DURHAM, N.C. – Boston Red Sox legend Jim Rice will be the special guest at the seventh annual North Carolina Central University First Pitch Dinner and Silent Auction on Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina.
The fundraising event to benefit the NCCU baseball program will begin with a cocktail and meet-and-greet hour from 6:30-7:30 p.m., followed by a sit-down dinner. There will also be a silent auction with authentic autographed memorabilia, including many items from Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, as well as a live auction and raffle. Guests will also have the opportunity to meet members of the 2018 NCCU baseball team.
Adam Grossman, the Chief Marketing Officer of the Boston Red Sox & Fenway Sports Management, will be the keynote speaker for the event.
Grossman is a 2002 cum laude graduate of Duke University with a degree in public policy, and was one of eight members selected to the 2014 Eisenhower Fellowships program, an organization chaired by General Colin L. Powell. While at Duke, he co-founded a student-led organization to improve the Durham Bulls Youth League, and spearheaded a $450,000 renovation project to refurbish two baseball fields in Durham's inner city.
For the seventh straight year, local radio legend, avid baseball fan, and Durham Bulls public address announcer Tony Riggsbee will be the emcee for the evening.
Individual tickets for the sit-down dinner and silent auction are $75.
A VIP Table Sponsor package is also available, including eight tickets for the sit-down dinner, as well as program recognition, eight complimentary raffle tickets, public address announcements at NCCU home baseball games, signage space availability at the Durham Athletic Park for NCCU home baseball games – all for $1,500.
For more information on the seventh annual NCCU First Pitch Dinner and Silent Auction, contact NCCU Athletics at 919-530-6721.
JIM RICE – RED SOX LEGEND AND MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HALL OF FAMER
Jim Rice returns as a special organizational instructor in 2018, his 46th season with the Red Sox. He spent six years as Boston's big league hitting coach from 1995-2000 after three seasons as a roving minor league hitting instructor. He also appears as an analyst on NESN's broadcast team. Rice was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009 and was part of the Red Sox Hall of Fame's inaugural 1995 class.
The eight-time All-Star hit .298 with 382 homers, 2,452 hits, 373 doubles, and 79 triples in 2,089 games, all for the Red Sox from 1974-89. He is the only player ever to have three straight 35-homer, 200-hit years (1977-79). The club's No. 1 draft pick in 1971, Rice helped Boston to the 1975 AL pennant as a rookie. In 1978, he was the American League MVP, leading the majors with 213 hits, 46 homers, 139 RBI, 15 triples, 406 total bases, and a .600 slugging percentage. He helped Boston to the AL pennant and finished third in MVP voting in 1986.
Rice is the only AL player since 1937 with 400 total bases in a single season and the only player ever to lead either league outright in homers, triples and RBI. He led the AL in total bases three straight years (1977-79), tying for the AL record.
Jim and his wife, Corine, are the parents of Chauncy Brandon and Carissa Jacinda.
