February 21, 2006
Hall of Fame broadcaster Curt Gowdy was great friend to Jimmy Fund, DFCI
Curt Gowdy
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute President Edward J. Benz Jr., MD, and the entire Dana-Farber and Jimmy Fund family mourn the loss of Curt Gowdy, the former Boston Red Sox radio and TV broadcaster who went on to national prominence in a variety of sports. Gowdy, who died yesterday at age 86 from acute leukemia at his winter home in Palm Beach, Fla., always made time to help the Jimmy Fund and was an honorary trustee of Dana-Farber.
"The Jimmy Fund has lost one of its longest-standing supporters and an important member of its family," says Jimmy Fund Chairman Mike Andrews, who first met Gowdy while Andrews was a second baseman for the Red Sox. "Beginning with his relationship with Ted Williams while a broadcaster for the Red Sox, and carrying through the many decades, he was wonderful when it came to helping us through attending events or getting our message out over the airwaves. He was a true Jimmy Fund champion."
A resident of the Boston area since joining the Red Sox broadcast team in 1951, Gowdy helped in Dana-Farber's early growth by routinely mentioning the Jimmy Fund on the radio and TV during games. He was a close friend of legendary Red Sox player Ted Williams – the charity's all-time greatest celebrity spokesman – and teamed up with Williams and others to promote the cause through various events. He was made an honorary Dana-Farber trustee for life in 1954, around the time he lent his smooth, familiar voice to one of the popular trailer films that ran in New England movie houses as part of the Jimmy Fund/Variety Club Theatre Collections Program. Like Williams, Gowdy would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Leaving the Red Sox in 1966, Gowdy eventually worked the broadcast booths at 13 World Series, 16 All-Star baseball games, 12 Rose Bowl football contests, 24 NCAA "Final Fours" in college basketball, and eight Olympics. He also hosted the popular "American Sportsman" series on ABC, which ran for decades and earned Gowdy six of his 13 Emmy Awards. Despite these and many other professional and charitable commitments, Gowdy attended a variety of "Jimmy Fund Tributes" – testimonials for sports figures including Boston Bruins great Bobby Orr, boxing champ Marvin Hagler, and Gowdy himself that raised huge amounts for Dana-Farber. He was also a regular at the Joe Cronin Memorial Fishing Tournament, an annual Jimmy Fund event named for the former Red Sox player/manager Gowdy said was like a father to him during his time with the team.
Most recently, Gowdy was among the speakers at a memorial honoring the late Ted Williams held shortly after his 2002 death. There was no Red Sox game, but more than 20,000 fans came to Fenway Park for the event, with all proceeds going to the Jimmy Fund. The poignant evening included Gowdy recreating his famous call of Williams' last major-league home run, which came at Fenway in the final at- bat of his career in 1960.
Gowdy is survived by his wife Jerre, daughter Cheryl Ann of Palm Beach, sons Curt Jr. of New York City and Trevor of Boston, and five grandchildren. Contributions in his honor can be made to the Jimmy Fund at www.jimmyfund.org, or by calling 1-800-52 JIMMY. Gifts can also be sent by mail to the Jimmy Fund, c/o Contribution Services, 10 Brookline Place West, Brookline, Mass. 02445.
