Texas Rangers Fan Who Died Trying to Catch Ball Was Beloved Firefighter
- Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:25pm by
Tiffany Gabbay
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Late Thursday evening The Blaze reported on a tragic accident at a Texas Rangers game where a man died after falling from the stands while trying to catch a baseball for his six year old son. The heartbreak was only compounded by the fact that the man, Shannon Stone, was not only a devoted father, but also a firefighter who spent his life saving others.
Stone tried to catch a ball thrown by outfielder Josh Hamilton but while reaching for it, tumbled over the railing and fell 20 feet. Sadly, Stone’s son Cooper witnessed the entire tragedy unfold. Stone was then taken by ambulance to a Fort Worth hospital where he was pronounced dead.
According to reports, the 39 year old fire lieutenant’s last words were “Please check on my son. My son was up there by himself.”
ESPN reports that Stone was an 18 year veteran of Brownwood Fire Department and was a lieutenant in charge of Station 2. He also ran one of the engine companies, which included three other firefighters.
Now, the 30 members of Texas’ Brownwood Fire Department are reportedly mourning the death of their friend and co-worker. Fire chief Del Albright told ESPN:
“You worry about him getting hurt fighting a fire, and I always worry about that with my guys, but this is something you don’t expect,” Brownwood fire chief Del Albright said. Albright said he found out about the tragedy when he received a call Thursday night from someone in the Arlington Fire Department wanting to confirm Stone worked in Brownwood.
Albright said he presented Stone and another firefighter with a distinguished service medal in 2008 for rescuing an elderly woman from a “heavily involved” structure fire.
Albright went on to explain how “dedicated” Stone was to his family and to being a firefighter.
“Whenever he was off duty, he was with his son. We had officer meetings and I would ask him to come in on his day off to attend those and nine out of 10 times he had his son with him. He was dependable. I left him in charge of many fires I went to because I knew he could handle it.”
One long-time colleague, Captain Robert Myers, told ESPN the “most important thing” to remember about Stone was that he “had a heart of gold.”
“He had a rough exterior, but he’d do anything for anybody and he loved the fire service and the guys he worked with and his family. He had that little boy with him 24-7 when he was around.”
Regarding Stone’s family, Chief Albright vowed to help the family in any way he and the department can.
“Whatever the family wants, we’ll make it happen,” Albright said. “We have traditions and ways of remembering our fallen brothers and sisters with honor guards and flag ceremonies. We’ll talk with the family and see what we need to do.”
ESPN provides a video discussing the incident:
Indeed this is one of life’s deeply sad ironies. A man can walk into a burning building a thousands times and each time emerge unscathed, but an innocent baseball game with his son is what alters his fate irrevocably.
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Comments (76)
mitcha_ca_sux
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:12pmThis guy is a real HERO, not the 100′s of Firefighters standing around with fingers up each others bung holes.
http://www.14wfie.com/story/1242802/man-facing-charges-after-saving-dog-from-apartment-fire?redirected=true
Report Post »agentriley
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:00pmWhen praying for the family please remember Josh Hamilton for the guilt he may be feeling. I pray he knows it was not his fault.
Report Post »REB182
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:56pmRIP my brother…….
Report Post »mitcha_ca_sux
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:50pmGravy Train riding Govt employee needs donations? I think the taxpayer has “donated” enough. Sorry to sound so harsh but he pushed a kid out of the way, and greedily attacked a meaningless baseball, killing himself in the process. Sorry but the greedy get what they deserve.
The City govt’s have made home builders jump through red tape for decades, increasing the cost of housing dramatically in the “name” of safety. We no longer need 100k/yr full time Firefighters. Time to go back to a Volunteer Fire dept. The only people that *think* they need firefighters are the firefighters and their families. Ill worry about my own house thank you.
This is the truth of “Firefighters of today”. http://www.14wfie.com/story/1242802/man-facing-charges-after-saving-dog-from-apartment-fire?redirected=true
firemanfrank
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:52pmI read your article And I as a firefighter have been in a similar situation where a house was on fire and an uncle from down the street went into a burning house to “save ” his niece, while rescue operations were underway trying to locate the little girl on the second floor, the uncle managed to run through the front door and fell into the basement. Now we had two rescue operations going on , with limited manpower the team that was assigned to get the girl had to be split to help the uncle . The uncle lived with burns and the girl was not rescued in time. I had to carry the body of a 6 year old girl to the awaiting ambulance. The uncle I am sure had the best intentions but……..This girl would have been alive if not for the uncle but people do irrational things when in certain situations.
Report Post »firemanfrank
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:05pmGod and Country huh with comments like yours I doubt God plays any part in your life. I will pray that you can have all the gold that one man can carry and the chance to drive the most expensive car they make and to have the biggest home in all the land and live longer than any man on earth.I trully wish all that for you and then some…… And I pray that that boy NEVER EVER forgets what it felt like to hold his fathers hand and to hear him say how much he loves him.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on July 9, 2011 at 2:14pmMitcha: You do not know the facts about what happened here. You also have no heart. God bless & help you. God bless the firefighter’s family & friends.
Report Post »BlazingInSC
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:29pmThat scoreboard should have mesh fencing on top of it anyhow. It needs the opening to provide cooling to the back of the scoreboard, but that gaping hole should not even exist that close to fans for any reason…
Report Post »Fly Old Glory 24/7 365
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:38pmyep…
Report Post »mitcha_ca_sux
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:56pmGawd… Yea, it’s the Texas Rangers fault…. You may as well have “Idiot Lib” tattoo’d on your forehead… It‘s everyone else’s fault…
Report Post »Melika
Posted on July 10, 2011 at 12:20pmI don‘t think he was saying it’s everyone else’s fault. Even if we remove the morons who are sports fanatics, it’s perfectly plausible that this type of accident can happen in the heat of the moment, as it did. What‘s the point of an accident if you don’t learn from it? The guy didn’t say regulate it, he mentioned that it would probably be a good idea to have a safety net.
Report Post »cokoskirt
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:24pmthis makes me so sad, that poor boy!
Report Post »BlazingInSC
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:24pm“Remove the pictures and be sensitive”?!? Really?!? C’mon people, grow some thicker skin. The first still shows his attempt at catching the ball. There is nothing wrong with the picture. The second picture shows cops looking over the rail NEAR where he fell and not at the actual fall sight. (the cops are 6-8 feet to the left of where he fell). The third is taken on a during a night game at a different time (before or after the incident) to show perspective on where he fell. Nothing wrong there either. I understand the sensitivity to the story and all, but this is journalism folks… These are fine pictures that describe the story and are sensitive to the nature of the story.
Report Post »Fly Old Glory 24/7 365
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:32pmthey removed the pictures so what you are seeing is not what I and several others mentioned. It was within 5 minutes of the thread going up that the pictures were removed. I have no problem with what is currently posted…..
Report Post »TheDebtWeAllPay
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:21pmThat is horrible i pray for his friends and family
Report Post »Mil-Dot
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:21pmNow, mabey it’s just me, but I saw an earlier video of the fall and it looked like his buddy could have grabbed his legs easily. He must have froze or something. He must feel terrible.
Report Post »BlazingInSC
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:27pm@MIL-DOT – his “buddy” was just the guy sitting next to him at that particular game, and he was also attempting to catch the ball (see his gloved hand). By the time he realized the guy was going overboard, he reached over to attempt to stop it, but was not quick enough – and frankly, it would’ve been difficult to stop him from going over because of how his momentum was carrying him over. And in interviews the guy has given, yes, he’s completely heart-wrenched about it.
Report Post »1proudAmerican
Posted on July 9, 2011 at 1:14amThose involved – the fan standing next to him and the player who tossed the ball into the stands – will always be affected by what happened. I hope his 6 year old son doesn’t remember the last time he saw his Daddy and feel guilt knowing his father died trying to catch the ball for him. What put him into full cardio arrest? Were there internal injuries?
Report Post »If it’s your time, you go. God is in charge.
TheGrayrider
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:19pmMan, you people. although sad, he needed to think. He wouldn’t have wanted his son leaning over like that, now its the last lesson he’ll teach. It isn’t the ballparks fault, nor “they’re” responsibility to care for the child because the Dad made a mistake. Quit whining, stop looking at the photos if it bothers you, and live life.
Report Post »Sound The Trumpet In Zion
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:06pmOur prayers are with the family with this terrible terrible loss. My wife and I pray for the safety of our soldiers, police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel every morning as they go about doing the jobs that they sacrifice themselves and their families practically every single day.
“You worry about him getting hurt fighting a fire, and I always worry about that with my guys, but this is something you don’t expect,” Brownwood fire chief Del Albright said.”
We too really haven’t thought about something like this happening to any of them. When something like this happens, we think that it is a regular person that this happened to and we sometimes forget that these heroes are “regular people” as well. It would be just as big a tragedy for it to happen to a regular person but it does seem to hit harder when it is someone like this that is constantly putting their lives on the line for the rest of us. I presume and pray that this little boy has a mother to help even though I’m sure that there is other family members there to help as well. If what Sy Kosys says is true then it would be a wonderful gesture for this Hamilton (or whoever is favorite player is) to come and visit the boy, I’m sure that the boy would appreciate and like it even through this tragedy that has occured. God Bless Our Heroes!
Report Post »nomercy63
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:04pmIt is a baseball, stop with this ball chasing nonsense! It isn’t worth dying for! Now forever this child will be faced with this tragedy! I also remember the fan who was beaten outside a game, it is time for these teams in all sports to start stepping up and taking care of the fans!
Report Post »Restored One
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:20pmTruly sad, and agree about it being just a ball. But this Dad was doing what most Dads would with terrible results. Now I am sure that there will come legislation that all ball parks now make the railings higher.
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:46pmRestored: I was thinking the same thing. I hope that’s not true. Millions of fans go to baseball games every year and one dies. They dont need to fix the rails, let‘s hope there’s not unnecessary legislation on this.
I feel for the boy. Big time loss.
Report Post »srtttu
Posted on July 9, 2011 at 1:13amRailing and post game security are hardly the same thing. By this logic we’ll be watching baseball games inside of protective bubbles. If going to baseball games are too extreme for you then watch the Rangers on FSSW. As for me, this is nothing more than a terribly sad event that obviously happened to a good man. I’d reach for a Hamilton ball too, especially for my son. It was just his time. Sad.
Report Post »cowdude
Posted on July 9, 2011 at 5:41amNolan Ryan called the wife and asked if there was anything he could do for her. She said “please ask the news services to stop running the tape”. Nolan got it stopped.
Josh Hamilton goes to my church and I know this guy feels awful. Just trying to toss a guy a ball and the guy ends up dying. It wasn’t his fault but his kindness set in motion the actions.
I know God will watch over the little boy & his family.
Cowdude
Report Post »http://conservativewatercooler.com
B_rad
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:00pmSo incredibly, unbelievably sad. I just keep picturing his little boy. God be with him.
Report Post »What am I missing in the last still pic? I can’t see what has everyone upset.
temple62
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:57pmI used to shake my head thinking these idiots were simply drunks at the ballpark. It is sad to see the extremes that people will risk just to get an insignificant baseball.
Report Post »Svt4Him
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:04pmI use to shake my head about the comments I see idiotic people make, like yours…actually I still do. There is nothing extreme about what this guy was doing, it was a tragic accident, nothing more.
Report Post »mrsmileyface
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:10pmYa I agree with you on your point but… Did he get the ball? Go right ahead and flame me now. But you too are curious if he had the ball in his hand.
Report Post »Fly Old Glory 24/7 365
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:19pm@ Temple: I find nothing wrong with your comment. More offended with the “idiot” calling you a name. The picture where it shows he fell made me think the same thing. 20′ drop right in front of him and he had to know that, and yet he went for this ball. I did not watch video for obvious reasons. This guy was a firefighter trained in knowing his surroundings, this should not have happened to him. Yes it was an accident, but this should not have happened….
Report Post »Dustoff
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:59pmSometimes people just don’t understand how far they can pushed themselves to say catch a ball. Was he drunk? I have no idea and hope not.
Were human it’s part of what we are. Not 100% perfect.
Retired FF, now a flight nurse.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:55pm.
Report Post »Hope the Rangers step up and help his son for life…………….
mitcha_ca_sux
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:08pmDid I accidentally land in The Huffington Post World? How about some “INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY”… It’s not the Rangers fault, it’s his actions that caused this. Police and Firefighters arent “hero’s”, they are selfish, egotistical gravy train riders, period. Perhaps one day in the past they were a “special breed”, not any more. They, like all Govt institutions have become nothing more than “self feeding Bureaucracies” that fee and fine the Taxpayer so they can get “over-paid” along with unsustainable benefits pkgs that MY GRANDCHILDREN will be spending their lives paying for. Hero’s, NO way…
Report Post »jpeagle21
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:38pm@MITCHA – Where the heII did that come from? Spank didn‘t say that anyone should MAKE the Rangers pay or that the firefighter wasn’t INDIVIDUALLY RESPONSIBLE. He said he hoped the Rangers would step up and do it. Which is their right to do or not to do in a free society. People like you are who give this site and conservatives a bad name. Why would you use this guy’s tragic death as a chance to bash firefighters, you chump?
Report Post »Lux
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:23pm@mitcha_ca_sux
You‘ve got one messed up moral compass bro I’ll be praying for you. Anyone willing to risk their lives for another’s is a HERO. In my opinion firefighters and polices officers don’t get paid enough for what they do. When your house is on fire or someone is trying to rob or kill you who do you think will be there to save your sorry butt? Or do you think we shouldn’t have to pay for those services unless we use them? Ok good luck with that. I can see it now…
Thank you for calling 911 what is your emergency?
My house is on fire!!!
Sir Calm down we will send a fire engine right over but first that will be $199.95 we accept cash, credit, or money orders.
My wallet is in the house, just hurry and get here!
Oh sorry to hear that Sir, unfortunately we need to collect payment in advance or there is nothing we can do. Have a nice day…
Report Post »Rice Water
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 8:58pmHow in the world do we blame this tragedy on liberals???
Report Post »thegrassroots
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 9:01pm@ mitcha ….
Shut Up!
Report Post »Crusty Thong
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:42pmHis poor son is going to live with the nighmare of losing his dad – it’s very sad. I hope he can get through this tragedy.
And I agree, take down the pics. Leave the video if people want to watch, but the still shots are a gut blow.
Report Post »jobes
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:41pmThe first picture is fine guys but come on. Have some decency for the family. and God please bless that young boy with your love.
Report Post »Rob
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:41pmWow… so darn sad. SOOOOOO sad!
Report Post »Eric_The_Red_State
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:41pmThat is very sad.
Isaiah 55:8-9
..For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I pray that his family have peace in this time of sorrow.
Report Post »TxGold
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:39pmIt is quite a way from Brownwood to Ft Worth!
Report Post »Ripdog
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:38pmThis is a tragedy. I pray for the family as well as Josh Hamilton. His is also an inspiring story and I pray he keeps his sobriety.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:37pmFather in their time of loss and grief, please comfort them and provide for them; let the memories of the fallen loved one be good and sound, let the love he shared with each and all of them be held onto and continue to grow in the fullness of the times ahead.
Report Post »Sy Kosys
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:37pmSuch a horrible thing.
And i hear that his son’s fave player was the aforementioned Hamilton, hence the ball being tossed up there. It is always such a sad thing to hear when bad things happen to good ppl :(
RIP, Lt Stone
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:31pmWhat a terrible tragedy for all involved. God speed and comfort family, friends and the Rangers team.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:10pmAmen here as well.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:57pmGood evening, SNOW, haven’t been on much with the change of format. Glad to see things back to some semblance of normal. Hope you are getting some of our rain (been raining 2 days) out there.
Report Post »Fly Old Glory 24/7 365
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:29pmI’m sorry but ya really need to remove the pictures from this story…
Report Post »what a terrible image and totally unnecessary to show….
go ahead blazers, jump me for showing some sensitivity…
I Hear the Wolves
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:40pmI agree with you. I can’t stand to see the pictures. Thinking about what that poor boy witnessed, and then being alone afterwards, it makes me weep.
Report Post »PlowMan
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:43pmI agree, we don’t need to see these pictures.
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:57pmI agree about the pictures, but they might just prevent someone else’s overreaching their balance point–it could have been any of us! How many times (a day) does the Right Hand of God reach out and pull your cookies out of the fire–it happens to me 4-6 times a day, that I am aware of, and probably countless more times that I am totally unconscious about! I hope his son can get over the loss and spend his life helping others, much as his dad!
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:19pmYou are right. Having the pictures up is tasteless and hurtful to his child and family. REMOVE THEM!
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:20pmAgree, the Blaze already has the story for all to see, why re-create the article?
If you were to die at your next sporting event, would you go to Heaven?
Report Post »Goldlady
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:30pmAre donations being taken for his son? I havn’t found anything yet….
Report Post »Fly Old Glory 24/7 365
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:36pmokay Blaze, thanks for taking the few down that were posted earlier…..
Report Post »neverending
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:25pmYou were and are exactly right!
Report Post »Melika
Posted on July 10, 2011 at 12:27pmWow, what a bunch of children.
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