Washington, Aug. 24 (ANI): Actor Richard Gere's burst into tears when he met his childhood hero, baseball star Whitey Ford, recently.

The 'Pretty Woman' star met Ford at a recent induction ceremony at the National Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Gere asked for a hug from the Ford, when he came across the 78-year-old sports ace.

It was actually Gere's seven-year-old son who pointed out that Ford was present at the event.

"I came in the hotel and my son says, 'That's Whitey Ford over there.' And I went, 'Oh my God.' That was my team as a kid, that era of the (New York) Yankees, from '57 to '61'," Contactmusic quoted him as saying.

"I walked over to Whitey, like, in a cloud, I started stammering, then I started crying. I was tearing up and I didn't know what to say. I said, 'Is it Whitey Ford?' and he said, 'Yeah?' And I said, 'Can I give you a hug?' So we stood there for five minutes hugging, with tears streaming down my face," he added. (ANI)