Thursday, June 4th, 2026
Have a Day, Delma!
St. Henry centenarian throws first pitch at Reds game
By William Kincaid
Submitted Photo
Delma Rammel, center, throws out the first pitch at the Reds game against Kansas City on Monday in Cincinnati.
Photos courtesy of Cincinnati Reds
Though she won't turn 100 until June 10, St. Henry native Delma Rammel celebrated the massive milestone in a huge way Monday evening by throwing out the first pitch before the Cincinnati Reds took on the Kansas City Royals at Great American Ball Park.
Among the nearly 20,000 fans in the stadium were more than 150 of the soon-to-be centenarian's ecstatic family members and friends, going bananas in the Budweiser Bowtie Bar above the Reds home bullpen.
For anyone watching the game on TV, the legion of Delma supporters could be seen at one point wearing matching red T-shirts, the backs of which listed Delma's "Major League Family" of 10 kids, 38 grandkids, 85 great-grandkids and four great-great grandkids.
(As it turned out, the progeny would swell to 86 great-grandchildren by the next day.)
"And I'm proud of every one of them," Delma told The Daily Standard from the Gardens at St. Henry where she resides.
Yet Delma's focus on Monday evening was singular: to make it out onto the field and throw that first pitch to her great-grandson Ben Rammel.
Submitted Photo
Delma Rammel celebrated her 100th birthday at Great American Ball Park. With her, from left, are Ben Rammel, Dave Rammel and Janice Grieshop.
Photos courtesy of Cincinnati Reds
"I didn't see nothing but where I was going," Delma said
Escorted by her son Dave Rammel, and daughter Janice Grieshop, and assisted by her walker, Delma headed out to the infield grass about halfway between the pitcher's mound and home plate and let it rip.
"It was close enough. He caught it. He just smiled," she said of the connecting pitch. "I threw it overhand - and I think it was a curveball!"
The crowd released a roar.
"When she threw out that pitch, those Cincinnati Reds players, you probably didn't see it, but they were all clapping for you, too," Delma's daughter Jane Kaverman noted.
"There's a lot of stuff I didn't see because I was busy," Delma said. "I seen on Facebook where on the big screen, they had my name up there."
"Remember the next day at the hotel? All these Royals fans were coming up and some of them wanted her picture and were just (saying) she was an inspiration to them," Kaverman noted. "They said they thought her pitch was the most exciting part of the game."
"That's what they say," Delma said.
One of Delma's grandsons had made arrangements with the Cincinnati Reds for her to throw out the first pitch, she said.
She had her reservations about committing to one of baseball's oldest traditions - the ceremonial first pitch - but with steely resolve came through in the end, realizing that her family and friends would be in attendance.
"I knew I could to it," she said, later adding that she didn't even get in any practice pitches ahead of the big moment.
Delma said she's long been a fan of the Cincinnati Reds, but didn't have time to watch them closely - like she does now - when she was raising a large family. She reminisced about trips to Reds games that she and her husband, Fred, made with other couples. Fred died at 84 on Sept. 13, 2004.
"I did know almost all the players, like Wally Post," she said. "We used to go to the Reds games, and sometimes we would go to doubleheaders and (not) get home until 3 o'clock in the morning."
Delma said she was delighted to be able to celebrate her 100th birthday a little early, surrounded by so many loved ones gathered for the unforgettable occasion.
"Everybody's coming, congratulating me. I didn't have time to watch it (the game). They had to lose the darn thing," Delma said. "It's just overwhelming with the crowd. There were so many people that came up to talk to me, some I haven't seen for years."
What does Delma credit for her longevity and her ability to throw out the first pitch at a Major League Baseball game?
"I think my faith and my family and staying occupied," she said.
Submitted Photo
Delma Rammel celebrated her 100th birthday at Great American Ball Park.
Photos courtesy of Cincinnati Reds
