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Pete Frates: How He Changed The Fight Against ALS

BOSTON (CBS) – Pete Frates helped take social media by storm through the Ice Bucket Challenge, helping raise hundreds of millions of dollars for ALS research. The Beverly native's efforts were recognized throughout New England and beyond in recent years.

Read: Pete Frates, Face Of Ice Bucket Challenge, Dead At 34 After Battle With ALS

Frates died at 34 years old, his family announced on Monday through a Boston College spokesman.

"This was a kid who, if you've seen any of the videos, was a spectacular athlete and an All-American boy. And to end up with this kind of diagnosis, and to watch the way his family, and Pete and his wife, basically pulled themselves up off the pavement, and said there has to be a way for us to do something about this," said Gov. Charlie Baker.

"To then create what became, sort of, a global phenomenon, and for those of us who forget, Oprah Winfrey did this. Sting did this. Every major professional sports team in the world did this. The Ice Bucket Challenge became something that if you didn't do it, people started asking why," Baker said.

"There is so much love for that family and for Pete. I hope they feel it, I really do."

Frates
Pete Frates. (Family Photo)

In announcing Frates' death, his family highlighted a lengthy list of milestones, which are featured below.

  • May 2003: Graduates from St. John's Prep, Danvers, Mass.
  • May 2007: Graduates from Boston College with a degree in communication.
  • March 2012: Named director of baseball operations for Boston College baseball.
  • March 2012: Diagnosed with ALS at age 27.
  • June 1, 2013: Marries Julie Frates.
  • August 2014: Ice Bucket Challenge raises more than $220 million for ALS research.
  • August 31, 2014: Lucy Frates born.
  • December 2014: Nominated along with fellow ALS warrior Pat Quinn for "Person of the Year" by Time magazine.
  • 2014: Co-recipient of Sports Illustrated's Inspiration of the Year honor.
  • 2014: ESPN SportsCenter's "Pete's Challenge" is nominated for an Emmy (produced by Drew Gallagher BC '99).
  • March 3, 2015: BC Baseball and Boston Red Sox wear No. 3 in Pete's honor at the annual spring training game Ft. Myers, Fla.
  • April 13, 2015: Red Sox sign Pete to an honorary contract on Opening Day.
  • 2016: Pete's No. 3 jersey retired by BC Baseball & St. John's Prep.
  • 2016: St. John's Prep baseball field dedicated as "Pete Frates '03 Diamond"
  • 2016: Endicott College (Beverly, Mass.) opens Pete Frates Hall.
  • 2017: NCAA Inspiration of the Year Award.
  • June 2017: Frates family donates the bucket used for Pete's own Ice Bucket Challenge, along with memorabilia from his playing days at BC, for a display in the Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstown, N.Y.).
  • Sept. 5, 2017: Boston Mayor Marty Walsh declares Pete Frates Day in Boston at a ceremony outside City Hall.
  • Sept. 5, 2017: The Ice Bucket Challenge biography is released.
  • Dec. 2018: Netflix announces production based on biography.
  • June 26, 2019: Boston College announces that Phase II of the Harrington Athletics Village will be named the Pete Frates Center.
  • Sept. 6, 2019: The Boston Red Sox present Pete with a custom 2018 World Series ring.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish in Chestnut Hill on Friday Dec. 13 at 11 a.m. A celebration of life will be on the North Shore at a later date.

Family members said anyone who wishes to extend condolences can make a donation to the Peter Frates Family Foundation.

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