Fenway, Fitchburg Go Together Like Peanuts & Cracker Jacks

May 23, 2018 -- ​Opening Day of the major league baseball season at Boston's historic Fenway Park was also a big event at the Leonardo DRS site in nearby Fitchburg, Mass.

Team Leonardo DRS in Fitchburg, led by Amanda Jalbert, pledged to raise at least $1000 in donations to the Jimmy Fund, the favorite charity of legendary Red Sox slugger Ted Williams. In return, she received 10 limited-edition Red Sox/Jimmy Fund caps, which were raffled to donors. The final tally for the fund was $1628.

Donors were encouraged to wear jeans and baseball gear to work. The game was shown on large projection screens in the main conference room, and hot dogs, chips and Cracker Jacks were served at a Jimmy Fund appreciation lunch. (The Red Sox eventually won the game 3-2 in the 12th inning against the Tampa Bay Rays.)

Launched in 1948 at the height of Williams's career, the Jimmy Fund supports the fight against cancer at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The charity raises funds for adult and pediatric cancer care and research to improve the chances of survival for cancer patients around the world.

Considered by many to be baseball's greatest hitter for power and average, Williams batted .344 and hit 521 home runs in a 22-year career interrupted by service in the U.S. Marine Corps as a fighter pilot during World War II and the Korean conflict. He won six American League batting titles. A freeway tunnel under Boston Harbor bears his name.