Astros express heartfelt condolences for their No. 1 fan Barbara Bush
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Various condolences poured in as news of former First Lady Barbara Bush's passing went public.
Many of those condolences came from members of Bush's favorite team, the Houston Astros.
The team's president, Reid Ryan, shared a statement saying in part:
"As Houstonians and frequent visitors to Minute Maid Park to watch their beloved Astros, we had the great privilege of getting to know Mrs. Bush and President Bush personally. While at the ballpark, both always greeted everyone from the ticket-takers to the ushers with a warm, friendly smile," Ryan wrote.
Astros authentication manager Mike Acosta shared a sweet memory and a photo of the score sheet she gave the team from 2006.
"As a big fan of the Astros, Barbara Bush often kept score while at games. This is one of her score sheets from 2006 that resides in the Astros archives," Acosta wrote.
Baytown's Cyndi Campbell Cook used to work with the Astros. She posted her memory of when she had to escort the President and the First Lady to the Diamond Club.
When I worked at the Astros, I was given the great honor to escort President Bush and Barbara Bush from their car to the diamond club. I remember I put the parking brake on the golf cart on because I didn't want it to roll when the former President (still mobile with the use of a cane at the time) climbed on it. He sat on the back bench with a secret service agent and Mrs. Bush sat next to me in the front. I was nervous about when I took the parking brake off because the only way was to press the gas and I was scared it was going to jolt forward and throw off the President. Well to my horror, the cart jumped forward about a foot but the President managed to stay on (barely)... and to make matters worse, about 5 SS agents rushed the cart to make sure they were ok. Mrs. Bush yelled out "yahoo" and the President replied to my inquiry if everyone was still on with "Boy, I sure hope so." At the end of our very short trek, Mrs. Bush gave me a hug and I'll never forget how great she smelled and how soft and comforting her hug was. She was an amazing lady that I will always remember fondly. RIP Barbara Bush.
Mrs. Bush also had a close relationship with many of the Astros players, including Roger Clemens.
"She's probably the biggest baseball fan in the entire family. She knew her stuff. The times we had a chance to sit together at an Astros game, she was into it. She loved her baseball. It was always fun," Clemens told ABC13.
Clemens described the former first lady as a "bright light for everybody."
Take a look back at their close relationship in the video below.
