The Red Sox and the Jimmy Fund
Boston baseball has been involved from the very beginning of the Jimmy Fund, and the Jimmy Fund has held a longstanding role as an official charity of the Red Sox. In fact, it is the longest philanthropic partnership in professional sports. The Jimmy Fund Captain program has also been a marker of success, with everyone from rookies to future Hall of Famers getting involved and forming relationships with our patients. To date, the Sox have raised more than $172 million in donations to support Dana-Farber’s mission.
The Red Sox have made a difference for countless Dana-Farber patients, their families, and loved ones. The team supports the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber for many events, including the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon presented by Arbella Insurance, raising awareness and funds to support Dana-Farber's lifesaving mission. The Red Sox Foundation/Jimmy Fund Massachusetts license plate program also helps raise funds.
“I’m not a doctor. I’m not a nurse. I’m no scientist. I can’t cure cancer. But what I can do is champion for and help raise funds for the people who are those things. What I can do is love on these kids and these families as much as they’ll let me. Support each other. Help each other. Love each other. That’s what we plan to do.”
Jimmy Fund Co-Chair and former Red Sox player Brock Holt, 2024
Jimmy and the Sox
Together since 1953.
Ted Williams and the Jimmy Fund
Ted Williams was a hero in the ballpark, on the battlefield, and in the hearts of millions of children suffering from cancer.
Famous for his extraordinary batting record during his decades-long career with the Red Sox, Williams also displayed heroism as a fighter pilot in two wars, and through his tireless efforts on behalf of the Jimmy Fund.
“All the bullets and all the bombs that explode all over the world won’t leave the impact, when all is said and done, of a dollar bill dropped in the Jimmy Fund pot by a warm heart and a willing hand.”
Ted Williams, 1953

Williams went everywhere to support the cause: American Legion banquets, temples and churches, Little League games, drive-in theaters, department stores for autograph sessions. Most memorably, he made countless visits to the bedsides of sick children at the Jimmy Fund Clinic.
As a kid, Williams dreamed of being a sports hero, but as an adult, he dreamed of beating cancer. His efforts over the years contributed to remarkable progress in the treatment of childhood cancers.
When Williams started working with the Jimmy Fund in the 1940s, almost every child with cancer died. Today, more than three out of four children with cancer survive.
"During his lifetime, Ted was uncomfortable when praised for all he did for the Jimmy Fund," says Edward J. Benz Jr., MD, President Emeritus. "But, let me say now that his commitment to the Jimmy Fund and to the children facing cancer should go in the record books as among the most any professional athlete has done to advance a cause."
"Ted signed on for life to the Jimmy Fund, helping make it the best-loved charity in New England," adds Mike Andrews, former Boston Red Sox second baseman and chairman of the Jimmy Fund. "Ted's name is synonymous with our battle against cancer."
Williams last visit to the children being treated for cancer at Dana-Farber's Jimmy Fund Clinic was in July 1999, just before Major League Baseball's All-Star game at Boston Red Sox's Fenway Park.
His first visit, and hundreds of subsequent ones, went unheralded, because as Williams said, "What I do for the Jimmy Fund, I do for the kids."