James Lynch and Aunt Kathleen

“Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.”

— Yogi Berra

Growing up in the late 50s, James Lynch fell in love with the Cleveland Indians and the massive stadium by the lake. James and his older sister, Kathleen — the president of the Chico Carrasquel Fan Club — often made the trip to the stadium to catch the traditional doubleheaders. When Kathleen befriended Minnie Miñoso, the Tribe left fielder let the diehard fans take a cruise in his car between games.

In 1995, when the Tribe returned to the World Series, James knew he needed to be at the ballpark. He took his daughter Kelly to Game 5. Homers by Albert Belle and Jim Thome, along with a superb pitching performance by Orel Hershiser, helped the Tribe defeat the Braves. After the game his daughter remembered, “I swear I’ve never seen my father happier than after the final out and an Indians win.”

When the Lynch family presented James with his Christmas present, a brick in Heritage Park, he began to tear up. Kelly recalls his response: “This is amazing — this means that I’ll always be with them even when I’m gone, right?” The brick is located near the Ray Chapman plaque in the lower level of Heritage Park.

Baseball and the Tribe were such an integral part of James Lynch’s world that when his health took a turn for the worse, he continued to follow his Tribe. His daughter sent the following:

And finally the 22-game win streak. He wasn’t very verbal in his last couple of weeks, but every morning I would ask, “Did you stay up and see the win?” “Can you believe this?” And he would muster up a smile and simply say, “unbelievable” and “It’s just amazing.” He passed in the early morning of 9/16 — the day after the streak ended and I know that he was holding on to see the entire streak. The Tribe game was on replaying as he passed…he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

He taught me the love of not only the game, but why players like Larry Doby and Bob Feller were so important not just as ballplayers, but as amazing men. I mean — I named my dog Feller because of the love my father instilled in me for that man. Sometimes, it’s more than just a game.

While writing their father’s obituary, Kelly and her sister both thought, “Dad would think flowers were such a waste. … He’d rather people go to a game.” And that is exactly what was written in the obituary: “In lieu of flowers please buy Tribe tickets.”

— TribeVibe contributor Jeremy Feador