FOLKS WE LOVE--BALTIMORE'S MEMORABLE SPORTS CHARACTERS
William "Wild Bill" Hagy was a 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.
Hagy grew up in Sparrows Point, Maryland and drove an ambulance, an ice cream truck, and eventually a cab until he retired in 2004.
Hagy's chants and persona developed him into an icon associated with the Baltimore Orioles for years. While leading cheers from "The Roar from 34" at Memorial Stadium, Wild Bill became a Baltimore institution. Standing at six foot two inches tall, Hagy was an easily recognized figure at the ball park, always adorned in sun glasses and a straw cowboy-styled hat. Hagy found the inspiration in his cheers from Leonard "Big Wheel" Burrier, a famous fan who led the Baltimore Colts in similar cheers.
Hagy is said to symbolize the term "Orioles Magic" as his cheers sometimes led to comeback victories for the Orioles. Eventually the team recognized his enthusiasm and let him do his Orioles cheers from atop the dugout. Hagy's fame led him to meet Presidents such as Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and to get writeups in The New York Times.
In 1985, Hagy boycotted Memorial Stadium for not being allowed to bring in his own beer. At the end of a game he tossed his cooler of beer onto the field, never to return.
Hagy did return to Camden Yards however, the night Cal Ripken broke the longtime record for consecutive games played. Hagy led the fans in his famous cheer on one of baseball's greatest nights.
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. Hagy died at his home in Arbutus, Maryland in 2007.
Hagy is in the Orioles Hall of Fame. (Wikipedia)
WILD BILL HAGY
RICK DEMPSEY
Rick Dempsey was a major league baseball catcher for 24 years spanning four decades. But he became infamous for what he did when the game wasn’t being played.
His sense of humor during his playing career was renowned, and he was famous for his "rain delay theatre" performances, in which he emerged from the dugout in stockinged feet onto the tarpaulin covering the infield during a rain delay and pantomimed hitting an inside-the-park home run, climaxed by his sliding into home plate on his belly on the wet tarp, all to the raucous delight of the soggy fans. He sometimes did this while wearing a pair of underpants over his uniform, making fun of teammate Jim Palmer's famous advertisements for Jockey brand briefs.
For ten and a half seasons, Dempsey was the Orioles' starting catcher. He became known for his exceptional ability to handle pitching staffs, his strong throwing arm, and for his agility behind home plate. In 1979, the Orioles defeated the California Angels in the 1979 American League Championship Series to reach the World Series. The highlight of his career came in 1983, when the Orioles won the 1983 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Dempsey posted a .385 batting average along with a .923 slugging percentage in the five-game series, and won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. In typical Dempsey fashion, he told then President Ronald Reagan on the congratulatory phone call to tell the Russians we were having a lot of fun playing baseball. Dempsey is now a post-game analyst for MASN Orioles telecasts and is a frequent visitor to Dempsey’s Restaurant located in the Warehouse on Eutaw Street.
TERRY REARDON
The booming voice at the Civic Center yelling “Yowsah!” or “Hum Baby!” while nervously pacing during a Clippers game was from none other than Terry Reardon. A tough Irishman. A Clippers mainstay. Baltimore’s Mr. Hockey.
Reardon, who scored the winning goal for the 1940 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, was the Clippers general manager from 1962, when the team was formed and the Civic Center opened, until they disbanded in 1975. The New York Rangers had sent him to Baltimore to direct the new franchise. He coached the Clippers on several occasions, winning three AHL division championships.
"Terry did a lot of things for hockey in Baltimore," said Ray "Gump" Embro, the Clippers reserve goalie and trainer in those days. "Crowds averaged 7,000 to 9,000. We outdrew the Bullets. Yeah, we were minor league, but we were the best AHL franchise at the time. And it was all because of Terry."
"There was nothing fancy about Terry," Embro said. "Smoked nickel cigars. Shot and a beer. Tough Irishman.
"He was great at putting a team together, getting players with a year or two left, former NHL guys," Embro said, mentioning Douglas, Jimmy Bartlett and Gilles Boisvert. "He'd take eight or nine old guys like that, put them with some young guys and have a great team."
SCOTT AND JEREMY ON 105.7 THE FAN
Local sports talk radio has always been a tough thing to sustain. Market size, availability of major league teams, fickle fan bases and the usual need to fill time with syndicated programming are the snares that often undo this media forum. Charm City appears to have knocked one out of the park with 105.7 FM The Fan. Founded in 2008 after undergoing multiple format changes, The Fan is now the undisputed king of Baltimore sports talk. The station has Ed Norris and Rob Long in the morning drive ("Norris & Long Show" 5:30-10 AM), Bob Haynie and Vinny Cerrato ("Vinny & Haynie Show" from 10 AM to 2 PM), and Scott Garceau and Jeremy Conn ("Scott Garceau Show" from 2 to 6 PM).
In the coveted afternoon drive time slot you have Baltimore sports veteran Garceau, who has been on the local scene since the early 80s. He has broadcasted Orioles television games, Ravens radio games and was the play-by-play guy for the CFL’s Baltimore Stallions. He paired with former Baltimore Colts star Tom Matte for both the Stallions and the Ravens; giving a distinctive local flavor. He was sports director at WMAR TV2 until 2008. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors, he is one of 44 members that meet each year at the Super Bowl to select the Hall of Fame inductees.
Garceau pairs very well with the younger, somewhat irreverent Conn; who combines great knowledge and passion of Baltimore sports with humor and can relate with the older and younger fans. Their afternoon show brings in guests like former Oriole Bill Ripken, who is now with MLB network and former Raven Femi Ayanbadejo, who covers the New England Patriots. But even more memorable are the cast of regular call-in characters like Bubba from Bowie, Elkton John and Mo, a youngster who appears well on his way to a sports broadcasting career.
O J BRIGANCE
Orenthial James Brigance has the unique distinction of winning a championship with two different football teams in the same city. Brigance played for the Baltimore Stallions for two seasons, becoming a CFL All-Star in 1995, recording seven sacks and helping his team win the Grey Cup. In 1996, Brigance was signed by the Miami Dolphins as a free agent. He was twice voted a team captain during his four seasons there and his teammates named him Ed Block Courage Award recipient in 1999. In addition, he was honored with the NFL Player Association's "Unsung Hero Award" that same season.
The next year, he was signed by the Baltimore Ravens. Brigance was a key contributor to the Ravens' championship-winning team as he finished second on the team with 25 special teams tackles and led the team with 10 special teams tackles in the post-season (including the first tackle of Super Bowl XXXV).
These accomplishments alone make Brigance noteworthy, but his impact off the field is beyond phenomenal. In May 2007, Brigance was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a motor neuron disease that is eventually fatal. He has created a foundation to assist ALS research called the "Brigance Brigade". Brigance has been involved in a number of different community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Daily Food Bank. He is currently the Director of Player Development for the Ravens and serves as a motivator and inspiration for the team.
REX BARNEY
Rex Barney was the PA announcer for the Orioles from 1974 until his death in 1997. He was famous for often using the phrase "Give that fan a contract!" when a fan snared a foul ball on the fly. However, if the fan misplayed the ball, Barney would intone, "Give that fan... an error!" This was an expansion on the old radio and TV announcers' comment, "Sign him up!" He would also end every announcement with his signature "Thank youuuuu."
Barney's famous "Thank youuuuu" were the last words to come over the PA system at Memorial Stadium after the Orioles' last game there on October 6, 1991. Barney was in the hospital at the time, and the message was recorded from there and played over the PA system to end the Orioles' tenancy. Barney was also a sports talk host and one of his frequent callers was “Rick from Elkton” (i.e. yours truly). He was a true gentleman who like most of the other folks we love, treated the Baltimore sports fans just like family. Rex, Thank youuuuuu!!
She was a young blonde girl with a big smile and a straw broom that would win her fame. There, during the fifth-inning break in Orioles games, Linda Warehime would sweep off the bases, the mound and the infielders' shoes. Sometimes, she'd also dust off the shoes of the visitors' third-base coach and give him a peck on the cheek — or a playful swat on the fanny — as the fans whooped it up.
The job lasted seven years, until 1975, and earned national acclaim for Warehime. She landed in Time and Sports Illustrated, attended Orioles' parades and banquets and made appearances on television's "To Tell The Truth" and "What's My Line?"
"The Orioles paid me $5 a game, but I'd have done it for nothing," Warehime said in a Baltimore Sun interview. "It's something I will cherish forever."
"Boy, was I nervous that first day. I thought I was going to trip," said Warehime, recalling her debut in 1968 at age 11. "But I did the bases without incident, and then did the players' shoes. Brooksie always had a smile for me. Then I'd sit on the third base side and catch foul balls."
What tickled the crowds were the hijinks between Warehime and the other team's third base coach. Many got spanked by her broom; others played along in kind. She still gets requests to appear on sports shows and is grateful and gracious to those who fondly remember her as part of the Orioles baseball experience during some of the team's most successful years.(Linda now lives in Kentucky but still is a diehard O's fan ----and my Facebook friend!)
LINDA WAREHIME
