MUSKEGON, Mich. - World War II veteran Stanley Jastrzembski was given a winning Michigan Lottery ticket from his son for his 94th birthday that is good for two 2018 Detroit Tigers box seat season tickets.
The tickets were part of a recent promotion by the Michigan Lottery. Jastrzembski's son bought the tickets on a whim since his father's favorite team has always been the Tigers.
"He’s the most difficult person to buy for, a little aftershave goes a long way," said Mark Jastrzembski, the veteran's son. "My brother saw the advertisement on the Tigers there at the Michigan Lottery, a special raffle to win season tickets for two next year."
When the 94-year-old blew out his candles, he sincerely wished for the Tigers to make it to the World Series. Little did he know, an even bigger wish was about to come true.
"I feel like a millionaire," Stanley Jastrzembski said. "Don't give up on the Tigers, they'll keep playing and come through."
His son says it's poetic that his father would win the tickets, saying Jastrzembski never gave up on the team, even when they lost more than 100 games in the 2003 season.
"He’s been Semper Fi for the tigers all 90 years that he’s been watching and listening to them," Mark Jastrzembski said. "He'll say that he appreciates the small gifts that us kids gave him, but deep down inside he knows the big one he got was the winning tickets for the Tigers."
