101-Year-Old Rudal Ahlen is NY Mets Biggest Fan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 6, 2017

Contact: Dennine Cook
dcook@gurwin.org
(631) 715-2562

Commack, NY — 101-year-old Mets fan Rudal Ahlen has been cheering for the Amazins’ since they emerged on the major league baseball scene in 1962, five years after her heart was broken by the Brooklyn Dodgers who left the Big Apple for Los Angeles. For more than 50 years, Rudy, as she’s affectionately called by her family and friends, has been cheering for her beloved team, first at the Polo Grounds, then at Shea Stadium, and now at Citi Field -- “It’s sooo modern!”

A mother of eight, Rudy hails from Brooklyn; she later settled in Smithtown, Long Island where she taught her own children the finer points of baseball. At the age of 65, Rudy joined an all-male seniors baseball team – “they didn’t know what to make of me,” she laughs. Fond of the championships lineups of 1969 and 1986, Rudy vividly remembers the breakout season of players like Tom Seaver and Tug McGraw, as well as Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez.

Now a resident at Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Commack, Long Island, Rudy spends game days glued to the TV, keeping score and sometimes second-guessing decisions made by the Mets managers. Surrounded by friends at Gurwin, Rudy spent opening day rooting for her team, wistfully hoping that her favorite Mets player, David Wright, will be healthy enough to return to the lineup soon. The game win made her optimistic about a promising season and an ultimate trip to the Fall Classic. “I just want them to win the World Series already!” she exclaimed.

The Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center is a 460-bed nursing care facility located in Commack, Long Island. Gurwin offers skilled nursing care, short-term rehabilitation, medical/post-surgical subacute care, respiratory and ventilator dependent care, an adult day health program, on-site dialysis, memory care, palliative and hospice care, home care, assisted living, and a proposed independent living community.

The Annual Gurwin Photo Contest invites community members to enter photos that just may have a lasting impact on the residents of the nursing & rehabilitation center. Entries are accepted through April 17. See www.gurwin.org/about/photo-con... for details. Follow us on Facebook (bit.ly/GurwinNursingRehab) and Twitter (@GurwinJewish).

photo caption: Rudal “Rudy” Ahlen celebrates the Mets’ 2017 opening day with Stuart Almer, Administrator/COO Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.

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Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

68 Hauppauge Road, Commack, NY 11725 | (631) 715-2562 www.gurwin.org