Beloved New York Mets viral superfan Seymour Weiner died Tuesday, the workforce and his household confirmed.
He was 98.
“We are saddened to learn of the passing of Seymour Weiner,” the Mets wrote on social media Wednesday, sharing a photograph of the World Warfare II veteran and lifelong Brooklyn resident attending a sport.
Weiner skyrocketed to fame when he was honored as Veteran of the Sport on the Mets’ opening sport in 2024.
However he confronted a hurdle in attempting to serve his nation: his hypertension. Weiner ended up going to the recruitment heart at Grand Central Station, the place a nurse suggested him to drink a lot of water and lie all the way down to decrease his blood stress.
“He laid there for hours and hours until they finally took his blood pressure and they said, ‘OK, we can put you in,’” Beth Weiner recalled.
However by the point he acquired in, the struggle had ended, and he served within the military of occupation in Italy doing work on communications tools.
“Had they not dropped the atomic bomb, he was actually going to be going to the Far East, but instead they sent him to Italy,” Beth Weiner defined. He was honorably discharged in 1947.
On the opening day sport in March, Weiner was offered a flag by Mookie Wilson and John Franco — two all-time Mets greats. As he made his approach by way of the tunnel, Weiner met Keith Hernandez, a former Mets participant and broadcaster, and Howie Rose, one of many groups’ nice announcers.
“He was so excited and delighted,” Beth Weiner stated of the special occasion.
That day additionally catapulted Weiner into on-line stardom with social media customers cracking jokes about his identify.
“There were a lot of adult men making juvenile boy jokes about ‘see more weiner,'” his daughter stated. “All of a sudden, my dad’s name was everywhere!”
The Athletic coated the frenzy about Weiner’s viral fame final 12 months.
The Mets final April held a $1 sizzling canine evening promotion utilizing a photograph of Weiner in its promoting that stated: “A Seymour Weiner approved message” and “Everyone loves a Weiner.”
“They put his head on the rapper Lil Yachty’s body dancing with a hot dog and my father was loving it. People would say he must hate being made fun of. My dad said, ‘Doesn’t bother me at all! I love the attention!’” Beth Weiner stated.
Weiner wasn’t nicely sufficient to attend the sport himself, however his household obtained tickets to enter the sphere.
“People were chanting his name the way they chant players names. Every open opportunity, they would chant his name, and at the end of the game, they said we sold a record number of hot dogs,” she recalled.
Beth Weiner described her father Seymour as a “lifelong social activist,” captivated with true patriotism, inclusivity and variety. (Dr. Beth Weiner)
“He had this kind of lifelong connection. He was watching games while he was really in the last days of his life, he was listening on his phone,” Beth Weiner stated.
“The day that earlier than he handed, was the day that they scored 19 to 1 runs and I stated, ‘They’re doing it for my dad,’” she stated.
Beth Weiner described her father as a “lifelong social activist,” captivated with true patriotism, inclusivity and variety.
“He lived those ideals to the very end,” she stated.
“My father would be so tickled, because he grew up as a child in poverty and during the Great Depression, his family had nothing. He had immigrant parents. He had what we would now probably call learning disabilities, and some low self-esteem because of it. He was just so tickled to become a little superstar,” she stated.
Tributes have poured in on-line for Weiner. (Dr. Beth Weiner)
Weiner’s spouse preceded him in dying. He’s survived by Beth Weiner and her youngsters, Juliette Wilder and Jonathan Wilder.
Tributes poured in on-line for Weiner.
“RIP Seymour. From defeating Nazis to being there for the Mets crazy 2024 season is a hell of a life I gotta say,” one person wrote on Reddit.
“2024 Mets magic season started with him, RIP,” one person wrote, as one other added, “Seymour Weiner, the Mets’ glizzy king, WWII vet, and proud face of Dollar Dog Night. The man lived a hell of a life and still had the sense of humor to become a viral sensation for having the name of the season.”
