August 21, 2003
The Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute mourn the loss of Ken
Coleman, former Jimmy Fund Director and longtime supporter, voice of
the Red Sox
The staff and the extended family of the world-renowned cancer center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and its fundraising arm, the Jimmy Fund, mourn the loss of Ken Coleman. In addition to being a beloved radio announcer known as the "voice of the Red Sox," Coleman was the second director of the Jimmy Fund, serving from 1978 to 1984, and a longtime supporter of the charity, especially its golf program.
"Ken brought me in to work with him for the Jimmy Fund, which turned out to be one of the greatest blessings of my life," says Mike Andrews, current chairman of the Jimmy Fund and former Red Sox second baseman. "He was my friend and was one of the best broadcasters ever to sit behind a microphone. He was also one of the kindest people I have ever met."
"The patients and staff of Dana-Farber — as well as cancer patients everywhere — will always be indebted to Ken Coleman for his tireless fight against cancer," says Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD, president of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Coleman served over the past two decades as the unofficial spokesman for the Jimmy Fund Golf Program, a division of the Jimmy Fund that he helped to organize. Since its beginnings, the golf program has grown from raising $200,000 for cancer research and care to raising more than $4 million annually. A lifetime honorary trustee of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Coleman made more than 50 appearances annually at golf tournaments throughout New England for the Jimmy Fund.
"I've been a very fortunate man in respect to baseball broadcasting and what it meant to me," said Coleman in a recent interview, "but the most meaningful part of my life has been my involvement with the Jimmy Fund."
During his tenure with the Jimmy Fund, Coleman, in addition to helping start the golf program, instituted radiothons and helped organize Jimmy Fund councils throughout New England.
A native of the Boston area, Coleman was working at WJDA in Quincy in 1947 when the Jimmy Fund was founded. "I was a big Red Sox and Braves fan and heard about the Jimmy Fund from the time it started," he told a Dana-Farber writer. "We hear the word courage used a lot in sports," he added. "In sports it's talent — courage is what I see when I visit the children and their parents at Dana-Farber."
