Patrick White, Ballplayer And Sox Fan, 15
DGH
Surrounded by his immediate family, Patrick White died of cancer
Tuesday, November 29, 2005, morning at his home in Quincy,
Massachusetts, at the age of 15.
Patrick White lived for baseball and he was tougher than most of the
big-league ballplayers who dive into fences in pursuit of fly balls or
hit majestic home runs over Fenway Park's Green Monster.
When Patrick was a 9-year-old Little Leaguer in Quincy, undergoing
chemotherapy treatments, he'd instruct nurses at the Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute to put IV lines in his left arm because he was a right-handed
pitcher. Quincy Little Leaguers and parents remember a small, bald
pitcher who would sometimes vomit between innings, then return to the
mound to strike out a few more batters.
"Whenever I saw Patrick at the ballpark or in spring training, you
couldn't tell that he was sick," said Trot Nixon, a Red Sox outfielder.
"He was a phenomenal kid. At first, when I'd talk with him I didn't
know what to say, but then we'd start talking baseball and it all came
out smoothly. Obviously, he loved the Red Sox and he enjoyed playing
baseball himself."
"He never, ever gave up, right until the moment he died," said
Patrick's father, Paul White, a mailer at the Globe. "He believed he
was going to beat it."
"He was one of those kids I feel like I've known forever," said Mike
Andrews, a former Sox second baseman who now serves as chairman of the
Jimmy Fund. "He even went to my baseball camp way back when. I've seen
him go through the trials and tribulations and ups and downs. This is a
tough one. Sometimes you get closer to kids, and Pat was one I got
close to."
Baseball and the Red Sox were a major part of Patrick's life. He played
catch with Derek Lowe when the Sox were at spring training in Fort
Myers, Fla. Pedro Martinez was another Sox star who made time for the
skinny kid who always wanted to learn new grips he could use on the
mound. Nixon and his wife, Kathryn, made Patrick feel like part of
their family.
"When we were in New York in September, Patrick came to my son's
birthday party at our team hotel," said Nixon. "It looked like
something was wrong with him, but he succeeded in convincing me he was
fine that night. He was going to live his life no matter what was
happening to him. It's hard to sum up Patrick's life. We all wanted him
to be with us longer, but even in this time of grief we're celebrating
his life."
Patrick was afflicted with rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of tissue cancer.
He first underwent treatment at Dana-Farber when he was 9. Initially,
his cancer went into remission after a year, but it returned twice,
most recently in the summer of 2004, when Patrick was 13. By then,
Quincy Youth Baseball had already established a Babe Ruth Jimmy Fund
Tournament in his honor. In August 2004, Patrick endured chemo
treatments during the day, then played in tournament games at night.
His only concession to cancer was moving from shortstop to second base
-- to make things easier on his throwing arm.
"Baseball plays a big role in my life," he said at that time. "It helps
me not think about being sick. When I play baseball, I usually don't
feel sick."
"The players on his team always wanted him in there, even when he got
weak from the treatments and maybe shouldn't have been in there,"
recalled Andrews.
"He didn't swing and miss very much in his life," added Patrick's dad.
A freshman at North Quincy High School, Patrick looked forward to
someday playing shortstop and batting in the two-hole for the varsity
Red Raiders. The Sixth Annual Patrick White Jimmy Fund tournament will
be held at Adams Field next August in Quincy.
On Oct. 30, 2004, Patrick and his family rode on the Home Depot float
in the Red Sox championship parade.
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill," said Patrick's father. "The Red
Sox winning the World Series was a special thing in his life, and to be
able to celebrate with them was incredible."
In addition to his father, Patrick leaves his mother, Barbara, a nurse
at New England Medical Center; 10-year-old twin sisters, Katie and
Meghan; grandparents Fran and Judy Toland and Nancy White, all of
Quincy, Massachusetts; and many uncles, aunts, and cousins.
Boston Globe
DGH
Not to be confused with Patrick White, the Nobel-Prize winning author.
Joe Pucillo
> .
Not to be confused with Patrick White, Yankees fan.