Vaughn

Vaughn Hardacker here: As a kid growing up in Maine and later as an adult living near Boston and in Southern New Hampshire, I have been a devout Red Sox fan (with a 12-year sojourn as a Cubs fan while living in the western suburbs of Chicago). Every year, the Boston Red Sox, in conjunction with a Boston sports radio station, conduct a weekend telethon in support of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This year marked the 24th year the telethon took place (August 17 & 18, 2026) and raised over $7,300,000 in donations (a new record — the original 1948 telethon raised $231,485.51). All of Boston’s major sports franchises, along with many corporate and individual donors, support the fund. However, I always wondered: Who is this Jimmy? I was surprised to learn that there was NO Jimmy! The name was used to protect the patient’s identity.

Einar in his Boston Braves uniform (left) and Dr. Sidney Farber (right)

Still curious as to who he was, I started doing a bit of research. I was further surprised to learn that the original Jimmy was a boy who grew up and lived within ten miles of me! Jimmy’s real name was Einar Gustafson from New Sweden, Maine. Born Carl Einar Gustafson on a New Sweden potato farm on August 18, 1935. When he was twelve, he felt a pain in his abdomen while walking to school. He had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma of the small bowel and had surgery at Cary Memorial Hospital in Caribou. His doctor referred him to Children’s Hospital in Boston. At the time Children’s Hospital had a curate somewhere around thirty percent. At that time, Einar’s doctor was raising money for cancer research with a charitable group of show businesspeople called the Variety Club.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA

On May 22, 1948, radio (later TV) star Ralph Edwards was broadcasting his show from Children’s Hospital. The broadcast was coast-to-coast and Farber selected Einar. Although the Jimmy Fund has been identified with the Red Sox, Einar was a Boston Braves fan and he longed for a television so he could watch their games. The broadcast was done from Jimmy’s bedside and Boston Braves players made a surprise appearance bringing hats, bats, and a small Braves uniform. Edwards announced that Einar would get a TV if $20,000 was raised. Before the Braves left the hospital, people were already showing up at the door with donations. Dr. Farber suggested the fund drive be called The Jimmy Fund. In its first year, the fund raised the aforementioned $231,485.51 and Einar got an additional bonus the Braves won the National League pennant.

In 1953, the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee and the Red Sox adopted the Jimmy Fund. The most fervent advocate for the fund was Ted Williams. Williams later said: “Back in the 1950s, Dr. Farber told me, ‘Ted, we’re gonna find a way to save these kids.’

BOSTON – JULY 9: From left: the original “Jimmy”, Einar Gustafson, Dana Farber president Dr. David Nathan, and Boston Red Sox’s Ted Williams and John Harrington at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund benefit. (Photo by Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

For years, many people believed that Jimmy had succumbed from his disease. He did not. He and Farber stayed in contact until Dr. Farber died of heart disease in his office in 1973. After years of anonymity , in Einar’s sister, a resident of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, wrote the Jimmy Fund that her brother was still alive. The fund director dismissed the letter. One fund-raiser took the letter seriously and tried to locate Einar. One day her phone rang and the caller said: “This is Jimmy. I heard you were looking for me.”

Einar had continued receiving chemotherapy in Boston on a regular basis. He grew to be 6’5″ tall, had graduated from Caribou High School (My alma mater, however, for some reason the school had never mentioned him.), he drove trucks, married his high school sweetheart, and raised three daughters. He explained why he’d kept his identity quiet:  “We were taught when we were kids you didn’t talk about those things. You didn’t talk about sickness.”

Jimmy Fund Ted Williams Statue at Fenway Park

In 1999, Ted Williams came to Boston for an All-Star event and he toured the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Williams said the Jimmy Fund was the softest spot in his heart about the New England people.

He heard “Jimmy” was at the clinic, too. “Where’s this Jimmy?” Williams yelled. “I want to meet this Jimmy guy!”

The two men sat in rocking chairs and chatted.

“This is the biggest thrill of my trip, right here,” Williams said.

Einar Gustafson died of a stroke on Jan. 21, 2001, at his home in Caribou. Ted Williams died a year and a half later.

Once again I have to ask: Who says nothing ever happien in Aroostook County.

I would like to thank Leslie Landrigan, her article The Jimmy Fund Survives, Gives Ted Williams A Thrill was invaluable in my research of Jimmy. I found the article via an email from the New England Historical Society. If you’re interested here’s a link to the original article. https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/jimmy-fund-jimmy-survives-gives-ted-williams-thrill/