RIP Ed McMichael - the Tuba man
by marc w on Nov 4, 2008 8:57 AM PST
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PrintIf you've been to a sporting event in Seattle, you've probably come across Ed McMichael, the guy with the beard and Tuba playing before (and after) each game.
Sadly, he's been murdered. Story here. Some kids beat/robbed him at a bus stop, apparently stealing his 1979 Sonics championship ring. Two have been arrested, but police are looking for more scum/suspects.
He was 53.
What are your favorite tuba man memories? Where did you first hear him? Have any other favorite buskers around Qwest/Safeco?
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Ed was so cool. I remember him as far back as the 80’s at the Kingdome.
Time to polish up my rifle.
Me too - 80s M's games. That distinctive sound you could hear a block away that reminded you
you were about to watch some sports.
He really got around – from UW games, to Sounders games, sounds like he’d play in front of McCaw hall for concerts, etc.
Richard Peterson.
He played with the Young Fresh Fellows a few times, too.
Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.
Oh my God.
I talked with him a bunch of times before games. He was such an awesome guy. Just…damn.
This is awful.
Oh, shit.
What a tragedy.
God…
Man, this makes me incredibly depressed. I loved his thumbs-up every time I dropped money into his bucket.
Shit, I’m actually on the verge of tears here.
by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Nov 4, 2008 9:33 AM PST reply actions
I remember being six years old
and being incredibly excited to see Tuba Guy every time my dad took me and my brother to the Kingdome. What a terrible, awful world we live in.
Amen
Tuba Man is inextricably linked to my very first memories of going to baseball games back in the 80’s. I always brought my mitt (I had crossed out the Jose Canseco stamp and written in “Lyman Bostock”) even though we were sitting up in the 300 level. After all, we would easily sneak down to sit along the 1st base line by the 2nd inning. I’d come across the ferry from Bainbridge Island and walk down to the stadium with a few friends from high school.
Tuba Man was a fixture of that carnival atmosphere outside any sporting event. I can’t remember a game where I didn’t hear him from at least a block away from the stadium. I remember Mark James and I asking him if he would play Stairway to Heaven. He had this baritone chortle of a response… he laughed “How does it go?” It was the only time I ever talked to him.
He seemed like one of those super fans, like Red, who you can’t help but love. It seems grossly unfair for him to leave this world in such a way.
My idea of justice (I have to state here that I don’t believe in revenge) would be for those kids to attend the funeral… and there should be thousands of people there addressed by some long-time public servants like Ron Sims or Seattle historians like Greg Palmer… so that their eyes might be widened.
With all due respect
That kind of justice has no effect. I live in the inner city; these types aren’t moved by that sort of thing. The only thing you can really do is take action to prevent the behavior before it develops, or isolate those fuckers once they’ve turned into monsters. Or maybe they’ll go to prison and become Bernard Hopkins, which is cool.
The kids are just 15
so there is limited punishment that can be applied……. but can we please find the douchebag absentee fathers of these kids and throw their asses in jail for life please?
My memories of Ed almost invariably involve me smiling. He was truely a part of our community growing up. I no longer live in the Seattle area, but I keep those memories with me more than the actual sporting events I intended. We will miss you, Ed.
My prayers go out to his friends and family. I will always have great memories of Ed.
Screw you, Mariners. I'm back in football's loving arms. *edit: well, shit. This isn't going well.
Horrible...
I will never understand how anybody could justify doing such a thing to another human being.
Fans are typically idiots.
by The Typical Idiot Fan on Nov 4, 2008 9:53 AM PST reply actions
This is terrible!
So, what happens to his tuba? He needs to be enshrined somewhere near QWEST and Safeco, and have his tuba be part of that memorial.
This signature space for rent.
by PositivePaul on Nov 4, 2008 10:04 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Sounds like it's time for some sort of grass-roots effort on this.
Something special needs to be done with that tuba.
I have an opinion of what should be done with the tuba
but since it involves losing it up the nether regions of the bastards that did this, I think a memorial is a much better idea.
Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.
Agreed, but because he brought cheer to all teams, no one team ought to be able to show it.
Maybe the SAM?
by Two Rs and Two Ls on Nov 4, 2008 10:24 AM PST up reply actions
SAM is good, perhaps Pike Place
You’re right, it needs to be in a team-neutral place.
MOHAI
it’s a good repository of all things Seattle and historic. It’s where the Rainier Brewery “R” lives, among other artifacts.
Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.
This was my original thought...
This signature space for rent.
by PositivePaul on Nov 4, 2008 11:08 AM PST up reply actions
That R was always one of the most iconic Seattle things, for me
I’m somewhat surprised it was salvaged.
If I remember right it was one of the provisions of the building's sale
not specifically that MOHAI get it, but that it be preserved somewhere.
Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.
Agreed (unless rectal execution by tuba is an option)
I just heard about this and I couldn’t be more upset.
Man do I love midgets.
They should be hooked up to exercise bikes wired to batteries that could produce cheap power
lighting the statue/memorial in front of MOHAI or wherever we decide to place the tuba.
I prefer banishment
Make them live on an isolated island in the Aleutians, and provide them with the basic tools and necessities to survive, then say goodbye. Or send them to adult prison and show them what it’s like to be preyed on by bigger predators.
Anger, fear, aggression...
The path to the darkside, are they. Calm yourselves, and find you will, the answers.
Fans are typically idiots.
by The Typical Idiot Fan on Nov 4, 2008 12:06 PM PST up reply actions
And
It would be cool if people who knew Ed could read this thread and see it as a testament to the fact that he was a beloved figure… not turn away after reading so much hostility (however justified it might be.)
I'm hoping that someone can find out/let LL know
if there’s some sort of fund we can contribute to, or memorial, or something – I’d like to be able to give even something small in honor of a guy that I never knew but always knew would be around when I went to a sporting event.
Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.
by pdb on Nov 4, 2008 1:39 PM PST up reply actions
Wow this is just awful
I used to see Ed every Monday for the half price pizza deals at Alfy’s on 15th (probably around 1996). Every time we’d see each other we’d engage in some type of banter, usually nothing too serious but it would always bring a smile to my face. I would always see him outside of Safeco (I’d never bother him b/c he’d be playing), and years later I asked him if he remembered me and he brought up some of the inside jokes we once had. I even snapped a photo of him at my high school graduation — he was playing outside of Mercer Arena as soon as the ceremony ended.
RIP Ed, you’ll be missed.
This makes me really sad
Truthfully I probably didn’t appreciate him as much when I saw him as I should have. My friends and I would joke about his tuba playing and his always present gallon of juice. When it comes down to it though, it takes something like this to realize how much a person like him is ingrained in our life and who deeply the death of a total stranger can touch us. I will always have the memories of him associated with Seattle sports. I’m amazed how much I am affected by his death. Seattle sports really has lost a piece of what makes it special.
There's been a memorial fund set up
Details here if you want to show your gratitude.
Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.
So are we arranging a mob to avenge this guy?
Guys I have dibs on the pillowcase full of door knobs. I’m really sad to hear about this. I used to look forward to seeing this guy as much as anything back at games in the Kingdome. He was always very nice when I spoke to him, and was just plain entertaining. I saw him 10 times this year, because I would always go out of my way to find him when I went to games. He’ll be sadly missed
HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)
The LQA/Belltown/Seattle Center area's gotten dangerous
RIP Tuba Man. You did not deserve such a terrible fate.
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