Ninety-three-year-old Walter Greene grew up in South Carolina and was a big fan of Joe DiMaggio. He was friends in his hometown with Art Fowler, who would later be a pitching coach with the Yankees.
Tuesday night the World War II veteran got his chance to be on a Major League field as he delivered the game ball to home plate at Nationals Park before the Nationals hosted the New York Mets. It was his first visit to the stadium.
“Fun, fun, fun. I got to talk to the Mets manager; I recognized him,” Greene said of Mickey Callaway. Also at home plate to exchange the lineup cards was Chip Hale, the bench coach of the Nationals.
Greene served in the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.
He and his late wife Carol, who died in 2017, had four children, nine grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren. Greene grew up and still lives in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Fowler, who pitched in the majors from 1954-64, passed away in Spartanburg in 2007.
Greene was at the game with a son, daughter-in-law and oldest grandson.
It was Federal Workforce Day at Nationals Park. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Cedric Wilson, Regional Director for Imaging Services.
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