The trend of notable public figures will continue this Saturday when a Schuylkill County native that played Major League Baseball this season will attend the Special Olympics Flag Football game.
Something special has been going on this season with the Special Olympics Flag Football season and it's drawing a crowd.
The team has been playing weekly at Penn State Schuylkill's Auxiliary Field and has drawn some big names.
For their first game of the season, former Philadelphia Eagles Wide Receiver Freddie Mitchell attended and two weeks later, Muhammad Ali's daughter Khaliah Ali attended.
Both public figures took time out of their busy schedules and private lives to provide some inspiration to the athletes but also help spread awareness to the public about the Special Olympics.
The work behind getting these public figures to come to the games has been in part to the team's coach Jordan Green and Schuylkill County Special Olympics Sports Leader Mark Mamrosh.
We spoke with Ali after she attended a game and she said, "The energy of Jordan and his athletes is contagious and the energy throughout the game was magical. You could feel the love from those that attended and the athletes. Their role now would hopefully inspire those to advocate in the future. My father, if he was anything, he was about service. My favorite quote of his was 'Service is the rent we pay here on earth', and that's what I see in Jordan and his team."
After Mitchell and Ali attended, that caught the attention of Pottsville native and Major League Baseball player Travis Blankenhorn.
Blankenhorn reached out Coach Green and asked how he could help.
This weekend Blankenhorn will join the team Saturday morning at Penn State Schuylkill for their game against local State Police Troopers.
Special Olympics Sports Leader Mark Mamrosh said "We are proud of Travis, I've seen this guy hit homeruns since he was 15 years old. We proud of him for Pottsville and we are thankful he reached out to us".
Blankenhorn says "I'm really excited since this is my first Special Olympics event. I look forward to supporting such a great organization that has helped so many athletes that have needs. The community has supported me so much so I'm grateful to give back to the community."
Blankenhorn currently plays for the Syracuse Mets but has made several appearances on the main New York Mets roster this past season.
The public is invited to come out, watch a great football game, and meet with Blankenhorn. Shirts will also be for sale that state "I MET Travis Blankenhorn", and you could also win a baseball bat autographed by Travis Blankenhorn.
Kickoff for the game will be at 9:00am.
Oct 22 9AM PSU Sch. Travis Blankenhorn To Visit Special Olympics! from Jordan Green on Vimeo.
