Leave it to the Charleston RiverDogs to come to the aid of one of their own.
“Tony the Peanut Man,” the moniker for Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park’s long-time peanut vendor Anthony Wright, suffered a tremendous loss this week with a home fire as chronicled by local media.
Wright reportedly suffered approximately $10,000 in damages to his peanut-boiling equipment that included steel pots and other gear. They were located in the back yard of his West Ashley home.
The RiverDogs, where Tony consistently toils in front of large crowds with his specially-made t-shirt and renowned sweetgrass hat with no top, will donate to him a portion of the club’s peanut sales for this entire four-game homestand (April 19-22). The club will also have a donation station for Wright at Guest Services throughout the homestand. Piggly Wiggly has also pledged to replace all of the peanuts that he lost in the fire.
“We feel for Tony,” said RiverDogs General Manager Dave Echols. “He’s been a Riley Park staple for so long that we felt that we had to do something for him. We’re certain that many of his customers will come to his need during this delicate time.”
The club will also have a between-inning salute for Wright to help raise awareness when the entire Riley Park audience will be invited to participate in singing his famed composition (“Haaaay, haaaay; what I saaaay”) that he includes while dancing his jig after a sale of one of his bags of roasted or boiled peanuts. The ceremony will also acknowledge the contribution the RiverDogs will be making to Tony and hopefully encourage fans to lend a hand and make their own donation.