Charley Lupica, 90; Baseball Fan Sat on Flagpole for His Team

Charley Lupica, 90, a Cleveland Indians fan who gained national attention by sitting on a flagpole platform for 117 days during the 1949 baseball season, died Tuesday in Westlake, Ohio, a few months after breaking both hips.

Lupica manned his perch in an unsuccessful attempt to rally the Indians to a second straight American League pennant. He handed out business cards identifying himself as the “1949 Cleveland Indians Flagpole Sitter.”

The Indians were in seventh place when Lupica climbed 60 feet to the platform above his Cleveland delicatessen.

He vowed not to come down until the team was on top of the standings or was eliminated from the pennant race.

Lupica missed the birth of a son during the vigil, which was tracked by news crews and photographed for Life magazine.

The Indians finished third that year. After the team was put out of contention, club owner Bill Veeck sent a truck and transported the pole, with Lupica still on the platform, to Municipal Stadium. On Sept. 25, the last day of the season, 34,000 fans cheered as Lupica left his perch.