Dad, Son Went to Game to Catch a Ball

The mother of the man who died after falling over an outfield railing at a Texas Rangers game said he had gone to the ballpark with his 6-year-old son in hopes of catching a ball.

Suzann Stone told The Associated Press on Friday that Shannon Stone and young Cooper Stone had even stopped on the way to Arlington on Thursday to buy the boy a new glove.

"Shannon was our son, but even if he wasn't he was still the type of person we would want to be our friend," Suzann Stone told NBC DFW.

"He was just doing what any dad would do, reaching for that ball for his little boy," she said.

Reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton, Cooper's favorite player, grabbed a foul ball that ricocheted into left field and tossed it into the stands.

The 39-year-old firefighter from Brownwood caught the ball but tumbled over the railing and plunged 20 feet onto concrete.

"That's a moment that Shannon and Cooper would live for, and it's just tragic that it happened that way, [that] it turned out as bad as it did," said Don Massey, a friend of Shannon Stone.

He was conscious and talking after the fall, but later died at John Peter Smith hospital from injuries sustained in the fall.

All of the flags at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington have been lowered to half-staff to memorialize Stone.  The Rangers will also observe a moment of silence prior to the start of Friday night's game against the Athletics.

NBC DFW's Kevin Cokely contributed to this report.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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