Fresno Grizzlies Fan Hasn’t Missed an Opening Day in 14 years

It’s root, root, root for the Grizzlies for superfan Richard Halleck.

Halleck’s love of baseball goes back to his childhood, following the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs with his father, but today, he’s all about the Fresno Grizzlies.

“Everybody’s got a hang-up,” Halleck says. “Some people drink or work on cars or do yard work. I just like to sit there and kind of watch baseball.”

In 2013, Halleck was diagnosed with throat cancer, but even chemo couldn’t stop him from cheering for his team on one of his favorite nights of the year.

“I felt really dragged down, really drugged up, kind of light-headed if you will, but I was there,” Halleck says.

Halleck has been a season ticket holder for fourteen years – never missing an opening night, even when the team played at Fresno State’s Pete Biden field.

“Baseball, I don’t know what it is, but the crack of the bat, the popcorn, the little kids. It’s just fun,” Halleck says.

His love for baseball, according to his fiancé, Karen Judge, only comes second to his birthday.

“His birthday is his most favorite day of the year,” Judge says. “If you forgot his birthday you are in deep trouble, but opening day baseball is his second most favorite day. He has to be at that game and no matter what.”

Spending game after game, season after season in section 112, row seven, seat seven, Halleck was bound to make some lifelong friends along the way.

“I actually love coming to the games because I meet people like Richard. He’s a fanatic,” Halleck’s friend John Wheeler says.

For fans like Richard Halleck, the Fresno Grizzlies are not just a baseball team, but a way of life.