Former Braves mascot Chief Noc-A-Homa affected by well being problems

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ATLANTA – When you’re of a sure age, and also you grew up in Atlanta or pulled for the Atlanta Braves, you virtually actually bear in mind their mascot Chief Noc-A-Homa.

Whereas the Braves of the 70s and 80s struggled on the sector, for over a dozen years the flamboyant Native American showman helped generations of followers survive the sub-par baseball when the Braves solely made a mere two playoff appearances in a quarter-century.

For 16 seasons, Levi Walker Jr., aka Chief Noc-A-Homa, was a spotlight on many an evening on the previous Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. From his pre-game dance and ritual on the pitcher’s mound to his teepee in left discipline, Walker, a local of the Odawa tribe, took his craft very severely and continues to be beloved by generations of long-suffering Braves followers.

“It was enjoyable going to the stadium as a child. There weren’t plenty of seats crammed up however me and my brother ran round like loopy and had a blast and watched dad do his factor,” Walker’s daughter Gwyn Newman mentioned.

Now at 80 years previous, Walker has suffered a number of well being problems. Already battling diabetes and on dialysis, he was lately identified with dementia and mind problems. The wants and medical payments have turn into overwhelming for the household.

 “He is a fighter – he is at all times been a fighter – and so they’re making an attempt to work with him and get him to stroll on his personal,” Newman mentioned. “We simply need assistance with the medical provides – handicapped ramp that we needed to put in. It was costly. It wasn’t low cost, and everybody who offers with an growing older guardian is aware of what we’re going by.”

Walker hasn’t been affiliated with the Braves’ group since 1985, and whereas the proud elder of the Odawa tribe’s reminiscence could also be fading, reminiscences of him will reside perpetually in Braves’ lore. For his household, the truth that he acquired to witness and benefit from the 2021 Braves World Sequence Championship means a lot.

“They’re his guys and he loves him. He at all times will,” Newman mentioned.

If you need to assist, the family has started a GoFundMe page. 

Whereas the household stays hopeful and optimistic about his potential restoration, Newman shared with FOX 5’s Buck Lanford that upon his loss of life, Walker has requested her to unfold his ashes on the positioning, the place the pitcher’s mound as soon as stood at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.