My dad and grandfather. My dad was a police officer and worked overtime on many nights at Memorial Stadium and the Baltimore Civic Center. because of that I got a huge gift, the ability to not only meet but become friends with many of the players, including Elrod Hendricks, Dave Skaggs, Keith Van Eron and the O's former trainer Ralph Salvon, all because of my dad. I have baseballs signed by some of the greats and a Yankee hat signed by Reggie Jackson because my dad worked OT. My grandfather and I spoke every morning to discuss the game the night before. My dad got me the American League Red Book every year and I knew the stats by memory. My grandfather also read the sports section first everyday and I started that habit at a very young age. My sons now follow sports the way I did as a kid.

You are very lucky to have had such a wonderful mother. My mother is an awful and miserable individual.

Thoughts and prayers go out to you Dan.

If you'll indulge me this is an article I wrote for bleacher report that I think applies.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/126118-the-giants-passion-from-our-fathers-passed-to-our-children

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Dan's Reply: Very nice. That's what I am talking about -- even if it is the NY Giants (that's a shot at Jeff Z, not you Thom).

That was a lovely read: your mom certainly passed on some writing talent to you..

It's going to be hard to write anything decent after that, but I will just pass on a nice memory of my first exposure to baseball. My family had lived overseas for the first few years of my life, and so I didn't really know anything about baseball until I was about 7. It was then that my father was watching the 1981 World Series on our old black-and-white TV. I still remember Fernando Valenzuela was pitching, and my dad was explaining all the rules to me. I have tried to explain the rules of baseball to people unfamiliar with the game since then, and also have thought about doing so with my little girls (they are a bit too young yet), and it's hard! But I think what made me - and what makes kids in general - eventually make the effort to figure them out is that they like to spend time watching the games with their folks, and learning the rules allows them to share in that experience better. I still go to games with my dad all these years later.

Sorry to hear about your mother. Sounds like she was a terrific, special lady.

Lost my mother in 1984 at age 63. She and my grandfather shaped my love for baseball. Both loved the game. My grandfather played until he was almost 30 years old. As a girl my mother would play in neighborhood pickup games with the boys, a real "no-no" in the '20s & '30s. She actually taught me how to catch, throw, and swing a bat.

My love for other sports developed from there. Baseball, however, is still my first love though.

It was definitely my Mom channeling her Dad. Growing up on the 700 block of E 35th St., the ball game, baseball or football, was always on the radio with my grandfather sitting outside on the front porch on a warm night smoking his pipe or Tiparillos, the roar of the crowd carrying up the block from Memorial Stadium.

I am lucky to still have Mom to discuss the good and not so good Orioles during my all to infrequent calls home.

I grew up without a father, as he was killed in Korea 3 months before I was born. My mom raised (and spoiled) me by herself, and she was, and still is, an important part of my life and my love of sports. She's 82 and in the hospital now, battling sepsis and COPD. My 2 favorite memories of her love of sports are New Year's days past, when she used to hook up 3 TV's at once so she could watch all the college bowl games. She was also able to get tickets to Game 4 of the 66 World Series in the upper deck, which she absolutely hated to sit in. I think she had her eyes closed the whole game, but she knew I wanted to go. Even in the hospital, when I visited her yesterday, she couldn't talk because of a tube in her throat, but she wrote down she passes the time thinking of NFL quarterbacks-ALPHABETICALLY!!
Yes, she still has her love of sports, and still can discuss the pros and cons of the Carmelo Anthony trade. She's even a NASCAR fan, although she could probably only name 35-40 drivers. Oh well, I guess age is catching up to her...

Dan, my sympathy to your family.

My dad was in the Navy and
I would go to an Orioles game
in the daytime then meet
him at the old Civic Center
for the Knicks and Bullets
in those memorable playoff games...

The costs weren't so high
on ticket prices and we
both loved to root against
New York with their great
basketball team....

In 69,70,71 the Orioles,Colts
and Bullets all were top
notch teams and those
memories still were of
the golden area of Baltimore
sports with my Dad....

I am so sorry Dan. I still have my mom but lost my dad 6/28 coming up....12 years ago. He was the one I got the love of sports from but it was my mom who ran us places and would never do what she wanted so we could do what we wanted. It was both of them who made sure we experienced all types of sports and took us to Orioles, Bullets and Colts games as well as school sports and little league etc and things like that.

Our deepest condolences, Dan. We know how very much your mom meant to you, and we've been thinking about you and yours the past couple of weeks. Your mom's story is not unlike my own -- you know I like sports, but definitely have become a more avid fan since Brian entered the picture. That said, I've never liked baseball. It was boring to play (take an ADD kid like me with limited ability and put her in the outfield - snoozefest) and even more boring to watch. When I finally went to an MLB game, I thought it was even worse, because no one was paying any attention.

Well, then I had a son; a son who loves baseball, and a son I have been smitten with since before he was born. He is the one who taught me to love baseball. (MLemm is teaching me to love softball. :-) Now, as a family, we all enjoy the sport. If I can be half the woman your mom was, and have kids as great as all of you, I will consider mine a life well lived.

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That's fantastic. Thanks for writing, Sheryl. And thanks to everyone who has commented here today.

We grew up in Baltimore in which you were expected to play football like Johnny Unitas and baseball like Brooks and Frank Robinson. That was just the way it was. In those days, Baltimore was
synonymous with excellence in professional sports, hands down, no question about it. Earl Weaver managing, four 20-game winners, the pitching of Jim Palmer, McNally, Dobson, Mike Cuellar. Boog Powell, Davey Johnson, Mark Belanger, Paul Blair.
Later, the era of Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray, and Rick Dempsey as the MVP of the '83 World Series.
There is a photo of me in '66, as a child, wearing an Orioles cap and windbreaker. It was a badge of honor.
Now, all of this just seemed "normal" at the time. There was no awareness that later the Colts would leave town or that the O's would go into a multi-year losing streak.
You have to imagine what it was like for kids to grow up wearing a Number 5 Orioles jersey and a blue Baltimore Colts Number 19. Looking back, you realize it was a special time when heroes reached for the stars on 33rd Street, winning frequently. With mojo.
And excitement.

I can't really say who shaped my love of sports....probably my mom and my siblings since my dad was never too close to any of us.

I would like to share one childhood experience/memory of mine. I was 13 years old the year the Colts beat the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. I entered and won a meet the Colts contest. I was of about 20 other kids (best I can recall) about that same age. We watched the team practice in Memorial Stadium, attended a coaches meeting and received all sorts of Colts memorabilia. We also were allowed in the Colts locker room after practice. It is in the locker room where all of us kids were able to obtain autographs of the Colts greats. I'll never forget what an awesome experience it was....like a dream come true for a 13 yr old Colts fan!! I still have the autographs of John Unitas, Bubba Smith, Mike Curtis, Norm Bulaich, Rick Volk, Jim Obrien, Don McCaffrety, Tom Matte (I believe), Don Nottingham, plus other players. Thanks for letting me share!

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Great story. Thanks for sharing

My Mom took me to the first game the Orioles ever played in Baltimore in 1954. We went to the last game the Orioles played at Memorial Stadium in 1991, 37 years after we went to that first one. We went to hundreds in between. She passed in April, 1996, and after the funeral, the entire family did what we knew she wanted us to do. We went to Camden Yards for an afternoon Orioles -Red Sox game, and cheered ourselves hoarse when Brady Anderson, her very favorite player, lead off the game with a home run. Your memories of your Mom really resonated with me. Deepest condolences.

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As did yours. Thanks

Good afternoon Dan, my condolences on your mother's passing. Dan, my dad shaped my love of sports. I live in DC and growing up DC did not have a baseball team, so my dad used to take me to memorial stadium and we just talked and he would tell me about how he played baseball as a kid and that is why I played little league because my dad played, he would explain what was going on in the game. I had a great time being with me dad talking. My dad is 81 and to this day we still talk baseball.

Wonderful tribute to your mother. So sorry for your loss.

Dan,

What a beautiful tribute to your mother. I know she had to be very proud of you.

Widowed now for 23 years and never remarried, my Mother has a higher love for sports because of mine and my father's interest in them. She follows the O's and Ravens faithfully. My dad taught me my knowledge and history of sports. I was born in 1962 and named after a famous Colts fullback. So Mom was interested because my Dad and later I was. Since most boys learn affection from their Mom, I am guessing my devotion to sports comes from my dear Mom.

Becoming a FAN, I attribute to Chuck Thompson. Next to my Dad, no one taught me more about baseball and football. What a nerd I was on those summer night listening to the radio scoring a game on score sheet I drew up. Chuck during the idle time on baseball talked strategy and why certain things were taking place. I will never forget his "play along with the manager" comments he used to use almost every game. It didn't hurt we had a pretty damn good team in those days too.

Mom, Dad, and Chuck T all played a role.

Dan, God Bless you and your family at this time!

Dan,

I am sorry for you and your family's loss. I lost my father several years back suddenly while he was on a trip to Assi Italy. He was a huge Johnny U fan but living in Alabama my first expierence was going with my father to a Bama vs Houston. I was hooked and have been a confirmed sports nut ever since. He also loved a good walk in the woods. Our last trip was out west to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. I still feel him when I am out in the woods. You seem to have had a great mom,please remember those who are loved are never forgotten
ed

Dan, I'm so sorry about the loss of your mother.

My own mother is the one who taught me to love sports (and to keep a scorecard at every Orioles game, something I still do). She's been an Orioles fan since her favorite team was the minor league Orioles (she loves to tell the story about attending the 1944 minor league World Series, which apparently outdrew the MLB Series that year). She was at the modern Orioles' first game in 1954 and was with me at the team's final game at Memorial Stadium in 1991, their opening game at Camden Yards and at Cal's 2131 game. Mom and I went to Cooperstown together to see Brooks Robinson's and Eddie Murray's inductions into the Hall of Fame, and only my concerns about how well she'd maneuver with the record crowds kept us away from Cal's induction.

Mom will be 83 in August, and the first thing we talk about every day during baseball season when I call her on my way to work is what the Orioles did the night before. She was a Colts fan and definitely follows and roots for the Ravens, but the Orioles always have been and always will be her team.

My husband loves being married to a woman who knows and loves sports (and can explain the infield fly rule!), and having a MIL who does, too. The other night when Nick Markakis hit that grand slam, the first thing my husband said was, "Call your Mom and make sure she was watching!" Which, of course, she was. She always is.

Sorry for the long post. Your post reminded me of something I try not to think about: someday my Mom won't be here to talk baseball with me. I dread that day, but I'm so grateful she taught me to love sports the way I do.

Again, my condolences on the loss of your mother. Thanks for sharing her story with us, and letting us share ours.

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That's wonderful, Linda. Again, thank you and all of the posters today. Every story has been great.

My Dad would have been 100 last Saturday, but since mt Mom died when I was young, I was raised by an extended family of Aunts and Uncles. My Dad had no use for sports but my Uncle Gil owned a barber shop on Caton Ave and I would sit in the barber shop, in the '50's and smell the cigar smoke, watch the fish in the tank and listen to real sports talk - racing was big but the O's were loved, if not very good and the Colts were the "bomb" by the time I turned a teenager in '60...

Dan, the love for you mom comes through in your article. Brought tears to my eyes.

I remember clearly sitting on my dads lap at a Red Sox / Os game in 1954. I was 5 years old. Dad said to me "Billy, I want you to really remember this moment, That's Ted Williams the greatest hitter to ever play the game". Dan, it's 57 years later and I still remember that moment. I had many great years of sports enjoyment with my pop. I lost him 20 years ago and still think of him every day.

Moving tribute to your mother Dan, it brought tears to my eyes. I have been a die-hard O's fan since birth despite moving away from Baltimore in 1987. It hit me while reading your article that the reason I am such a huge O's fan is not because they are the hometown team, it is because they are an element of my family. At every crab feast, cookout, or summer function, it always seemed that the Orioles game was either on the radio or on a television not far away.

My grandfather, who passed away in 2007 would drive me down to games from his home in Hartford County on many a summer night throughout the 1990's. I can remember sneaking into an O's game with my Dad, Grandfather, and Uncle in April of 1992, just weeks after the new stadium opened. My grandmother still follows the Orioles at the age of 84 and is more knowledgeable about baseball than most people I know. It is that connection which has been passed down from generation to generation that makes rooting for the O's meaningful. Sure it would be great to have a winning team once in a while but the family connection is what matters most.

My grandfather watched the Orioles games with me every chance he could. We would watch in the basement if needed. LOL. Also every Sunday watching CBS football and telling me about John U and the old days.

Dan,

The loss of a parent is an experience that shapes our lives forever after. My condolences on the loss of your Mom.

My Dad was the sports nut in our family. He had seven brothers, 5 of whom served in WW2, my dad included. Dad was going to be signed by the International League orioles when the war broke out. As did many in his era, he enlisted and spent three years in Europe. He injured his shoulder while in the service, not enough for a discharge but enough to end his dream of a pitching career in the big leagues.

Dad passed away on New Years eve, 1993 at Hopkins. Fireworks were going off at the inner harbor when he drew his last breath. It was surreal. I was at his side. I did not cry at the time, as my sisters did, and I made it through the funeral. I helped mom pack up dad's things and arranged to sell the house they lived in and that I grew up in. Mom did not want to say there because of the memories. As the weeks passed I kept waking up in the middle of the night hoping that he was alive and it had all been a dream. For many months after he passed I would instinctively start to reach for the phone to ask for his advice on a problem..and then stop.

That winter was long and hard in Central Pa that year, and it was not until early March that the snow melted down enough so that I could take down my outside Christmas lights. As I began to roll up the first set, it suddenly struck me that when I put up the lights, Dad was alive, and had helped hold the ladder. It was at that point that I fell to my knees in the melting snow and cried like a baby for a long time.

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Gil, I am waiting for my Christmas lights moment. I know it will come at some point. Thanks Gil and all of those who shared fantastic stories (including my cousin Col).

I was 11 yars old when my Dad and his Dad took me to Opening Day 1954 when Turley pitched against Virgil Trucks and the White Sox. My Dad and his Dad had watched the International League O's play when the Stadium faced the other direction. My Dad's Dad died two months later and I have been hooked on the O's ever since, not to mention the Colts (I was a Celtic Fan, and I still am).

My Dad (your uncle) gave me my love of sports back in the early 60's, when I was just a kid and you weren't even born yet. Like most Irish families, Dad ruled the roost and the TV/radio, which meant Colts football and Orioles baseball, with a little boxing thrown in. Never liked boxing, but you can't tear me away from the O's and now the Ravens.

I remember the first game he took me to at Memorial Stadium in '65, and I asked him why the fans were booing our own guy. Of course, they were saying "Boog". But he had the patience to explain it all to me, and I took him to his first game at OPACY, and he was tickled that his daughter bought him a beer and a hotdog. Good memories, and Aunt Ann will be missed!

During the summer of 1944, mid -way through the war, my father took me to my first professional baseball game. The game was at Old Oriole Park on 29th Street in the Govans area of Baltimore. The Baltimore Orioles were not a big league team but rather were a AAA Cleveland Indians farm team. They played in the International League. I remember walking up rickety steps and when we got to the top we were inside the ballpark. It was a magical moment. I think my mouth may have fallen open. There before me was a beautiful green ball field. The fences had colorful advertisements pasted on them. There were the usual sounds of the ballpark – vendors hawking hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn and crackerjacks. I felt like I had been transported into a special world. Thus began my lifelong love affair with baseball and my team – The Baltimore Orioles.

Dan, my condolences go out to you on the loss of your mother. Even though she is gone, you can cherish the memories you have as they will always be with you.

As the only girl and oldest of three, I can remember the special times I had with my dad - who is no longer here - watching the Orioles and the Colts. Through a business acquaintance, he would sometimes get O's tickets from Charlie Eckman. I felt so special going to the game with him as he would explain to his 10 yr old daughter the players and the strategies. My dad was old enough to have seen baseball immortals, such as Ruth and Gehrig, but he loved watching Brooks, Boog, and Frank just as much.

But perhaps my most vivid sports memory with my dad was how he explained football to me. An accountant by trade, he carefully measured a sheet of paper and diagramed a football field with 1 in equaling 10 yds. He then took two toothpicks and tied a one inch piece of string between them. That's how I learned the concept of 4 downs to get 10 yds! My dad would be 105 this Fathers Day. Here's to the memory of all who have passed their love of sport from generation to generation...

Greetings from the Philippines! Dan, you certainly touched all of us w/your article, thank you! My younger sister once asked our Mom how come you know so much about baseball? Her answer was that being around your brother Rich when he was growing-up was an education in sports especially baseball! I lost this connection when she passed but I will always cherish it! Thanks again!

I'd have to say it was my maternal grandmother. She loved the Orioles and the Colts. Back before all the games were on TV, she would sit up every night by the radio and listen to Chuck Thompson and Bill O'Donnell for the Orioles game. I would often sit and listen with her, and observe how she would intensly follow each pitch. Every Colts game was a big deal. She revelled telling the story of how she was at the Caton Tavern on Edmonson Avenue one afternoon when Mike Curtis and his enterourage breezed in and bought everyone in the place drinks! She was all Birds and Colts, and I think that rubbed off on me.

I'm sorry for your loss, Dan

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Great. Thanks Tim

My dad took me to the second game the Orioles played at home on April 17, 1954. He wanted to see this kid from Baltimore, Al Kaline, play for the Tigers. The Birds lost a heat breaker 1 to 0, and Kaline went 0 for 3 but we had a great time together and I was hooked on Oriole baseball. I was 9 years old. We attended many more sporting events over the years together. I lost my dad in 1975. He had battled polio as a kid and malaria from serving in the Pacific during WW II. He was, and still is, my hero!!

Hey Connolly - nice story...seems like you're a real nice guy. Did your father teach you how to be and love Marxism too or did you learn that through indoctrination within the public school system where you were taught by protected union teachers who cannot get fired and bargain for lbenfits that rival winning the lottery? I still laugh how you propogated the Marxist press over Luke Scott being a conservative. ooooo "he likes guns" I think you even stated. Do you think we would forget that Marxist blunder? Just remember that you are a reporter and you are not to utilize your position irresponsibly to impose your Marxist will on others, especially when you are ripping on an O's ballplayer that happens to be a good guy too! You should be utiilizing your position as a reporter for the Sun in showing better support for your home town team versus imposing your indoctrinated Marxist will on others okay?

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I attended Catholic school in Balmer for 13 years. Nuns with rulers and Christian Brothers with backhands have a stronger authority than any union.

My aunt-Mary Knott,had season tkts and attended every single Colt game from their existance to when Irsay took them out of here.My brothers-George and Tommy Hairsine bought me my 1st season tkt that I had for 11 seasons til Irsay took them away from us.My dear father,Douglas Reichert ,who overcame polio at an early age and never was able to play sports at an early age,would always take me out to the backyard in Severn and tirelessly catch my every pitch as if it was a real pro game.These people are the greatest human beings that I will ever know and I miss them deeply.So sorry for the loss of your best friend and mother,Dan.I know how it feels.

My grandmother, I remember the 1st time she took me to a game at Memorial Stadium. We would walk from her home on the west side of Baltimore City and catch the bus near Park Circle to the game. We would get off the bus,cross the street and walk in the park through the gate near the Memorial.
Once inside the stadium, I can hear Rex Barney's voice making announcements over the loud speakers, then comes the smell of the stadium(popcorn, hotdogs, cotton candy). My Grandmother when then stop at her favorite vendor to grab us a few dogs, cokes and caramel candy. Then it's off to my our seats(grandmother was season ticket holder). I can still remember the seat location( Terrace level section 40, row 2 , seat 1& 2 and her best friend had seats 3&4. just behind O's dugout, within a stones throw from the pressbox and in between the screen behind homeplate and the dugout. I remember scoping up a foul ball that came off the bat of a well known and future Hall of Famer named Brooks Robinson. Im can also still remember going to the 82' series games against the Brewers and watching Storm Davis pitch lights out against the Oakland A's. Those were the days of O's baseball that I remember and cherise.