Local A’s fan finally gets foul ball — from long distance
Richard Lovelady, who owns Lovelady Brewing in Henderson, grew up an Oakland Athletics fan and dreamed for many years of catching a foul ball.
He’s still waiting, but the next best thing happened.
His family and coworkers bought a cardboard cutout of Lovelady for A’s games this season at RingCentral Coliseum, and Oakland batter Matt Olson fouled a pitch off Lovelady’s image down the third-base line in Friday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Angels.
“My first A’s game was when I was 5 years old (1973) and I’ve gone to many, many A’s games over the years,” Lovelady said in an email. “Never have I been close to catching a foul ball or home run.”
The A’s are donating $81.10 to the Oakland A’s Community Fund in Lovelady’s name. Lovelady said he would match the donation, sending the same amount to Three Square, a food bank in Henderson.
Great catch! Congrats to Richard Lovelady for catching the first foul ball of the season in the 811 Foul Ball Zone! We will be sending you the ball! @Athletics And that is $81.10 for the Oakland A’s Community Fund on behalf of Call 811! ⚾️⚾️⚾️ pic.twitter.com/pNEYA0dotO
— Dave Kaval (@DaveKaval) July 25, 2020
The team also will send Lovelady the ball, and he said he will display it at his brewery. And if Olson is ever in town and wants to stop by, he will get a free beer.
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.
