Famous Fan Loved Orioles, Budweiser

Yesterday, the Baltimore Orioles' most famous fan, "Wild Bill" Hagy, was remembered in a ceremony at the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards. Hagy, who passed in August at 68, was a local cabbie and rabid Os fan, whose Grizzy Adams vibe, penchant for alcohol and ability to get the hometown crowd fired up made him a cult sensation at Memorial Stadium in the late '70s.

In fact, Hagy was so beloved by the crowds, the Os invited him to move his show to the top of their dugout, where he led the cheers and famously heckled opposing players, such as Reggie Jackson.

"One year, Bill had had three or four too many and was really taunting Reggie Jackson," said Neil Barber, Hagy's friend and softball teammate. "After the game, we were hanging around, and one of the clubhouse guys said, 'Bill, Reggie wants to talk to you.' Reggie came out of the clubhouse in just his stirrups and socks. Reggie was glaring at him. And Bill, who is actually bigger than Reggie, just looked at him and said, 'I have nothing to say to you.' That was Bill. A real original."

But beyond the pure spectacle -- and, let's face it, there's something inherently cool about a hairy guy contorting his body to spell out O-R-I-O-L-E-S -- part of Hagy's charm was that he was the face of the "common" fan. And in this era of movie stars and politicians pulling face time in the good seats at baseball games coast-to-coast, we could use a few more Wild Bills. That was certainly the feeling at yesterday's ceremony, where only one small problem was noted:

"[Bill] wouldn't have approved, though, that we didn't have any beer here," said Skip Dorer, Hagy's friend of nearly 30 years. "He liked his Budweiser."

Here's some video of Hagy in action. Godspeed, Wild Bill.