BOSTON -- "How are you doing, Jimmy baby?" a smiling Ted Williams bellowed.
The baseball great finally met the man who 51 years ago inspired one of the largest cancer funds in the world."Jimmy" was a name used to protect the anonymity of Einar Gustafson, then a 12-year-old cancer patient in Boston. The Jimmy Fund began after he sang "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" on national radio from his hospital bed.
The mystery of Jimmy's identity was cleared up last year after his sister sent a letter with her annual donation to the Jimmy Fund, a Boston Red Sox' charity.
Now, Gustafson is a 63-year-old truck driver from New Sweden, Maine. On Friday, he couldn't wait to meet the former Red Sox great.
"Who wouldn't want to see Ted?" said Gustafson, who admitted he was a Boston Braves fan until they left town in 1953.
A few minutes later, Gustafson finally saw him. Williams, a supporter of the fund who frequently visited cancer patients, walked into the room at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
"After all these years!" Gustafson said as they chatted for about five minutes while minicams rolled, cameras clicked and young patients waited to meet Williams.
Gustafson was one of the earliest patients to be treated with chemotherapy. Today, money raised by the Jimmy Fund for research has improved youngsters' chances of survival -- youngsters like those Williams met Friday at the institute, a mile from Fenway Park.
One by one, youngsters walked up to Williams for a handshake, a smile and an encouraging word from the Hall of Famer who will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Tuesday night's All-Star game at Fenway.