Larry Lucchino named Chairman of the Jimmy Fund 

Boston Red Sox President/CEO emeritus is longtime Jimmy Fund supporter, leader, Dana-Farber trustee, and cancer survivor

April 20, 2016

Chairman of the Jimmy Fund and Boston Red Sox President/CEO Emeritus, Larry Lucchino

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute today appointed Larry Lucchino as Chairman of the Jimmy Fund. Since 1948, the Jimmy Fund has raised millions of dollars to support adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Lucchino has long been a supporter, leader, trustee, and patient of Dana-Farber, which twice helped save his life from cancer over the last 30 years. For the last 14 years, he has been President/CEO of the Boston Red Sox, and, after the 2015 season, was named Boston Red Sox President/CEO Emeritus.

As Chairman of the Jimmy Fund, Lucchino, who is now also Chairman of the Pawtucket Red Sox, will be the lead ambassador and public spokesperson for the Jimmy Fund to strengthen relationships with the corporate community and professional sports teams, to strategize on policy and fundraising initiatives, and to recognize the many passionate donors and event participants. Lucchino will help increase awareness of the importance of philanthropic support for Dana-Farber and highlight the breakthroughs and milestones Dana-Farber doctors and researchers have achieved toward finding cures and treatments for cancer as a result of Jimmy Fund support.

Larry and Stacey Lucchino at the 2015 Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai

"Larry Lucchino has been a vigorous, engaged, and very effective advocate of the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber for many years," said Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD, president and CEO of Dana-Farber. "We are all excited for him to be a champion for us in this way and build on our fundraising efforts. He is the perfect person to spread the word about the Jimmy Fund and increase enthusiasm for our mission. I am personally very grateful to Larry and Stacey for this and the many other extraordinary ways that they have supported our organization."

Others who have served as the Jimmy Fund Chairman include: much-admired former Red Sox infielder Mike Andrews (1984-2009), legendary broadcaster Ken Coleman (1978-1984) and Bill Koster (1948-1977), known as “Mr. Jimmy Fund” and one of the three founders of the Jimmy Fund.

"The opportunity to participate in the leadership of the Jimmy Fund is an honor and a duty," said Red Sox President/CEO Emeritus Larry Lucchino. “I want to deepen my connection with this remarkable organization which is on the front lines in the battle against cancer, and I am eager to expand the important work of raising awareness, more funds, and support to help us treat, research, and conquer this miserable disease."

During his time with the Boston Red Sox, Lucchino has personally supported many Jimmy Fund fundraising events including the Pan-Mass Challenge, Boston Marathon^® Jimmy Fund Walk, Jimmy Fund Big Ideas Contest, WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, Boston Red Sox/Jimmy Fund License Plates, and more.

A Dana-Farber trustee since 2003, Lucchino and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Joshua Bekenstein were also co-chairs of Mission Possible: The Dana-Farber Campaign to Conquer Cancer, which was completed in 2010 and raised $1.18 billion. In addition, Lucchino currently chairs the Institute’s Trustee Development Committee.

In 1985, prior to his position with the Boston Red Sox, Lucchino, then vice president/general counsel of the Baltimore Orioles, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 40. He chose Dana-Farber, one of the country’s leading transplant centers, to receive chemotherapy and an autologous bone marrow transplant. Under the care of Lee Nadler, MD, and the late Emil "Tom" Frei III, MD, Lucchino received a transplant and was in isolation for 38 days. On the day he was released, seeking a return to a normal life, Lucchino attended his first Red Sox game at Fenway Park. John Harrington, then chairman of the Boston Red Sox, arranged for Larry to watch the game from an empty, glass-enclosed broadcast booth, given his weakened immune system.

"We are thrilled to have Larry as our new Jimmy Fund Chairman," said Susan S. Paresky, senior vice president for Dana-Farber’s Division of Development & the Jimmy Fund. "Larry has been very active with us for years in many different capacities. The chairmanship is a natural next step. His background and expertise will be a tremendous asset to help us increase our fundraising and to educate, engage and motivate our supporters."