INCREDIBLE FEAT: Tom Willis, born without arms, throws first pitch at all 30 MLB ballparks with his foot
DENVER, COLORADO: Tom Willis, who was born without arms, made history recently. The sports enthusiast, who wanted to pitch at every Major League Baseball stadium, achieved his aim by throwing the final first pitch at the Coors Field in Denver.
To spread awareness for his campaign called ‘No Arms, No Hands, No Problems’, Willis established a goal 15 years ago to throw out the first pitch at each of the 30 MLB stadiums in the country. He began his journey in 2008 at Petco Park in San Diego, California, and finished it on the night of September 22, 2022, at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. Before taking off his gray slide-on sneakers and grabbing the baseball with his toes, Willis can be seen making his way to the center of the field in the video. He then threw the ball far into the air and directly into the mascot's glove, like a professional pitcher by lifting his free leg over his torso.
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In 2008, Willis was featured on a San Diego news station that simultaneously served as the primary channel for the San Diego Padres games. Willis, a motivational speaker since 2002, initially demonstrated how to toss tennis balls and frisbee without using his hands.
On May 27, 2008, he followed through on his request to let them throw out the first pitch at one of the games. Willis believed that throwing out the first pitch at every Major League Baseball field was a fantastic method to increase awareness about disabilities after being warmly welcomed by the audience, according to Sports Keeda.
He admitted to feeling like a "rock star without the money" to the Boston Globe in 2013. “What I'm trying to do is to understand and believe in the abilities of a person with disabilities,” he told the Boston Globe. “The way our mother raised us was that what we could do, Tom could do too,” his brother Michael said at the time.
With his Pitch for Awareness National Tour, he has tossed several balls throughout the years and even autographed baseball cards for fans. Willis has covered more than 70,000 miles ever since he ventured to throw out the first pitches in 2008.