As the Colorado Rockies season winds down, many fans are missing a favorite Coors Field character, a figure as familiar as Dinger and welcoming as a seventh-inning stretch: Captain Earthman.
An ER visit revealing two grade-IV glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumors cut short beer vendor Brent Doeden’s season in the stands, which would’ve run through the team’s final home game Oct. 2. His last appearance at Coors field was Aug. 31.
Becky Scharfenberg thought her husband was having a stroke when he began saying strange things that day. “Things that were stranger than usual for him, because he often says some pretty strange things!” Scharfenberg joked from the waiting room of Good Samaritan Medical Center, where Doeden was undergoing a follow-up biopsy a week after his diagnosis.
An IT professional at Spinnaker Support, Scharfenberg is the tech savvy one of the two, and she’s handling all communications right now. She shared the troubling news on Facebook and launched Caringbridge.org and GoFundMe accounts to give well-wishers a way to send good thoughts and contributions.
Hundreds have already done so. “The outpouring of love has been amazing. I’m printing out the messages for Earthman to read,” Sharfenberg said.
The GoFundMe she initially set with a goal of $10,000 has surpassed that amount and been upped to $25,000. “I would like to make sure I can take Earthman to any concert he would like to attend, whether it is here in Denver or in another city,” Scharfenberg, his wife of 28 years, posted on her Facebook page.
Taunaz Tavern, in the couple’s hometown of Arvada, at 10480 Ralston Road, is hosting a silent auction and bake sale on Sunday, Sept. 25 from 2-6 p.m. Michael Fruitman, owner of Mike’s Stadium Sportscards in Aurora, donated four autographed 8-by-10 photos of Denver Nuggets and Broncos players for the cause.
“I first met Captain Earthman in 1988 when I started working security at concerts,” Fruitman said. “He’s one of the more colorful characters, and someone who has outlasted just about everyone in this work.”
The couple would like to do some traveling after Doeden’s planned six-week chemotherapy and radiation treatments and attend as many concerts as possible. Earthman is a “music maniac” who has collected thousands of classic rock and blues vinyl records over the years, Sharfenberg said.
“He’s not feeling any pain or symptoms other than being a little tired and having some speech issues. The doctor said the fact he’s in such great shape from all the stair climbing is in his favor.” Scharfenberg said. They’ve been told the location of the tumors make them inoperable, but the hope is that treatment will prevent them from growing.
At age 60, this was Doeden’s 21st season hustling up and down the steps at Coors Field, lately in sections 150-151, with a 60-pound load of ice cold beer and a tube of yard-long licorice. The wiry denizen of Denver area sports and entertainment venues has made a career out of amusing fans with his wacky outfits and fuzzy grey Fu Manchu mustache since 1986.
Earthman’s only other interruption vending at Coors Field since its opening came in 2013 when a disagreement with Aramark, the company that runs concessions, led to his early departure. “That was a really rough time,” said Scharfenberg. “He loves what he does and loves the people he serves. He’s watched kids grow up at Coors Field. Kids he used to handcuff with Red Vines would get a kick out of buying their first ballpark beer from him when they turned 21.”
Much to the satisfaction of season ticket-holders who called for his return, opening day 2014 saw a happy Earthman back on the job.
He told The Denver Post’s William Porter in a 2012 article how he acquired his moniker as a teenager, “We’d be hanging out doing dumb things, I’d used to say, ‘If it’s from the Earth, man, I’ll do it.’ That’s where it began.”
Captain Earthman’s GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/cptearthman
Caringbridge: www.caringbridge.org/visit/earthman
Silent auction and bake sale in support of Captain Earthman at Taunaz Tavern, 10480 Ralston Road in Arvada, from 2-6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25.
