The Man Who Made Me a Baseball Fan

Abraham “Bob” Tubin with Red Sox second baseman Mike Andrews at Fenway Park in the early 1970s. Tubin was making a donation to the official Sox charity, The Jimmy Fund, on behalf of his fellow Boston Herald truck drivers.

To my Grandpa Bob Tubin, every Red Sox player who wasn’t Ted Williams or Yaz was an overpaid bum or “primadonna,” but the TV was always on Channel 38.

I used to fall asleep on his couch and get woken up when Butch Hobson or George Scott would go deep.

Awesome that he got to see the 2004 Sox win the World Series before he died. Here he is with 1967 second baseman Mike Andrews, making a donation to The Jimmy Fund from his fellow Boston Herald drivers.

Andrews went on to become president of The Jimmy Fund and my grandfather went on to turn his grandson into a baseball fan. He would have LOVED the World Series victory last night!

From Facebook to Fisticuffs: Getting punched in the face for the right reasons

“Haymakers for Hope” is an amazing boxing tournament thrusting first-time fighters in the ring to benefit cancer research.  Boston Herald photographer John Wilcox captured the spirit of the event above, while I explored this White-Collar Smackdown in print.

My favorite quote comes from Combat Sports Boston trainer David Crowell: “People think it will be fun to hit someone else, but no one thinks about what it will be like to be hit.”

To make a donation, visit the individual fighter pages at Fundraise.com or check out the Haymakers for Hope site for tickets to the June 23rd event at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.

Erin O'Bannon, a social media marketing associate at Where.com, prepares to get into the boxing ring for the first time to benefit The Jimmy Fund. (Photo Credit: John Wilcox, Boston Herald)