Memories of Willie Don

William Donald Schaefer .

The 89-year-old former governor, comptroller and longtime Baltimore mayor had been in failing health for some time, so it was not really a shock to hear of his passing.

I spent four years covering the Maryland General Assembly and state politics for The Gazette. I joined the State House press corps shortly after the 2006 election, just as Schaefer left public office for the final time.

I rarely covered Schaefer in person—though I do recall occasionally covering the fallout from his late-career antics. I remember seeing him in person maybe once during my time in Annapolis.

Still, as a life-long Marylander I remember Schaefer as a political giant of my childhood. And there is one time I saw him in person that I recall vividly, if only because his appearance caused me to miss one of the first runs the Orioles scored at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. ()

In 1992, the Orioles held a lottery for bleacher seats to the first Opening Day at their beautiful new ballpark. My father mailed in maybe 20 postcard entries. Having never won anything I scoffed. When my father received two tickets in the mail I was amazed. When, citing my lack of faith, he said he was taking my sister or my mom, I remember thinking that I couldn't rightfully protest, having done little more than laugh at him—as 14-year-olds are wont to do with their parents. He pulled me out of school and took me anyway.

Our seats were in the first row of the bleachers below the beautiful new scoreboard with "The Sun" in giant letters perched atop it. The first two seats from the aisle. Perfect.

As we settled in for batting practice and the pre-game festivities, which included a few fans in our section chatting up O's utility man Tim Hulett and backup catcher Rick Dempsey, who was beginning the final year of his career, it came out (maybe from the appearance of a television crew?) that a boy seated with his mother across the aisle from us had won an even bigger ticket lottery. He got seats from Gov. William Donald Schaefer.

Schaefer said that he might skip Opening Day at the ballpark that he had a major role in building. A Baltimore Sun article reported that the governor said that he was feeling "blue." (Schaefer was derisively referred to as the "governor of Baltimore" by some of those living outside of Charm City who resented all the state money pumped into the city that he presided over for nearly 16 years. The Camden Yards sports complex was one such project to reap the benefit of a Baltimorean in Government House. I seem to remember Schaefer's threat to skip out as a thumb in the eye of detractors, a way to show critics that his efforts to build baseball's latest, greatest cathedral did not come with the expectation of great seats.)

Ben Harrington, a 10-year-old from Annapolis, was far more proactive than I was in seeking tickets for the game. Hearing that Schaefer did not plan to attend the game, he wrote the governor and asked to use his tickets. Schaefer obliged.

With President George H.W. Bush in attendance (with his son and grandson—check out the photo), Schaefer was hardly the only dignitary in the park. But, as was his way, he made himself known.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with one run in on an RBI ground-rule double by catcher Chris Hoiles and the O's threatening to add another run with Leo Gomez on third, there was a commotion in the seats behind us. An even mix of boos and cheers rained down and then—with a WJZ-TV news crew in tow—down through the bleachers came the reason for the ruckus: The governor.

The next few moments were a blur. My father gave up his seat—either for Schaefer or for the WJZ camera man. With the cameras rolling, Schaefer spoke with Harrington and his mom. As all this was going on there was a much louder roar from the sell-out crowd. I looked back toward the infield to see a scramble of players. A few moments later, with the help of the replay screen, I realized that I had missed Billy Ripken (who to me—a second baseman on the Sherwood High School junior varsity—was my favorite Oriole) laying down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Gomez.

It was the second and final run scored on a day when Rick Sutcliffe pitched a complete game, five-hit, shutout of the Cleveland Indians in a ridiculously efficient two hours and two minutes. And it was the one time I saw Schaefer, up close, in his element in Baltimore, among his constituents from around the Free State, doing his thing.

And now, the "He Cared" edition of "The Rundown": 

• Schaefer  from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday. A brief arrival ceremony will take place outside the State House at 10 a.m. and the rotunda will be opened for public viewing at that time. Schaefer's body will be taken on a final tour of Baltimore on Monday afternoon, with the route—past some of the landmarks of Schaefer's life of service—yet to be announced. Schaefer will lie in state for public viewing from 6-9 p.m. on Monday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday in the rotunda at Baltimore City Hall. Please post your memories of Schaefer in the comments box below or below .
• Today is the final day to tell the county what you think of its libraries. The online customer satisfaction survey is available for feedback from customers 12 years old and up at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library. The survey, which is available in Spanish and Chinese, asks customers to rate their experience with the library and its customer service and to evaluate its collections, programs and amenities. Results will be posted on the Montgomery County Public Libraries Web site and MCPL administrators will use the results for future strategies for library operations.
• Friday is Earth Day, with celebrations in and around Rockville. Rockville Town Square will host a from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Participation is $10 and goes to nonprofit environmental organizations. Rockville Presbyterian Cooperative Nursery School  to benefit the school—and the environment.  will accept gently-used household items and will offer free, secure document shredding and a sale on reusable travel mugs. Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County's ReStore will from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, and again on Saturday, with free presentations from green businesses about green initiatives in the community. The ReStore will also feature sales on merchandise and giveaways.
• U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen will host a forum from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on April 27 in the cafeteria of the in Rockville Town Center with representatives from the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy. Ninth-, 10^th-, and 11th-grade students and their parents are invited to attend to learn about the academies and their admission requirements. For more information, call Van Hollen’s district office at 301-424-3501.
• "Like" Rockville Patch on Facebook. Follow us @RockvillePatch on Twitter.