May 22, 2009 2:05 pm US/Eastern
Son Of NYC Swine Flu Victim Pitches No-Hitter
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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IS-238 Assistant Principal Mitch Weiner died on Sunday after his battle with swine flu.
CBS
The son of a New York City assistant public school principal who died of swine flu is a baseball champ.
Jordan Wiener pitched a no-hitter for his school, Robert F. Kennedy High School in Queens, on Thursday. He was wearing a cap with his father's initials -- M.W. for Mitchell Wiener. He says he felt his father giving him the power to win.
The left-hander struck out 14 batters in a 10-0 victory in five innings over Brooklyn's Prospect Heights High School.
He told the New York Post that his father "would want me to do what I do best, and that's pitching."
The Daily News says the senior could feel by the second inning that it was going to be a special day.
Mitchell Wiener died of the virus on Sunday. He was buried Wednesday.
"The whole community is just devastated," friend Jessie Stanton said.
"It hurts. My heart is aching," added Lorraine Calabrese, senior cook at IS 238.
Wiener had difficulty breathing last week and was brought to Flushing Hospital. It turned out he had the H1N1 virus, swine flu, and within a week he died.
Officials said the 55-year-old had a pre-existing medical condition that played a role in his death, something his family has denied. But those in attendance Wednesday chose to focus on the way he lived rather than how he died.
"He is the model citizen. He takes everybody under his wings, very generous with his time," said Rick Schon, Wiener's cousin.
"We grew up together kind of, he was a nice, nice guy," neighbor Steve Farron added.
"He cared about everybody, everybody. Wonderful father, wonderful friend and administrator, can't say enough good things," Stanton said.
Wiener was the assistant principal at IS 238 for the past 20 years. His students there said that he always made time for them and was someone they could turn to for help.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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