To answer a question many Seattle fans have asked lately, “Yes, apparently it can get worse.”
Losing a lot of games is one thing. But the inexplicable murder of a Seattle sports icon is just downright nauseating.
He was’t an athlete, owner or executive. He never threw a picth or wrote a scathing article. But chances are high that if you attended a Seattle sporting event, you passed Edward McMichael – though you only knew him as, “The Tuba Man.”
He was a harmless street musician who sat outside stadiums and played a rusty tuba. You didn’t know he was a classically trained musician. Sometimes you threw him a quarter, sometimes you didn’t, but you always noticed him. But unlike some of the unsavory characters walking around that area, he was not someone you ever feared. Instead, the people you usually do fear, packs of street thugs wandering aimlessly through the night, proved why you should stay frightened.
According to reports, 5 people described as “gang members” attacked the Tuba Man for no reason at about midnight on Oct 25.. They beat him mercilessly, and he died about a week later. Speculation is that they did it to take whatever change he had in his tuba case.
It’s senseless. Horrific. It makes me sick. No one took the Tuba Man to another town, and he wasn’t arrested and sent to Walla Walla. Stupid little punks beat him to death. They’ve caught two of them, but three are still at large.
There’s talk on some comment boards about erecting a statue of a Tuba in front of one of the stadiums. I think it’s a fabulous idea. I’ll donate.
I never formally met the Tuba Man. But it makes me sad that one more piece of Seattle history and tradition has suddenly disappeared.
Added Notes:
The PI reports that Ian Newhall and his wife, Ailisa, set up a Web site Tuesday to announce a brass memorial for McMichael. It will be held outside McCaw Hall at 11 a.m. Saturday. The repertoire: Taps, Tequila and the University of Washington Fight Song.
There is also a Memorial fund to help cover teh costs of the funeral. If you want to help, you can visit any Bank of America branch, Box said, or send donations to:
Edward the Tuba Man McMichael Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 4985
Federal Way 98063
