Community High School

America’s Oldest Usher

When the bell rang at 3:00 p.m. during baseball season, Paul Maceri and his cousin would bolt out of his Detroit junior high school and race home to catch the afternoon ball game on the radio. The year was 1927.

Flash forward 80 years, and Maceri still climbs and descends the Comerica Park stairs in the boiling midday sun during every Tiger’s home game. At 92, he is the oldest active usher in the country.

His interest began in 1924, when Maceri’s gym teacher took him to a baseball game. He was in his third year of grammar school at the time and Ty Cobb was the manager of the Tigers. He did not know much about the game then, but he did know it was the start of a lifelong love.

Maceri quickly made up for his lack of knowledge at his first game. He memorized batting averages, wins and losses, positions, weights and heights. As he grew older, though, it became apparent that the need to support his family would overtake his desires for a career in baseball. He took a job driving trucks for Ford Motor Company. “I liked it, but I didn’t like it like baseball,” Maceri said, “[There is] nothing like baseball.”

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, it was an opportunity for Maceri. He was called into service and played in an army fast-pitch softball team in Honolulu, Hawaii. The island newspapers called him “Cy,” for no reason Maceri could discern, but the name stuck and his wife still uses it to address him today.

After playing ball in the army, Maceri knew he could not go back to his job with Ford Motors. Luckily, his nephew knew about an ushering job with the Tigers. In 1970, Maceri got an interview and was hired on the spot. He knew it was the right job for him, and loved the perks: he could talk to famous ballplayers and managers before and after games.

Sparky Anderson, manager of the Tigers from 1971-1995, was one of those heroes. In 1984, Maceri put his arm on Anderson’s shoulder and asked, “What are you gonna do this year?”

“We’re going all the way,” replied Anderson, and Maceri believed him. That year, the Tigers won the World Series.

Maceri was also able to talk to Al Kaline and Jack Morris, a wild Tiger’s pitcher in the 1970’s, and said that he learned the players’ personalities. The ushers knew not to talk to Morris after a loss, but after a win he would be more than happy to autograph their baseballs.

The casual atmosphere of the games changed in 2000 with the move to the new Comerica Park. Ushers were no longer allowed to talk with baseball players, and if they caught a ball they could not keep it or they would be fired. Through everything, he was positive; it was worth it to be there for the game.

Maceri patrols his section each game, says hello to regulars and helps newcomers find their seats.

“I got the best fans in the world. They treat me great,” Maceri said of those who sit in his section, “Every time they leave, they say, ‘Paul, you’re coming back.’”

Even Comerica Park has recognized his longevity. In 2004, the digital screen announced “Paul Maceri Day,” in honor of his commitment and acknowledged him officially as the oldest active usher in the United States. He was 89.

Maceri’s wife, Rose Marie, says her husband often spends more time at the ballpark than with her, but she’s fine with that. He even spent their 50th anniversary ushering for the Tigers. “His first love is baseball, his second love is me. Isn’t that crazy?” she said.

“No, she is my first love,” he corrects, “but I do love baseball.”

So do his four children, four grandchildren and great-grandchild.

At 92, Maceri thinks he will work a couple more years and quit. He wants to be there in 2009, which his wife points out is their 60th anniversary.