William "Wild Bill" Hagy, a self-appointed Baltimore Orioles fan who ruled Section 34 in the upper deck at the old Memorial Stadium, died Monday. He was 68. Hagy was found unresponsive in his home by his roommate, the Orioles said. Efforts by paramedics to revive him failed.
Wearing a straw hat and a scraggly beard, Hagy led cheers at the Orioles' old stadium during the 1970s and 1980s. He spelled out O-R-I-O-L-E-S with his body while fans yelled each letter in unison.
"He was part of a great era," Orioles Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer said. "If you recall, we didn't draw many people back then. Best team in baseball, and we were drawing 1.2 million. He made it exciting to come to the ballpark."
A cabdriver during the day, Hagy guzzled many a beer in the stands while the fans eagerly waited for him to wave his hands over his head to start his trademark cheer. During important games, the team allowed him to climb on top of the Orioles dugout to rally the crowd with his act.
O-R-I-O-L-E-S fan 'Wild Bill' Hagy dead at 68 - USATODAY.com
08-20-2007, 09:18 PM
Re: O-R-I-O-L-E-S fan 'Wild Bill' Hagy dead at 68 
He looks like he needed a shower.
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