Wild Bill Hagy
William Grover Hagy | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | Edgemere, Maryland, U.S. | June 17, 1939
Died | August 20, 2007 Arbutus, Maryland, U.S. | (aged 68)
Other names | "Wild Bill" |
Occupation | Cab driver |
Known for | "O-R-I-O-L-E-S" cheer |
William Grover "Wild Bill" Hagy (June 17, 1939 – August 20, 2007) was an American baseball fan and cab driver from Dundalk, Maryland, who led famous "O-R-I-O-L-E-S" chants during the late 1970s and early 1980s from section 34 in the upper deck at Memorial Stadium.[1]
Life
[edit]Hagy grew up in Sparrows Point, Maryland, and drove an ambulance, an ice cream truck, and eventually a cab until he retired in 2004.
Chants
[edit]Hagy's chants and persona developed him into an icon associated with the Baltimore Orioles for years.[1] While leading cheers from "The Roar from 34" at Memorial Stadium, Wild Bill became a Baltimore institution.
Hagy found the inspiration in his cheers from Leonard "Big Wheel" Burrier, a famous fan who led the Baltimore Colts in similar cheers.
Eventually the team recognized his enthusiasm and let him do his Orioles cheers from atop the dugout.[1] Hagy's fame led him to meet Presidents such as Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and to get writeups in The New York Times.[2][3]
"O!"
[edit]Hagy also introduced the tradition of shouting the letter "O" during the national anthem at sporting events in the Baltimore area.[4][5] Since its introduction at Orioles games by Wild Bill Hagy et al in 1979, it has been a tradition at Orioles games for fans to accent the line of "Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave" in "The Star-Spangled Banner" by yelling "O!"[6]"O" is not only short for "Oriole," but the vowel is also a stand-out aspect of the Baltimorean accent. This tradition is even carried out during the Orioles' spring training home games in Sarasota, Florida.
The tradition is now carried out at other sporting events, both professional and amateur, and sometimes at non-sporting events where the anthem is played, throughout the Baltimore/Washington area and all over Maryland, notably at Baltimore Ravens and Maryland Terrapins games. Even fans in Norfolk, Virginia chant "O!" even before the Tides became an Orioles affiliate.
Boycott of Memorial Stadium
[edit]In 1985 Orioles team management announced a ban that would prevent Hagy from bringing his own beer into Memorial Stadium. At the end of the last game prior to the ban’s enactment, Hagy downed ten bottles of beer before tossing his cooler onto the field in protest.[7]
Hagy then declared a personal boycott against Memorial Stadium, which he maintained until the stadium’s 1991 closure. [8] Hagy did eventually return to Camden Yards on September 6, 1995 - the night Cal Ripken Jr. broke the longtime record for consecutive games played. [9]
Death
[edit]Hagy's last known O-R-I-O-L-E-S cheer was performed at Ripken's Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, on July 29, 2007. He died at his home in Arbutus, Maryland, less than a month after the ceremony, at the age of 68.[1]
Orioles honors
[edit]Hagy is in the Orioles Hall of Fame.[10]
On Tuesday, June 17, 2008 the Baltimore Orioles honored "Wild" Bill Hagy by handing out honorary #34 T-shirts on their "T-shirt Tuesday."[citation needed]
On Saturday, August 9, 2014 the Orioles honored Hagy with a "Wild Bill" hat give away.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Ginsburg, David (20 August 2007). "O-R-I-O-L-E-S fan 'Wild Bill' Hagy dead at 68". USA Today. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
- ^ Walker, Childs (21 August 2007). "He embodied Orioles Magic". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- ^ Anderson, Dave (9 October 1979). "Series foes Orioles, Pirates play the game for fun". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- ^ Pelta-Pauls, Maggie (7 April 2023). "O! Say, Can You See It's Opening Day?". preservationmaryland.com. Preservation Maryland. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ Newton, Jason (10 September 2014). "Baltimore fans put the 'O!' in national anthem". wealth.com. WBAL TV Baltimore. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ Trezza, Joe. "Why O's fans yell 'Oh!' during anthem". MLB.com. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ http://www.baltimoreorless.com/2010/09/wild-bill-hagy-baltimore-magazine/ [bare URL]
- ^ "Wild Bill is a little too wild, faces misdemeanor charge". The Baltimore Sun. 5 July 1985.
- ^ Hirsch, Arthur (7 September 1995). "Wild Bill leads cheers 1 more time 2,131". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- ^ "Orioles Hall of Fame". Orioles Advocates. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- ^ "Orioles giveaways and promotions for 2014". 10 March 2014.