DUCK KEY, Fla.
— Watch a Baseball Hall of Famer become a puddle of mushy cooing when he’s approached at a charity saltwater fishing tournament by a little girl who is fighting cancer, and the sense is immediate that he cares most about those for whom such charities are working. Wade Boggs, who acted as host of the Hawk’s Cay events, takes a ride to the tarpon. This week at Hawk’s Cay Resort in the Florida Keys, Boggs was the celebrity host for the Redbone Sunrise/Sunset Tarpon Tourney, which eventually will be featured on the ESPN Outdoors Saltwater Series presented by TakeMeFishing.org on ESPN Outdoors programming. The Mercury Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series was founded by Gary and Susan Ellis in 1988 with a mission: “To catch the cure for cystic fibrosis.” Through the years, Boggs has forged an abiding friendship with the Ellises and their daughter, Nicole, who has CF. Because of their charity commitments, the Boggses have enjoyed annual visits to beautiful destinations, such as Puerto Vallarta, a favorite of Debbie’s. That event is hosted by Bob Houston of California, who also came to Hawk’s Cay this weekend to compete and give to the Ellises’ cause. “It’s all we know,” Wade said. “We make sure we can do every Redbone event that we can. I think one year Debbie and I did 21 events. It seemed like every weekend we were somewhere else: We were in Saint Augustine, we were in Montauk, we were in Key West, we were everywhere.”
Boggs’ soft spot for helping kids and people of all ages comes from personal experience.