Mossila Kingsley Gaba (January 26, 2006 – July 28, 2020) was an American superfan of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

and

Ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' of passerine birds Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * B ...

and a

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

personality. In 2019, he became the first person to announce an NFL draft pick written in

Braille Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...

. Gaba was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in July 2020. Gaba had battled four diagnoses of cancer.

Life

Mo Gaba was raised in

Glen Burnie, Maryland Glen Burnie is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 72,891 at the 2020 census. History In 1812, Elias Glenn, a district attorn ...

. His first diagnosis of cancer occurred at the age of 9 months. He became blind soon thereafter. After two diagnoses of

retinoblastoma Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common primary malignant intraocular cancer in children, and 80% of retinoblastoma cas ...

, he was diagnosed with

osteosarcoma An osteosarcoma (OS) or osteogenic sarcoma (OGS) is a cancerous tumor in a bone. Specifically, it is an aggressive malignant neoplasm that arises from primitive transformed cells of mesenchyme, mesenchymal origin (and thus a sarcoma) and that exhi ...

at the age of 6. Gaba had to leave on-site classes at George Cromwell Elementary and attend

virtual school An online school (virtual school, e-school, or cyber-school) teaches students entirely or primarily online and offline, online or through the Internet. Online education exists all around the world and is used for all levels of education (K–12 ...

from the hospital after his bone cancer diagnosis. He graduated from middle school in June 2020, by which point he had spent 75% of his life in hospitals.

Sports radio and legacy

In 2015, Gaba began secretly calling in to

while his mother was at work. She learned of his calls after receiving an invitation from the radio hosts, written in Braille, to speak at Gaba's school. Gaba became a regular guest on radio programs. He generated a following from his calls to 105.7 The Fan, Mix 106.5 and CBS Sports Radio. Fundraising efforts by radio listeners raised thousands of dollars after his latest cancer diagnosis. In 2017, he threw a ceremonial first pitch for the

during a series against 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 ...

. Gaba participated in a coin toss at a

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

game. In June 2017, Gaba graduated from elementary school. In 2019, Gaba became the first person to announce an NFL draft pick written in

. Despite aggressive

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

, radiation, operations, and a

bone marrow transplant Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood, in order to replicate inside a patient and produce a ...

, Gaba's cancer metastasized to his neck, legs, brain, and lungs. Hours before his death on July 28, 2020, Gaba was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame as the second recipient of the Wild Bill Hagy award. His Braille draft card is also on display at the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

. Since 2020, the letters "MO" of Baltimore Ravens in the

M&T Bank Stadium M&T Bank Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It has been the home of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL) since its opening in 1998. The stadium is immediately adjacent to Oriol ...

endzone are painted either gold or white in his honor, while Section 146 during the 2020 season (played with reduced attendance due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

) was dedicated as "Mo's Rows" and filled with cardboard cutouts of Gaba and his mother. On the second anniversary of Gaba's death, the Orioles celebrated the inaugural "Mo Gaba Day" on July 28, 2022, against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

. The Orioles defeated the Rays 3-0, with an inside-the-park homer by

Trey Mancini Joseph Anthony "Trey" Mancini III (born March 18, 1992) is an American professional baseball first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ...

. Mancini and Gaba built a special bond when Mancini was diagnosed with Colon Cancer in March 2020. Mancini's inside-the-park homer ended up being his final at-bat for the Orioles at

Oriole Park at Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the ...

, as he would be traded to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

the following week before the Orioles would have their next home game.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaba, Mo 2006 births 2020 deaths Deaths from cancer in Maryland Radio personalities from Baltimore African-American radio personalities American sports radio personalities People from Glen Burnie, Maryland African-American children American children 21st-century African-American people Baltimore Orioles Baltimore Ravens