Family surprises 99-year-old Pirates fan with first ballgame ever

Catherine Kyle had never been to PNC Park to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates play ball, despite living in nearby Carnegie, Pennsylvania, her entire life and being a huge Pirates fan.

But to celebrate her upcoming 99th birthday, Kyle’s family — calling themselves Catherine’s Crew — took her to the Pirates home game against the Cincinnati Reds Saturday.

“I was really surprised,” Kyle told CNN. “They like to surprise me.”

The Pirates shut out the Reds 14-0.

“What I want to do is hear them sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the seventh inning,” Kyle told CNN affiliate KDKA.

At the game she did and sang along, she said.

“It was good game,” she said. “It was really fun.”

Kyle’s family came together to make her baseball dream a reality, said Donna Kinzler, Kyle’s granddaughter.

A cousin is a Pirates season ticket holder, so he volunteered to get everyone tickets, Kinzler said.

In all, 16 of Kyle’s children, grandchildren and great children went to the ballgame, according to Kinzler.

The trip to PNC Park was just the beginning of Kyle’s family birthday celebrations, Kinzler said. Kyle’s birthday is Sept. 9 and the family is celebrating the whole time. Sunday, the family has a tea party.

Kyle, who said she used to watch Pirates ballgames on television with her husband, Jack, has five children, 11 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandson and another grandchild on the way.

“I feel special,” Kyle said.