Freddy Schuman (May 23, 1925 – October 17, 2010), better known as Freddy Sez or Freddy "Sez", was an American superfan of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. He was known for his activities in promoting the team and encouraging fan participation.

Biography

Schuman was born on May 23, 1925, and was a resident of

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

for most of his life. When he was 9 years old, he suffered an accident during a stickball game, in which he lost the use of his right eye. From about , until his death, he was an unofficial promoter for the Yankees.

Yankees promotion

The pan

Schuman carried a frying pan with a shamrock painted on it, which he said "Brings 'em luck." Fans were encouraged to bang on the pan with a spoon to make noise. This made a distinctive sound that echoed throughout the stadium and could be heard in the background during TV broadcasts. One of his pans is on display at the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

and another is at the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Signs

Schuman also carried a number of colorful hand-painted signs adorned with messages to encourage the team and the fans. The signs usually began with "Freddy 'sez'". Some Freddy messages included "Again & Again Yankees Prove ''They Are Great''", and "Fans, We Got To Help Yankees ''Out Of Slumps''". Sometimes, Schuman would give the sign to a fan at the end of a game. Schuman also took his signs and frying pan to other events, as shown below.

Route

Before the games, Schuman could be found outside

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

. During the games, he moved throughout the stadium, making his way from the grandstand down to the main section, and finally to the field level.

Sponsorship

Schuman can be briefly seen in a baseball themed MasterCard commercial that aired during the 2007 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. He can also be seen for a few seconds near the end of House of Pain's 1992 music video for their hit single " Jump Around". Schuman claimed his tickets circa 2003 were sponsored by Modell's Sporting Goods. After his death in 2010, Schuman can be seen briefly in a Nike Boom commercial, featuring Craig Robinson and Robinson Canó.

Other teams

College basketball and football teams whose games Schuman had been known to attend and promote include the Manhattan College Jaspers, the Fordham University Rams, the Columbia University Lions, the Princeton University Tigers, and the Cornell University Big Red. In 2008, Freddy was spotted at the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

parade in New York, commemorating their Super Bowl XLII victory.

Death

Schuman died at the age of 85 at

Lenox Hill Hospital Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450 bed non-profit, Tertiary care, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the reg ...

on Sunday, October 17, 2010, after suffering a heart attack the previous Friday night. In a tribute, the Yankees displayed some of his memorabilia and held a moment of silence prior to Game 3 of the 2010 American League Championship Series.

References

External links

Freddy "Sez" Home Page
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', (May 15, 2006).
Photos tagged "Freddy Sez" on Flickr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuman, Freddy 1925 births 2010 deaths Baseball spectators New York Yankees People from the Bronx Place of birth missing