View source for Wild Bill Hagy

{{short description|American baseball spectator}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = William Grover Hagy
| image       = Wild Bill Hagy.jpg
| caption     = 
| birth_name  = 
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1939|6|17}} 
| birth_place = [[Edgemere, Maryland]], U.S. 
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|2007|08|20|1939|6|17}} 
| death_place = [[Arbutus, Maryland]], U.S.
| 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 &ndash; 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 (Baltimore)|Memorial Stadium]].<ref name="wildbill_usaTOday">{{cite news |last=Ginsburg |first=David |date=20 August 2007 |title=O-R-I-O-L-E-S fan 'Wild Bill' Hagy dead at 68 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/orioles/2007-08-20-hagy-obit_N.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712200255/https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/orioles/2007-08-20-hagy-obit_N.htm |archive-date=12 July 2010 |access-date=20 March 2011 |newspaper=[[USA Today]]}}</ref>

==Life==
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===
Hagy's chants and persona developed him into an icon associated with the [[Baltimore Orioles]] for years.<ref name=wildbill_usaTOday /> Hagy found the inspiration in his cheers from Leonard "Big Wheel" Burrier, a famous fan who led the [[History of the Baltimore Colts|Baltimore Colts]] in similar cheers.

Eventually the team recognized his enthusiasm and let him do his Orioles cheers from atop the dugout.<ref name=wildbill_usaTOday />  Hagy's fame led him to meet presidents such as [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Ronald Reagan]], and to get writeups in ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name="bsun_aug212007">{{cite news |last=Walker |first=Childs |date=21 August 2007 |title=He embodied Orioles Magic |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2007/08/21/he-embodied-orioles-magic/ |access-date=6 October 2024 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Dave |date=9 October 1979 |title=Series foes Orioles, Pirates play the game for fun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-series-foes-orioles-pira/156650769/ |access-date=2 September 2011 |newspaper=[[The Miami News]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |agency=[[New York Times]]}}</ref>

===="O!"====
Hagy also introduced the tradition of shouting the letter "O" during the national anthem at sporting events in the Baltimore area.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pelta-Pauls |first1=Maggie |date=7 April 2023 |title=O! Say, Can You See It's Opening Day? |url=https://preservationmaryland.org/openingday/ |access-date=1 April 2024 |website=Preservation Maryland |publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Newton |first1=Jason |date=10 September 2014 |title=Baltimore fans put the 'O!' in national anthem |url=https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-fans-put-the-o-in-national-anthem/7089163 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502202943/https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-fans-put-the-o-in-national-anthem/7089163 |archive-date=2 May 2023 |access-date=1 April 2024 |website=WBAL TV Baltimore}}</ref>
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!"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Trezza |first1=Joe |title=Why O's fans yell 'Oh!' during anthem |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/why-orioles-fans-scream-oh-during-national-anthem |access-date=29 June 2022 |work=MLB.com}}</ref> "O" is not only short for ''Oriole'', but the vowel is also a stand-out aspect of the [[Baltimorese|Baltimorean accent]]. This tradition is even carried out during the Orioles' spring training home games in [[Sarasota, Florida]].

===Boycott of Memorial Stadium===
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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 September 2010 |title=Wild Bill Hagy: The Irrepressible Human Manifestation of 'Oriole Magic' |url=http://www.baltimoreorless.com/2010/09/wild-bill-hagy-baltimore-magazine/ |access-date=6 October 2024 |website=Baltimore Or Less}}</ref>{{User-generated inline|date=October 2024}}

Hagy then declared a personal boycott against Memorial Stadium, which he maintained until the stadium’s 1991 closure.<ref name="bsun_1985">{{cite news |date=5 July 1985 |title=Wild Bill is a little too wild, faces misdemeanor charge |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-wild-bill-is-a-little/156651083/ |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |pages=19 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Hagy returned to [[Oriole Park at Camden Yards|Camden Yards]] on September 6, 1995 – the night [[Cal Ripken Jr.]] broke the longtime record for consecutive games played.<ref name="bsun1995">{{cite news |last=Hirsch |first=Arthur |date=7 September 1995 |title=Wild Bill leads cheers 1 more time 2,131 |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1995/09/07/wild-bill-leads-cheers-1-more-time-2131-ripken-passes-gehrig/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002062607/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-09-07/sports/1995250090_1_wild-bill-hagy-orioles-watching-the-game |archive-date=2 October 2012 |access-date=2 September 2011 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]}}</ref>

===Death===
Hagy's last known O-R-I-O-L-E-S cheer was performed at Ripken's [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Fame]] induction ceremony in [[Cooperstown, New York]], on July 29, [[2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|2007]]. He died at his home in [[Arbutus, Maryland]], less than a month after the ceremony, at the age of 68.<ref name=wildbill_usaTOday />

==Orioles honors==
Hagy is in the Orioles Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Orioles Hall of Fame {{!}} Baltimore Orioles |url=https://www.mlb.com/orioles/history/orioles-hall-of-fame |access-date=6 October 2024 |website=[[MLB.com]]}}</ref>

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|date=March 2017}}

On Saturday, August 9, 2014, the Orioles honored Hagy with a "Wild Bill" hat give away.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Mark |date=10 March 2014 |title=Orioles giveaways and promotions for 2014 |url=https://www.camdenchat.com/2014/3/10/5492180/orioles-giveaways-bobbleheads-tshirts-2014 |access-date=6 October 2024 |website=Camden Chat}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Andy the Clown]]
*[[Robert Szasz]]
*[[Robin Ficker]]
*[[Ronnie Woo Woo]]

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

{{Baltimore Orioles}}
{{Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagy, Wild Bill}}
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles]]
[[Category:People from Baltimore]]
[[Category:Baseball spectators]]
[[Category:People from Dundalk, Maryland]]
[[Category:People from Baltimore County, Maryland]]
[[Category:People from Arbutus, Maryland]]