112-Year-Old White Sox Fan Celebrates His Birthday by Attending His Very First Game
Once a Chicago White Sox fan, always a Chicago White Sox fan!
A Lansing, Illinois-based man named CP Crawford celebrated turning 112 years old on Aug. 25 with the treat of a lifetime: a trip to Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago to take in his first in-person game since beginning to follow the team more than 100 years ago.
And not only did Crawford get to watch his favorite team play. According to The Lansing Journal, he was also escorted from his home at Tri-State Nursing and Rehabilitation Center via limousine. He was joined by Andrew Holmes, an activist in the community who told him the two were just going for a ride, but instead surprised the centenarian when they arrived at the field.
“He didn’t know until we got there. And when I told him we were at the White Sox game, he got a big smile on his face,” Holmes told the Journal of the Thursday celebration. “It’s all about making him happy.”
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But the celebrations were only just beginning. Upon his arrival at the venue, Crawford was greeted with a custom jersey emblazoned with his last name and the number 112 — given to him by Harold Baines, who played and coached for the White Sox during his career.
He was also the lucky recipient of a foul ball as he watched the game from the Guaranteed Rate Club seating, where he enjoyed a buffet, rainbow-layered birthday cake and his soda of choice.
“They’re good, but I always thought the White Sox were the best,” Crawford told the Journal. “Chicago is my home.”
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According to the Journal, Crawford is the oldest living resident in Lansing, a suburb of Chicago. He was born in 1907 — one year after the White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. They would go on to win again in 1917, this time besting the New York Giants.
One of six children, Crawford moved to the Chicago area in 1925. He previously worked in cotton fields in lieu of attending school, the Journal reports. Senior Consultant for Gerontology for Guinness World Records Robert Young told the outlet there’s a “good chance” Crawford is the U.S.’s oldest living man.
“I’ve been around and I have met some wonderful people,” Crawford told the Journal. “I’m happy to be here.”
