The death of a fan of a sports team really shouldn’t be news. But “Wild Bill” Hagy was more than a sports fan. He was Baltimore. At least a part of Baltimore that I will always cherish.

Hagy died Monday at the age of 68. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, as the Baltimore Orioles put together one outstanding season after another, Hagy led the cheers in Section 34 for the old memorial Stadium. Actually, saying he led cheers doesn’t do him justice. Hagy put the fans into the game.

With a cowboy hat on his head and many years of drinking on his midsection, Hagy whipped the crowd into a frenzy, before using his body to spell out Orioles letter by letter. It might sound goofy, but in those days with stadiums half full, yet affordable, it was just the tonic baseball in Baltimore needed.

Not only did Hagy bring excitement to the games, the Orioles responded in kind and put together one of the most exciting seasons ever in 1979. They won games in the late inning seemingly every week as “Oriole Magic” took over the city. That was one of the best summers of my life.

I would see Hagy at the 7-11 in Catonsville where I grew up from time to time. When he stood in front of Section 34, he was a larger-than-life figure. At the 7-11, he was just a guy who loved the Orioles. That’s what made him so great.

I could go on and on about Hagy and his beefs with management about bringing beer into the stadium and the changes in ticket prices and the tone of the fans in Baltimore, but that’s not the point right now. Bill Hagy made it fun for so many people, including those in my age range who probably weren’t allowed anywhere near raucous Section 34.

I don’t go to Orioles games anymore for a variety of reasons, but I am a part of a very active and loud supporter’s section at D.C. United soccer games. And I’d like to think that Wild Bill paved the way someway, somehow, even though it’s a totally different sport.