Pete Frates honored at gala, Boston sports legends show their support

9/27/23 by Nick Antonakas

Do you remember the ice bucket challenge?

Believe it or not, millions of people dumping ice cold water over their head in 2014 is what kickstarted the fight to end ALS. Pete Frates – a former Boston College baseball player who was behind the challenge – lost his battle to ALS in 2019. Frates’ legacy lives on, as he was celebrated at a gala at TD Garden on September 21st, featuring appearances from many Boston sports legends.

On top of the gala being hosted by the Bourque Family foundation, Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy and new Captain Brad Marchand were at the event. “The cause that it’s for and how many people it can help, you couldn’t say no,” Marchand said.

Former New England Patriots Super Bowl Champion Rob Gronkowski was also present at the gala with his girlfriend Camille Kostek, singing praises for the ice bucket challenge’s founder. “It’s just amazing what Pete Frates and his family and the foundation has done just for this whole community,” Gronkowski said. 

Words like these mean so much to the Frates family.

“The first emotion is gratitude,” said Nancy Frates, the mother of Pete. “That’s what fuels us every day is the gratitude for everyone and what they do for us.”

The gratitude is mutual, as the movement founded by Pete Frates gives patients suffering with ALS hope for a cure.  “He’s the reason why I have three drugs that I can take right now,” Mike Cunningham, an ALS patient, said. “I just actually started a fourth drug, which is a new, hopefully, cure.”

While the goal of ending ALS is closer than it ever has been before, the fight continues. “Yes, we’re much closer than we were in 2014,” Nancy explained. “But we have to…keep the momentum going.”