Former inmate now an inspirational Texas Rangers fan

Dawn Shepard’s love of the Texas Rangers began behind bars.

The native New Yorker started watching Rangers games in the mid-1990s, while serving more than eight years on a drug charge at Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth. Some — but not all — of the Rangers games at that time were televised on a local UHF television channel, and on those occasions the games could be watched on a prison TV in a common area.

“Juan Gonzalez. Pudge Rodriguez. Mark McLemore,” she said, citing some of the club’s best players at the time. “Those were my guys.”

Released from prison in 1999, the longtime fan will be watching Wednesday as the Rangers play the Blue Jays in the deciding game of the American League Division Series in Toronto.

After getting out of prison Shepard decided to stay in Fort Worth rather than return to the drug- and alcohol-laced environment in her native city, a place with bad memories. She said that when she was 5 years old her mother had died of a drug overdose, and when she was 15 her father had been killed in a drug-related shooting.

Shepard, who learned she was HIV positive during a routine medical test in prison, accepted offers of help from Fort Worth-area residents who had met her during her work as a prison volunteer. She had become a volunteer speaker for the prison’s SHARE program — Sharing Hope About Recovery Experiences — which became an outlet for her to warn teenagers and young women about the mistakes she had made.

She also became active at First Presbyterian Church, where she continues to serve as coordinator for the Community Crossroads program. It’s an outreach center in Fort Worth’s Hemphill neighborhood where residents can go for fellowship, or help with any variety of problems.

It was through those community service activities that Shepard was occasionally offered free Rangers tickets. She attended her first Rangers game in person in 2001, and immediately felt at home.

“I feel blessed at how my life has turned out, and baseball is a large part of it,” she said. “I just love going to the ballpark.”

Last year, when the Rangers’ had a season many fans considered forgettable and attendance dropped significantly, Shepard became a regular on the Rangers post-game show on Fox Sports Southwest.

Roaming reporter Jim Knox often called upon Shepard to shout words of encouragement to the TV audience, and she delivered without hesitation.

“Great night to be at the ballpark! Let’s go Rangers!” she yelled in her gravely voice during one broadcast.

Her Ranger garb would change with each appearance — sometimes a red T-shirt, sometimes a blue T-shirt or white jersey. But she always wore her glasses and usually wore her silver Texas Rangers earrings.

During one broadcast, she held up a sign that read: “I will never stop believing.”

She was also the subject of a feature story on fan loyalty last year, when Fox Sports Southwest reporter Dana Larson called Shepard “a megaphone of joy after a win. A beacon of hope after a loss.”

These days, Shepard has become a recognizable, local celebrity of sorts. It’s not uncommon for fans to stop her in the Globe Life Park concourse and ask for a photograph.

Jeff Bledsoe of Fort Worth, who also attends First Presbyterian Church, ran into Shepard during a playoff game Sunday at the ballpark.

“She’s terrific,” Bledsoe said, before exchanging a hug and a high-five with Shepard. “She’s everywhere — on the radio, on TV.”

A few weeks ago, Shepard told her story on radio station KTCK 1310 and 96.7 FM “The Ticket.” During that appearance, one man — a friend of one of the radio show hosts, Corby Davidson — was so moved by her story that he agreed to provide Shepard with a season ticket seat for the rest of the team’s run this year, however long it may last.

Shepard, who once thought she had thrown her life away, now spends her evenings watching her favorite team from behind home plate, 18 rows from the field.

“So many people stop and ask to take a picture, or say I have been in an inspiration to them,” she said. “I just feel so blessed.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Former inmate now an inspirational Texas Rangers fan."