During the Phillies’ 7-0 victory on Tuesday, country music star Tim McGraw was in attendance at Citizens Bank Park with his wife, Faith Hill, WTXF-TV reported. It was the first World Series game played in Philadelphia since 2009.
McGraw, 55, was sporting the No. 45 jersey worn by his father, reliever Tug McGraw, with whom he had a complicated relationship.
Tim McGraw received a big ovation when he appeared on the Jumbotron screen and showed off the back of his uniform, which had his father’s name and number on it, WPVI-TV reported.
Country music star Tim McGraw is wearing his father’s Phillies jersey at tonight’s game 🙌
Tug McGraw was a key part of the Phillies’ first World Series victory in 1980, winning five games and saving 20 others during the regular season, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
“I didn’t know he was my dad,” Tim McGraw said in a 2013 interview with Larry King. “I was 11 years old, and I was rummaging around in mom’s closet and found a birth certificate. I was growing up in Louisiana, and my mom was divorced, and we were barely getting by.”
“People ask me, ‘How could you have a relationship with your father? You were growing up in nothing. He was a millionaire baseball player. He knew you were there, and he didn’t do anything,” McGraw said in an interview with Esquire in 2021. “But when I found out Tug McGraw was my dad, it gave me something in my little town in Louisiana, something that I would have never reached for. How could I ever be angry?”
Tim McGraw met his father for the first time later in 2013 but did not see him again for another seven years, Billboard reported.
Tug McGraw died on Jan. 5, 2004, in Brentwood, Tennessee. He was 59.
Tim McGraw has plenty of hits. The Phillies could have used a few of them on Wednesday night, becoming only the second team in World Series history to be no-hit.
Before the start of the World Series, Tim McGraw tweeted, “Let’s go Phillies!” and posted a video of his father striking out Willie Wilson of the Kansas City Royals for the final out of the 1980 World Series at Veterans Stadium. That gave the Phillies their first World Series title. They would win the Series again in 2008 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years Check out these memorable photos of country music star Tim McGraw through the years. (Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2001: Entertainer of the Year Tim McGraw and his wife Faith Hill arrive November 7, 2001, at the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. (Adele Starr/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2002: Country singers Faith Hill and her husband Tim McGraw arrive at the 74th annual Academy Awards on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2003: Country singer Tim Mcgraw performs on stage at the 2003 Radio Music Awards at the Aladdin Casino Resort on October 27, 2003, in Las Vegas. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2004: Musician Tim McGraw performs during "The Today Show" in Rockefeller Center on November 24, 2004, in New York City. (Scott Gries/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2005: Singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill arrive at the 2005 American Music Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on November 22, 2005, in Los Angeles. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2006: Singer Faith Hill (left) and singer Tim McGraw pose next to McGraw's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Virgin Megastore on October 17, 2006, in Los Angeles. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2007: Singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw attend a cocktail party in celebration of The Cartier Charity Love Bracelet at The Cartier Mansion on June 7, 2007, in New York City. (Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2008: Singers Faith Hill (left) and husband Tim McGraw arrive at the 50th annual Grammy awards held at the Staples Center on February 10, 2008, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2009: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill attends the 43rd annual CMA Awards at the Sommet Center on November 11, 2009, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2010: Musician Tim McGraw and singer Faith Hill arrive for the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 18, 2010, in Las Vegas. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2011: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill attend the 45th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 9, 2011, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2012: Singer/songwriter Tim McGraw performs at the 2012 BamaJam Music and Arts Festival - Day 1 at BamaJam Farms in Enterprise, Alabama, on June 14, 2012. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2013: Singers Tim McGraw (left) and Taylor Swift perform onstage during the 48th annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 7, 2013, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2014: Tim McGraw (left) and Faith Hill kiss onstage at the 2014 CMA Festival on June 5, 2014, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2015: Recording artists Faith Hill (left) and Tim McGraw attend the 87th annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 22, 2015, in Hollywood, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2016: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill attend the 50th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 2, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2017: Recording artists Tim McGraw (left) and Faith Hill attend the 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards at Toshiba Plaza on April 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2018: Tim McGraw attends the screening of "Free Solo" hosted by Tim McGraw at SilverScreen Theater at the Pacific Design Center on November 11, 2018, in West Hollywood, California. (John Sciulli/Getty Images for National Geographic)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2019: Tim McGraw performs on stage during Day 3 of the 2019 CMA Music Festival on June 8, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2020: Tim McGraw (left) and CEO of Big Machine Scott Borchetta announce Tim McGraw's return to Big Machine Records at Omni Hotel on February 21, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2021: Faith Hill, Isabel May and Tim McGraw attend the world premiere of "1883" at Encore Beach Club at Wynn Las Vegas on December 11, 2021, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Photos: Tim McGraw through the years 2022: Faith Hill and Tim McGraw attend the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Barker Hangar on February 27, 2022, in Santa Monica, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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