Mo Gaba

Life

Gaba was born in Baltimore and raised in Glen Burnie. He was first diagnosed with cancer at nine months old and became blind soon after. Following two diagnoses of retinoblastoma, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at age six. He left on-site classes at George Cromwell Elementary for virtual schooling from the hospital. Gaba graduated from Lindale Middle School in June 2020, having spent 75% of his life in hospitals, and was enrolled at North County High School when he died.

Sports radio and legacy

In 2015, Gaba began secretly calling sports radio while his mother was at work; she learned of it after receiving a Braille invitation from radio hosts to speak at his school. He became a regular guest on 105.7 The Fan, Mix 106.5, and CBS Sports Radio. Listeners raised thousands of dollars after his latest cancer diagnosis. In 2017, he threw a ceremonial first pitch for the Baltimore Orioles and participated in a coin toss at a Ravens game.

He graduated elementary school in June 2017. In 2019, he announced an NFL draft pick in Braille for the first time. Despite aggressive treatment, his cancer metastasized to his neck, legs, brain, and lungs. Hours before his death on July 28, 2020, he was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame as the second recipient of the Wild Bill Hagy award.

His Braille draft card is displayed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Since 2020, the letters 'MO' in the Ravens endzone at M&T Bank Stadium are painted gold or white in his honor; Section 146 during the 2020 season was dedicated as 'Mo's Rows' with cardboard cutouts of Gaba and his mother. On July 28, 2022, the Orioles celebrated the inaugural 'Mo Gaba Day' against the Tampa Bay Rays, winning 3-0 on an inside-the-park homer by Trey Mancini, who had bonded with Gaba after Mancini's colon cancer diagnosis in March 2020. That homer was Mancini's final at-bat for the Orioles at Camden Yards before his trade to the Houston Astros.