A Special Day At Busch Stadium for Arthur Hawkins

This past Sunday afternoon, May 19, was a special one for special St. Louis Cardinals fan.

The generous St. Louis Cardinals made it Rally Saint Louis Day at Busch Stadium, and with it came the opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

True to the Rally mission, the decision as to whom would throw that cermonial first pitch was left up to the community. And St. Louis chose Arthur Hawkins, a lifetime Cardinals fan and resident of Northview Village Nursing Home who is in the final stages of his fight with cancer.

Confined to a wheelchair, Hawkins never misses a game on television or radio, and of course always dons his Cardinal Red for the occasion. And he was full of excitement both before and following the game.

"Arthur is rolling in his wheelchair on cloud 9," wrote Brenda Chilton, a social worker at Northview Village, wrote to the Rally team the next day. "I went down to see him first thing this morning and I swear he was more alert than he has been in weeks! Arthur told me that he knows that he doesn't have much longer, but now it's ok.  He's ready to go because he knows he has us, his family, around him showing him love, and that's all he's ever wanted -- to know someone cares."

In addition to seeing Hawkins throw out the first pitch, Cadinals fans were treated to a 4-2 victory by the home team over the Milwaukee Brewers, and volunteers from Rally handed out two thousand t-shirts, provided by CafePress.com, to spread the word for the organization.

But the highlight of the day was, without question, Arthur Hawkins.

"This is the best day of my life," Hawkins said before throwing out the first pitch.