On June 1, ESPN was in town to film 9-year-old Lucy Frates playing softball for a special feature honoring the 10th anniversary of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The special is slated to air in August.
Lucy’s father, Pete Frates, was the driving force behind the viral social media campaign in 2014 before he passed away from the disease in 2019 at age 34.
“We’re doing a story on the 10th anniversary of the Ice Bucket Challenge,” said Danny Arruda, the ESPN feature producer. “Part of that story is to update people on what happened to Pete, because I’m not sure a lot of people remember — after all the celebrity went away that month, what happened to him and his family?”
He added, “Part of that story will be showing people who Lucy is and what she’s turned into — a beautiful little girl playing softball, just like her dad.”
Arruda and his crew filmed Lucy catching and batting for her team, the Pink Pirates, in a game against Lynn behind Marblehead High School. The eight-to-12-minute segment is tentatively scheduled to air Aug. 4 on SportsCenter (“but things can always change,” Arruda cautioned).
“What impresses me is just she’s such a vibrant firecracker of a little girl,” said Arruda of Lucy. “She’s come from this place where she was obviously raised in a loving home with Pete and Julie. She’s able to take all that love she’s gotten from her parents and her grandparents and her cousins and just turn into this wonderful little girl who seems like she’s happy about everything.”
A day after the ESPN shoot, Lucy stepped onto the mound at Fenway Park and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Red Sox faced the Detroit Tigers. It was the fourth time the third-grader from Glover School had taken part in this special tradition (“She must have the record for the most first pitches thrown by a child under 10 years old at Fenway,” Arruda told the Current with a chuckle).
“I was very nervous, but at the same time, it was really cool being on the field and seeing everyone watching me,” she told the Current.
Joe Kowalik, Marblehead Municipal Light Department general manager and Lucy’s grandfather and softball coach, beamed with pride as he watched his granddaughter at Fenway.
“It’s electric,” he said of the atmosphere when Lucy throws the first pitch. “It brings tears to your eyes. It’s a very emotional experience.”
Peter Frates, a former Boston College baseball player and St. John’s Prep alumnus, was diagnosed with ALS in 2012 at the age of 27. He was an exceptional athlete, playing three sports in high school and trying out for the nationally-ranked hockey team at Boston College before focusing on baseball.
His battle with the disease drew parallels to another baseball great, Lou Gehrig, who famously fought ALS in the late 1930s. The disease has since been commonly referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness, atrophy and, eventually, paralysis.
According to a St. John’s Prep post ,more than 1.2 million Ice Bucket Challenge videos were shared on Facebook in the weeks after Frates’ first challenge, and it was mentioned more than 2.2 million times on Twitter from July 29 to Aug. 17, 2014.
“The ALS Association picked up 260,000 new donors in 19 days,” the Prep wrote. “[The] Ice Bucket Challenge YouTube videos exceeded one billion views across 153 countries in 2014. Facebook video views eclipsed 10 billion, including 440 million posts featuring an ice bucket challenge.”
The challenge has raised over $220 million worldwide, with $100 million generated in the U.S. within just six months.
“I’m not sure something like this can ever happen again, for whatever reason,” Arruda said. “It just seemed like the perfect time and place in our country, where something that Pete knew could raise money for ALS went viral the way it did. With social media the way it is now, I’m not sure it could ever happen again.”
Peter passed away in 2019 at the age of 34, but his legacy lives on through his family’s commitment to the fight against ALS. The funds raised have led to an infusion of cash into ALS research. However, as Kowalik noted, “The desired major breakthrough still has not happened yet.”
Despite the challenges that lie ahead, the Frates family remains committed to carrying on Peter’s work.
Lucy’s love for sports (she also has played soccer) continues her father’s spirit. She enjoys the fellowship and sportsmanship shared among her teammates.
“The girls are really into it,” Kowalik said. “They cheer each other on from the bench and on the field. It’s great to see how much they’ve improved this year.”
Lucy loves having her grandfather coaching the team.
“He can be silly sometimes,” she said.
When she’s not catching fastballs, Lucy enjoys going to art class at the Acorn Gallery on State Street.
“In every way, she’s a typical, wonderful little 9-year-old girl,” Kowalik said.
