96-Year-Old WWII Veteran Sings National Anthem at Whitecaps Game [VIDEO]
Players, coaches, and everyone attending Thursday night's West Michigan Whitecaps game witnessed a very special performance.
World War II veteran, 96-year-old, John Pylman sang the National Anthem before the game.
Amazing job, Mr. Pylman! And thank you for your service!
I'm so impressed! Singing in front of that many people has to be nerve-racking -- and Mr. Pylman nails it!
It's heartwarming to watch the video, and to read through the comments too - a rare thing on social media these days! So many people are sharing their appreciation for Mr. Pylman's performance.
From some of the comments it sounds like Mr. Pylman was also once the Principal of Rogers High School in Wyoming.
So how did the baseball game end up? Well, on Thursday, August 5, the West Michigan Whitecaps took on the Dayton Dragons. Unfortunately, the Whitecaps ended up getting shut out by the Dragons, and the final score was 8-0.
However, on Friday night, things turned around a bit, with the Whitecaps splitting a double header with the Dragons. They won the first game 4-3, but were defeated by the Dragons 7-5 in game two.
Saturday, the Whitecaps will again go head to head with the Dragons -- or should I say the Bung Hammers are taking on the Dragons? The Whitecaps are paying homage to Grand Rapids, otherwise known as Beer City, USA and once again changing their name to the Beer City Bung Hammers for Saturday's game. There will be beer, bungs, and bung hammer themed games all night long. Tickets are still available and you can get them here.
If you're wondering what a "Bung Hammer" is, the Whitecaps explained back in 2018, the first time they took on the honorary name:
A bung hammer is a specialized tool for sealing and unsealing the bung in the side of a barrel when aging craft beer. Now to answer the question of "What is a bung?" A bung is a wooden stopper for the opening in a barrel. So, the bung hammer is used to fit the bung into the bunghole of a barrel.