter later wrote, “My mommy made it to the world series after all.”
The game itself unfolded at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, where the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Brewers in extra innings after both teams scored in the 12th, as detailed by FOX 13 Tampa Bay. Despite the loss, Milwaukee held onto a 3-1 series lead heading out of Game 4, the outlet reported. The matchup was also confirmed by FOX Sports, which listed the Brewers-Rays contest at Tropicana Field for October 27.
A Cancer Tribute Woven Into the World Series
Griffin's moment with Franken's sign happened against the backdrop of Major League Baseball's annual Stand Up To Cancer tribute, which both World Series teams took part in to honor people affected by cancer during Game 4, per the seed reporting. At the end of the fifth inning, players, coaches, umpires, staff and fans paused together to recognize loved ones touched by the disease, according to Spectrum News 1. The tribute recognized people who had been in the cancer fight, consistent with the moment's broader purpose.
Many Brewers players used the televised moment to honor their own late broadcaster, Bob Uecker, holding up placards with his name, Spectrum News 1 reported. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted the team simply wrote “Ueck” on their signs. Uecker died in January 2025 after a battle with small cell lung cancer that his family said began with a 2023 diagnosis, according to Spectrum News 1's reporting. The Journal Sentinel added that MLB intends the yearly moment to recognize those impacted by cancer and show support for patients, survivors and their families.
A Tradition Years in the Making
The Stand Up To Cancer tribute is not new to the World Series stage. A similar moment unfolded during the fifth inning of Game 4 in 2022, when the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies honored people who had battled, were fighting, or had survived cancer, according to KHOU. That same report noted Astros outfielder Trey Mancini missed the entire 2020 season while being treated for colon cancer, and manager Dusty Baker had prostate cancer surgery back in 2001. Since 2009, MLB and its 30 clubs have donated more than $50 million to Stand Up To Cancer, Spectrum News 1 reported, and the organization overall has raised more than $825 million for research while funding over 3,100 researchers.
Family Loss Gave the Moment Personal Weight
For Griffin, the sign he made carried echoes of his own family's history with the disease. His aunt, Kaleena Griffin, died of brain cancer in 2012, according to the seed facts behind WISN's reporting. Griffin said certain moments in time connect people, crediting the experience to God and saying he believes walking right into something can put a person exactly where they need to be.
Griffin, who still roots for Milwaukee's teams from afar, said he will never stray far from his hometown. “Although I do not live in Milwaukee anymore, I will never stray away from 414. We got this. Bucks. Brewers. Packers. Let's go,” he said, according to WISN's reporting. He described the day as exhausting but called it a once-in-a-lifetime experience he will never forget.
