12/23/2011    

PODIATRISTS IN SPORTS

OH Podiatrist Finally Realizes His Dream to Pitch at Fenway

In the summer of 1952, a lanky left-handed pitcher out of Roslindale High School took the mound at Fenway Park. 18-year old Dick Dawson was on the verge of realizing a dream. He tried out for the Boston Red Sox, but was not selected. Dawson went on to Boston College and then the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine. In 1965, he moved to Canton, where he maintained a thriving practice before becoming a manager for Pfizer Pharmaceutical. 

Dr. Dick Dawson Pitches at Fenway Park

Improbably, 57 years later, he would get another chance to make his mark. On a rainy night in July of 2011, the kid from Roslindale, now 77, again took the mound at Fenway. His son Mark put in the winning bid at a local charity auction for a chance to throw out the first pitch before a Red Sox game. Dawson threw a strike. 

Source: John Quattrucci, The Canton Journal [12/20/11]