Pete Frates, Boston College's champion of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, dies at age 34
Pete Frates, who popularized the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to raise millions for the ALS research, died at the age of 34 this week after battling with the disease.
Boston College, where Frates played baseball and graduated with a communication degree in 2007, announced the news on Monday with a statement from his family.
On behalf of Julie, Lucy, John, Nancy, Jennifer and Andrew, along with his extended family and multitude of friends, we ask that you celebrate Pete and the hope that he has given to so many by following his daily affirmation: Be passionate, be genuine, be hardworking and don’t ever be afraid to be great.
Frates is survived by his wife Julie, daughter Lucy, parents John and Nancy, and siblings Jennifer and Andrew. They asked for anyone considering donations to do so to the Peter Frates Family Foundation, which works to help progressed ALS patients stay at home with their loved ones in their final days rather than at a hospital.
Frates was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in March 2012 at the age of 27. There is no known treatment or cure for the disease, also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease. In August 2014, Frates became the inspiration behind the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It became a viral sensation on social media, with individuals and sporting teams dumping ice water on their heads, then challenging others by name to do the same. It raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the cause.
The Athletic’s The Lead podcast discussed the challenge, which was founded by the Arizona women’s basketball team to raise money for breast cancer research, in September with a focus on Frates. The Athletic’s Steve Buckley reported then that Frates health had deteriorated so that Eye-Gaze, the technology that allows ALS patients to speak by using their eyes and a tablet, was “beyond his powers.”
Frates was nominated for Times’ “Person of the Year” in 2014 and was a co-recipient of Sports Illustrated’s Inspiration of the Year award. The following March, the Boston College baseball team retired his No. 3 and the Boston Red Sox signed him to an honorary contract.
In 2017, he was given the 2016 NCAA Inspiration of the Year Award in person by the Boston College baseball team and NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert at the Frates’ home since he couldn’t travel.
The buckets used for his own ALS Ice Bucket Challenge have been displayed at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
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