Pitcher phenom Jack O'Connell and Virginia-bred Shelby Whitaker met after Jack had pitched a splendid 3-0 shutout. They immediately fell in love.
Upon graduation, Shelby was hired by a national accounting firm and Jack received a $1,650,000 signing bonus by the Chicago Cubs.
Shelby attended Jack's first professional pitching appearance three weeks later in Daytona Beach. She encountered Jerry, a Cubs fan, who was beside himself sitting next to Jack's girlfriend.
Shelby assured Jerry that Jack was more than just a boyfriend to her.
Understanding that Shelby was horribly lonely coming home to an empty house, Jack surprised her with an engagement ring.
The next night, Shelby showed Jerry the ring, confirming that she was more than just Jack's girlfriend. The game announcer learned of the engagement and insisted upon Shelby coming down to the field to stand with Jack. Two big fellows picked her up and started the crowd-passing of Shelby to the field.
The crowd shouted for Jack to "Kiss her, kiss her!" And when he did, the crowd went berserk. The video of the event went viral.
As a consequence, hundreds of companies called Brown and Jacobs for site visits conditioned upon Shelby being part of the presenting team.
Meanwhile, Jack won every game he pitched in 2002 and was named Minor League Player of the Year. He was called up by the Cubs early in 2003. Jack and Shelby married in mid-October.
Everything was perfect...until the spirit of Shelby's dead great-aunt came to visit.
