For decades, Hermina Hirsch has dreamed of singing the national anthem at a Detroit Tigers game.
The 89-year-old Holocaust survivor who was sent to five different concentration camps (Auchwitz included) moved to Detroit in 1953 with her husband, Bernard, 96, after she was liberated.
The Hirsch’s have been huge Tigers fans ever since.
Hermina told Detroit’s CBS affiliate, “I don’t want to die before I sing at a baseball game.”
After posting a video of her singing, the power of social media did its thing. The Tigers announced Friday morning that she will take the mic on May 21 before the Tigers host the Rays.
“That’s the beauty of baseball, isn’t it? She has gotten a tremendous amount of support and it’s just fantastic that she has wanted to do this and that she’s a Tigers fan. Maybe it brings us a lot of luck for a magical 2016 season,” Tigers’ VP of Communications Ron Colangelo said.
While Hermina was attending holocaust survivor meetings each week, she would sing the national anthem before each gathering. So, even though this will be her first MLB performance, she’s a seasoned pro.
