Game day ushers at baseball games are a very important job for fans, workers and players alike. However, longtime Braves game day usher Walter Banks has served long enough with the Braves to see Atlanta bring home two World Series Trophies.
On Wednesday, the Atlanta Braves posted a picture on their social media accounts of Walter Banks holding the 2021 World Series trophy.
Walter Banks came to @TruistPark today and met a new friend 🥰 pic.twitter.com/E31kknCx2H
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) December 8, 2021
Banks, who turned 82 years old in July, has worked with the Atlanta Braves for 56 years. In this time, people have plenty to say on the impact that Banks has brought to the fans’ experience on game day.
Flash back to the year 1995, where Walter Banks was working the World Series against the Cleveland Indians when it was played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
A little over two and a half decades later, Banks would see the Atlanta Braves bring home their second World Series title, working at Truist Park when the Braves defeated the Houston Astros. The longtime Braves usher knew that winning the World Series would mean a lot to Braves County.
"“You’ll see something you’ve never seen before. It’ll be so together, so organized, so appreciative,” Banks told 11Alive News while working the 2021 World Series. “It would bring people not across county lines, but state lines.”"
In 2019, the Atlanta Braves honored Walter Banks with his own bobblehead giveaway night, which quickly became a fan-favorite among Braves Country.
It's Walter Banks Bobblehead Night at SunTrust Park. @PaulByrd36 chats with the #Braves beloved ambassador as he reflects on his special night. #Braves | #ChopOn pic.twitter.com/RO0ptwfDiQ
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) July 5, 2019
"“I love the way he engages with fans,” said Atlanta Braves President and CEO Derek Schiller in 2019. “It’s not just a simple ‘hello’ or ‘goodbye,’ he wants to know a little bit about you. A chance to interact with him is really just so special.”"
Banks also has an award name after him in the Atlanta Braves organization. The Walter Banks Hospitality award was established in 2017 and “is given to the staff member who demonstrates the specific qualities of service, dedication, personalization, selflessness and hospitality that guests have come to identify with Banks,” said the Braves.
Walter Banks, to many in Braves Country, has cemented himself as a game day celebrity, telling facts about the Atlanta Braves and exemplifying humility by getting to know fans and everyone he may come across.