Truro senior to toss out first pitch at Bearcats game
His first choice was to pitch the first ball at the start of this year’s World Series.
But while that was “a little out of their league,” if you’ll pardon the expression, Eric McDade, 87, was quite happy to settle for throwing out the first ball at a Truro Bearcats game. And on Friday evening, that’s what he’ll do, as a way of fulfilling a bucket list request, thanks to staff at the Parkland Retirement Living.
“I did it as a joke,” McDade chuckled.
“I think I originally said that I wanted to go to the United States and throw the World Series first pitch.”
Although that request was a tad lofty for recreation coordinator Vickie Proctor to fufill, she did arrange for him to pitch at the Bearcats’ game.
McDade is a sports fanatic generally and an avid Blue Jays fan specifically. Although he never played organized baseball growing up, he did play recreationally.
He was also “heavily involved” with little league at Willow Street School while his three children attended there.
“But I like sports of all types,” he said.
And Proctor said that fondness is obvious through his widespread knowledge of all sports.
“We hold a program called Trivia here at Parkland and he is always the first one to get the sports questions correct, no matter what sport,” Proctor said.
McDade also holds bragging rights for pulling off two holesin-one while playing golf in his younger years.
As for the Bearcats’ game, he isn’t taking things too seriously.
“It’s just a fun outing,” he said. “It brings back memories to the Halifax and District League that drew great crowds while playing in Truro during the 1940s and ’50s. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t working on his pitches – albeit with imaginary baseballs.