Every team has a superfan or twenty: those devoted souls who show up for every game and cheer on the local lads no matter what. Last night the Quad Cities River Bandits (High-A Central) celebrated a notable superfan: 100-year-old Frank Wulf.
It’s not hard to miss Wulf at Modern Woodman Park: he can be found strolling the ballpark at a River Bandits game. Everyone seems to know him, so a River Bandits game for Wulf is a definite social happening. Yes, he rode the ballpark’s fabled Ferris wheel, and he’s seen a lot of history in those decades of attending River Bandits games. So the team marked the birthday milestone with a celebration last night, with a celebration that included his great, great nephew throwing out the first pitch and 100 cupcakes for the family and friends. He also implored the crowd to “Play ball!” and sang baseball’s anthem during the seventh-inning stretch.
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“When you get to be 100, you have a lot of good memories and baseball has been a big part of that for me,’’ Wulf said. “When you go to games, you see a lot of people, a lot of friends.’’
Wulf’s wife, Dorothy, attended the first game played in 1931 at what was then known as Municipal Stadium.
She later worked for both the City of Davenport and for the minor-league team. After she married Frank, the couple attended nearly every home game to watch future major-league players and managers.