A Tribute to Dr. Farber and "Jimmy"

From Dave Brigham:

I've been a Red Sox fan for as long as I can remember, thanks to my dad and older brother. And for all of those years, I've heard about the Jimmy Fund, a cancer charity, both on radio and TV broadcasts of the team's games. A few years ago, I stumbled across the organization's Boston headquarters, and a really nice sculpture devoted to the fund's namesake, as well as the founder of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (see March 8, 2019, "A Short Walk Through Longwood...and Mission Hill").

Recently, I had a chance to shoot some pictures there again, which led me to dig a little deeper into the charity, the sculpture and Einar "Jimmy" Gustafson and Dr. Sidney Farber.

Founded in 1948, the Jimmy Fund raises money through community-based events, some of them centered on the Red Sox, with all monies going directly to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Launched in 1947 by Dr. Sidney Farber as the Children's Cancer Research Foundation, the organization expanded its base to include patients of all ages in 1969. In 1974, the organization changed its name to the Sidney Farber Cancer Center. "The long-term support of the Charles A. Dana Foundation was acknowledged by incorporating the Institute under its present name in 1983," per the organization's web site. "Today, the Institute employs more than 5,000 staff, faculty, and clinicians supporting more than 640,000 annual outpatient visits."

Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund are Boston institutions. The fund is an official charity of the Red Sox, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Pan-Mass Challenge, and the Variety Children's Charity of New England. It benefits from hundreds of events, including the B.A.A. Half Marathon, the Falmouth Road Race, the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon and more, according to the Jimmy Fund web site.

So who was Jimmy?

"Jimmy's story began in 1948 when Dr. Sidney Farber's 12-year-old leukemia patient, Einar Gustafson...was an inspiration to hundreds of thousands of people," per the Fund's web site. "Dubbed 'Jimmy' to protect his identity, Gustafson was selected to speak on Ralph Edwards' national radio program, 'Truth or Consequences,' which was broadcast from the boy's hospital room on May 22, 1948. During the broadcast, Edwards spoke to the young cancer patient from his Hollywood studio as Boston Braves baseball players, Gustafson’s favorite, surprised him with a visit to his hospital room. The show ended with a plea for listeners to make donations, so Jimmy could get his own TV set to watch his beloved Braves play. Not only did he get his wish, but more than $200,000 was collected and the Jimmy Fund was born."

Einar's favorite team, the Braves, left Boston for Milwaukee in 1953 (and then Atlanta). That year, the Red Sox became linked to the Jimmy Fund, and have remained steadfast champions for the cause of raising money for cancer research ever since.

The statue was designed by sculptor Brian Hanlon, and erected in October 2013 across from the Jimmy Fund headquarters, below.

Based in New Jersey, Hanlon has completed more than 550 public and private pieces since 1986, per his studio's web site. He is the official Master Sculptor for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Among his higher profile works are an Evander Holyfield sculpture in Atlanta; a firefighter memorial in Worcester, Mass.; Harriet Tubman for the Equal Rights Cultural Heritage Center in Auburn, NY; and the Women's World Cup in 1999 for the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., per Wikipedia.