98-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor enthralls crowd at the Raiders game

Pearl Harbor survivor, Mickey Ganitch, (left) of San Leandro and John Antczak, honorary member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors association observe the installation of the beacon atop the summit building at Mt. Diablo, Calif. on Tuesday Oct. 22, 2012. less Pearl Harbor survivor, Mickey Ganitch, (left) of San Leandro and John Antczak, honorary member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors association observe the installation of the beacon atop the summit building at Mt. ... more Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close 98-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor enthralls crowd at the Raiders game 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Mickey Ganitch was ready to suit up — age be damned.

Raiders fans were thrilled Sunday by the 98-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor, who entertained the crowd before the Broncos game. Ganitch, a well-known local figure and die-hard Raiders fan, was honored in the pregame during the Raiders' "salute to service." After his obligatory polite salute to the crowd, he got into his best three-point stance:

Mickey Ganitch is a 98-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor and diehard member of #RaiderNation. He also looks like he could still shed a block or two. #SaluteToService A post shared by Oakland Raiders (@raiders) on Nov 26, 2017 at 3:27pm PST

Ganitch was just 22 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. That day, he and his friends on the battleship Pennsylvania were set to play the football team from the battleship Arizona. Ganitch survived the attack in the crow's nest of the Pennsylvania, still dressed in his football uniform.

Ganitch spent the remainder of the war in the Pacific and stayed in the Navy until the 1960s. After he completed his military service, he moved back to California and worked for a fishing net manufacturer in Oakland.

If you've heard of or seen Ganitch before, it's likely because he's done lectures on wartime life for decades. In 2012, he told the Chronicle he'd be giving talks "as long as I can walk."

Considering it looks like he can still hit the gridiron, lucky locals will be hearing Ganitch talk for some time.