RIP Old Man Jimmy

[MSBNYY]

It is with much regret to say that I found out that Old Man Jimmy passed away quietly in his sleep.

I spoke with Tom, and in addition to the picture on the top of the board, it was appropriate to make a thread for people to throw out some memories of the man.

Obviously, due to the vast difference in age, I wasn't THAT tight with Jimmy. However, I always enjoyed when he'd walk up the aisle and get the biggest pop of the night. With age comes respect, and Jimmy was just a nice old man who loved Yankee baseball.

More than one creature has been caught saying, "when I grow up, I want to be Old Man (insert name here)."

I always found it interesting that Jimmy was born in 1923, the same year the Yankees moved into the real Yankee Stadium.

Right now, three specific memories of Jimmy come to mine.

At the age of 79, Jimmy got his FIRST tatoo--a Yankee logo.

I'm not sure if this recap is still up on 39.com, but several years back, I think around 2002, the bleacher creatures invaded Coney Island. One of the funnier memories of that night was seeing Old Man Jimmy in the front car of the Cyclone.

The third memory is basically that night where the picture on the top of the board came from. Just a night that 4 good looking women showed up, were real loud, took that picture, and were never seen again.

There will be a service for him and I'll post details when I get them.

[thecaptain15]

This is just horrible news, Jimmy has been and will be missed and at least I was lucky enough to spend several years sitting across the aisle from him in the old place. And it is the new place's loss that it was never graced with his presence (as far as I know). There was nothing better then Jimmy coming out of the runway into 39 and you can slowly hear the chant of "Jimmy! Jimmy!Jimmy!" start and build up with each step he took and he would "fist pump" along the way all the way up to his seat...Also remembering Jimmy partaking in the "Old Grandad"at one of the BBQ's on the top of the garage and the pride of showing off the Yankee tattoo he got at the ripe age of 79...



RIP Jimmy

[Jason Giambi]

When my seats got moved he sat across the aisle from me in 2002. He was always cordial and said hello to me. I am saddened to hear of his passing. If you guys are chipping in for anything, please let me know.

[crazilyz]

A very sweet man. Each time I saw him, I'd give him a kiss on the cheek and say "God bless."

[$heriff Tom]

Yeah, ive been telling people, and meaning it, that he may have been the kindest person I have ever come across. He was always smiling, always happy, loved being around us all, which is a statement in itself. Loved his Yankees, was as hardcore as anyone in that regard.

I used to like to pick his brains, sidling next to him and asking him about games in the old days. He had a ton of patience with me, as I was always loud and more often than not, drinking. I miss him, last night I nearly lost it on a few occassions. He was someone that bought such a charm to that place, I will never forget him, and I loved him.

[cactusjames]

Very sad. From my first day in 39 till the last Jimmy was the coolest fucking guy in the entire place. I've always thought he was the nicest guy there, just 100% genuine. To second the patience thing Tom said, when there was no seats in 39 instead of making go sit up top in 37 or somewhere further, the guy always let me sit next to him, and I was a million times more annoying than a loud drunk, I was a dumb shit kid. RIP Jimmy.

[MSBNYY]

If enough people post in here, this thread could be worth printing out and sharing at the memorial. If that is the case, I should post the picture that I was referencing here as well.



That was a pretty funny night.

[joetee316]

Just want to jump in here and offer my condolensces. The man was awesome. The smile on his face was great. You could tell he just enjoyed being out there and watching the games. The tattoo story at age 79 just shows how HARD he was. I like the Coney Island story as well. I wish I could have seen that. Hell, I never even got to ride the Cyclone.... and he sat in the front.

R.I.P. Jimmy - you will be missed. I wish I got to know him a little better and heard some of his stories. I wonder what happened to his wife.

[King98er]

It is truly a sad day. And I'm glad to see that MSB hasn't thrown in any death jokes.

[MSBNYY]

I found the Coney Island recap I wrote back in 2002. Here is the excerpt on Old Man Jimmy:

Then it was on to the Cyclone again. Justin had already tackled this beast 6 times, but was going for more. Surprisingly, a good chunk (pardon the pun) of people who went on the Breakdance ride passed on the Cyclone. But Justin, Lucy, Tom, and more went on the ride. But then a surprise occurred. Of all people, Old Man Jimmy was convinced to go on the Cyclone. The sight of a nearly 80 year old man (probably the only human being in the area OLDER than the Cyclone itself) riding that ride was one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. Jimmy went on the Cyclone and got a rousing ovation from the spectators. Domi also arrived late and joined the group for another run.

The best was that Jimmy actually went on the ride TWICE. It was great seeing him in the front row, and as if on cue, fireworks began as the group hit the top of the ride. When the ride ended, Jimmy received another ovation and we moved on to a second round of the bumper cars. And for the record, Tom rode on the ride four more times and did NOT vomit.

If I had to guess, I would say that one of the reasons bumper cars are so popular is because it’s a place where you CAN drink and drive, and those without licenses can actually get behind the wheel once more. The second round on the bumper cars was not quite as good as the first, only because there were so many more cars than before. That caused traffic jams which either set people up to get banged around, or just brought the ride to a stand still.

But one driver stood out by having an uncanny ability to not only get hit hard, but to cause the most traffic jam with his inability behind the wheel. Watching Tom on the bumper cars gave me a nice perspective of why he had so many accidents. This man managed to jam up 30 people by not turning the wheel. But he was enjoying the ride immensely, as was everyone else.

One notable event was seeing Capone share a bumper car with Old Man Jimmy. Of course that didn’t get any sympathy, as people showed no mercy. But people were smacking each other left and right. Tom was driving so badly that he managed to hit PARKED bumper cars. Steve smashed into me a few times, and all in all, there were some major hits.

The full recap can be found in the Memories section.

[thecaptain15]

Just spoke with MTA Joe. There will probably be a service up here on or around March 20th. They are still wating to confirm arrangements with Jimmy's family in VA but his ashes will be returned here so they can be laid to rest with his wife.

Thank you

[heartybooooo]

Filip Bondy included the following to end his Olympic diary today in the Daily News:

"Here's to Old Man Jimmy, a Bleacher Creature regular in Section 39. His gentle, friendly face will be missed."



Read more: www.nydailynews.com/blogs/bondy/2010/02/olympic-diary-a-new-wrinkle-pr.html#ixzz0gNIsWEtq

[tone516]

"""If enough people post in here, this thread could be worth printing out and sharing at the memorial."""

If you are going to do that then you might as well print the thread from the bleachers board which has more then double the posts and also some nice pictures and memories.

Rest In Peace Jimmy

[MSBNYY]

Actually, not a bad idea. Given that the intent on both boards, at least by most people, was to honor a nice man's memory, no reason not to print them both. Nice words are nice words, no matter where they are written.

[bdbarb]

Jimmy, a wonderful man. He's the coolest and sweetest person I've met in the bleachers.

[baldvinny]

here is the tentative information on services for jimmy:

Saturday March 20, 2010@ 2:00PM a graveside service at The Evergreens Cemetery in the Bethany section, the address is 1629 Bushwick Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11207-1849

His family is from out of town, so they request that if you would like to send flowers, be sure that there are no standing pieces and that the flowers are suitable to be left at the grave site

alternatively, you can make a donation in jimmy's name (Hestad) to either the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org) or The American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org)

there is nothing planned for after the service, so if anyone can make a suggestion as to an easily accessible bar/pub in the area, it would be appreciated.

[baldvinny]