Regis Philbin Dead: New York Mets Remember TV Icon

Iconic TV host Regis Philbin died on Friday at the age of 88 due to natural causes. News of his [...]

By John Newby

Iconic TV host Regis Philbin died on Friday at the age of 88 due to natural causes. News of his passing prompted tributes from multitudes of people and organizations, including the New York Mets. The MLB franchise joined millions in mourning Philbin on Saturday afternoon.

The team posted a photo on Twitter showing Philbin decked out in a green Mets uniform. He chatted with former New York Mets manager Terry Collins. The Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host was a lifetime sports fan and attended high-profile events in New York. For example, Philbin threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to a game between the Yankees and Mets in 2016. This also includes Opening Day in 2017 when he attended a Yankees game, along with Henry Kissinger and Alex Rodriguez.

"What a great guy he was and I loved the sport show he had for a little while," one fan tweeted in response to the Mets. Millions remember Philbin for the impact he made on morning shows, as well as his time on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? However, others wanted to remember a short-lived show he did on FOX Sports, Crowd Goes Wild.

Former The Daily Show correspondent Michael Kosta actually referenced this daily sports talk show when creating his own tribute to Philbin. He posted a photo showing himself with the late TV host on the set of Crowd Goes Wild. Kosta explained that the show only lasted for one year, but Philbin was "a pleasure to be around."

"I'm lucky that I got to work with Regis for a year on Crowd Goes Wild 2013/14. We did 176 daily live TV shows together and to this day no one has seen any of them. He was old school show business. Worked hard, was a pleasure to be around, always funny and sincere in real life. He had zero social media presence which I always loved and respected (yet was still considered one of the greats.) RIP Regis," Kosta wrote in his Instagram tribute.

Kosta was one of the many sports fans paying tribute to Philbin following the news of his death. WWE fans talked about the host's "loving attention" to the world of professional wrestling while viewers proclaimed that Crowd Goes Wild was a great daily show. Baseball fans simply reminisced about when Philbin appeared at New York stadiums.

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