'Wild' Bill To Be Honored on Tuesday...

Tomorrow night at Camden Yards, the Baltimore Orioles will honor 'Wild' Bill Hagy with a T-Shirt promotion (adorned with the number #34 on the front and back -- for the section he did his cheer in -- they will be given out to the first 10,000 fans), and will give fans a chance to remember a part of the Baltimore sports lexicon.

From the Orioles Press Release: ... on Tuesday, June 17, the first 10,000 fans 15 & over attending the 7:05 p.m. game against the Houston Astros will receive a Wild Bill Hagy t-shirt in honor of the late Orioles superfan. June 17 marks the anniversary of Hagy's birthday, and Hagy's friends and supporters will join the Orioles in honoring him throughout the game. The shirt will feature the number 34, which was the number of the section in the upper deck at Memorial Stadium from which Hagy led "O-R-I-O-L-E-S" cheers.

As we all know, he lead the famous O-R-I-O-L-E-S chant, by not only screaming it out, but doing gyrations with his body the best he could to spell out the letters. He lead crowds during the late 70's to mid-80's, and would whip the crowd into a frenzy.

I was fairly young during this phenomenon, so I can't recall any great stories or what not; however, I did get to meet him a handful of times at events, and once at a game. He seemed like an everyman and almost a quiet guy -- but no doubt a true fan as everyone just seemed to gravitate towards him.

To be remembered for anything is special, and it is nice that the Baltimore Orioles franchise have taken out a day to give thanks to a fellow that embodied 'Oriole Magic' way back when...

Honoring "Wild" Bill: The Baltimore Orioles Establish the "Wild" Bill Hagy Award...

As we all know, “Wild” Bill Hagy passed away last week and Oriole fans have celebrated his life in their own little way.

Now it looks like the organization will honor him in their way also. There have been little vignettes of “Wild” Bill on display at some point in every game since his passing, and now the Orioles have established the “Wild” Bill Hagy Award which celebrates a loyal superfan each and every year.

The announcement took place in between the fourth and fifth innings on the huge scoreboard on Eutaw Street.

Well, “Wild” Bill is the first recipient of the award.

Many feel that the Orioles may not do many things right on and off the field; however, they hit a home run with this deed and have found a way to honor and memoralize the passion of Mr. Hagy.

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Thoughts on "Wild" Bill, A Rainy Day and the Rundown...

I had an entry last night on "Wild" Bill Hagy, who sadly left us on Tuesday on the blog, and I kept my words to a minimum much only met him once and knew him as a legend to Oriole fans through videotape as well as word of mouth.

Well, after looking at the Baltimore Sun, especially the kind words about Mr. Hagy left on Roch Kubatko's blog by various readers, it is clearly evident to me more than ever the impact he left on the Oriole fanbase.

He may have just been a "fan", but he was man who left an indelible mark on a community and so many are speaking of him proudly, with reverence and love.

As I have learned, he was a link to the past of the Orioles, when being a fan was truly having a part in the game.

Today, we need scoreboards to tell us when to cheer or when to feel passionate, but in his heyday Bill was the cheerleader and the fans fed off his passion.

If we could all only go out the way "Wild" Bill has...

The Orioles will probably show a video and give him a celebratory moment of silence; however, the team do something special, like showing a past video of him doing his cheers on the scoreboard when the team needs to rally, or something on those line.

He obviously meant a lot to the community, and it would be nice if the team could give a little back...

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Take a look at James Baker's piece on Oriole Magic about "Wild" Bill. Also, if you want a great perspective as to how "Wild" Bill made an impact on the Baltimore sports scene, check the various blogs and postings on the WNST website.

The Sun's Dan Connolly has a wonderful piece on him, as does Roch Kubatko.

The postponed game last night between the Rangers and Orioles will be replayed as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday at 5:05 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, Jaret Wright is looking to make a comeback with the Orioles and get things going in September.

Freddie Bynum has been activated off the DL, and is back with the big club.

The Orioles MLB site looks at Erik Bedard's Cy Young chances...

Jay Gibbons had surgery and is on the road to recovery...

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Rest in Peace, "Wild" Bill...

I just got home and heard the terrible news of "Wild" Bill Hagy's passing on the Sports Talk 980 here in the Washington DC area.

Well, I am only 28, and really did not get to see him do his famous "O-R-I-O-L-E" cheer in the flesh during the glory days of the 70's and 80's; however, I eventually learned what he meant to the Baltimore community and his place in team history.

I had the opportunity to meet him in Feburary at Babe Ruth's Birthday Bash held at the Sports Legend's Museum at Camden Yards, and boy did he ever have a crowd around him.

The photo above is of him at a table during the event, as I snapped a quick photo. I spoke to him only briefly, but chatting with him was like talking to your buddy, or someone you knew.

I only got to see him do his world famous O-R-I-O-L-E-S in person at that event, but through the magic of videotape, he'll live on forever in Baltimore folklore.

"Wild" Bill was the epitomy of the word "fan" and love and devotion to his team was certainly unparalleled.

Too bad his passion is missing from the Camden Yards, and most of my generation never got to see him perform in section 34 of Memorial Stadium.

However, to be remembered for something is special within itself, and seeing the tributes online, on the Sun website and on other blogs, he brightened up a lot of lives and certainly made a small impact on those who crossed paths with him.

Thus, to have accomplished that is a wonderful thing.

Be well, Bill and rest in peace...

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*thanks to garecitycanes for uploading the video onto Daily Motion for the world to see...