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7th ANNUAL

CRAWFORD CHARITY

GOLF TOURNAMENT

The 7th annual Crawford Charity Golf Tournament was played on Friday, August 4, 2023, at the historic Presidio Golf Course, featuring forest-covered rolling hills, and located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. For the 5th straight year a full field of 144 golfers came out to have a good time and support the cause to raise funding for research to cure ALS. We welcomed current and former players from the SF Giants, and SF 49ers & Golden State Warriors alumni. We were also proud to include the Giants and Warriors among our tournament sponsors. A banquet in the Presidio Clubhouse followed the golf round, featuring a hosted cocktail hour, buffet dinner, awards, esteemed speakers from the ALS community, and a live auction fundraiser.

 
 
 
 

For the fifth consecutive year the Crawford Charity Golf Tournament raised funding for research to cure ALS. The 2023 event raised over $235,000 to fund Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS Translational Research Center at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (TDI). Augie’s Quest issued a grant to ALS TDI in honor of the Crawford Charity Golf Tournament in the full amount of the revenue received- no overhead was taken from the amount raised– all funds will go toward research and to develop new, more powerful drug discovery platforms and facilitate more effective drug development for ALS.

Augie's Quest to Cure ALS is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization (EIN: 83-0934624). Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

 
 
 

Pending completion of the MLB online auction part of the 2023 Crawford Charity Tournament, over $235,000 has already been raised for research to cure ALS. That wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous support of all of our sponsors. We want to acknowledge and thank all of our cash and in-kind sponsors, with special thanks to our Premier Sponsor, the San Francisco Giants, and our Major Sponsors, BiRite Food Service Distributors (Bill and Jeanne Barulich), Cytokinetics, and Wasserman.

Premier Sponsor: San Francisco Giants

Major Sponsors: BiRite Food Service Distributors, Cytokinetics, and Wasserman

Tee Prize Sponsor: Brandon Crawford

Raffle Prize Sponsor: Tiny Turnip

Contest Sponsors: Lou and Eleanor Gehrig Family Foundation, Harmony Capital, LLC, Golden State Warriors, Lesley Heller, Holmes Family Foundation, Ahead, Harry’s Hofbrau

Beverage Sponsor (Cocktail Hour): Paul Sallaberry

Beverage Sponsor (On-Course): Tito’s Vodka

Hole Sponsors: Bob & Jan Paul, Herzog Insurance Agency, W.L. Butler Construction, and Joc Pederson

In-Kind Sponsors: Fuget About It Catering, Trumer Pils, Campos Family Vineyards, Hotel Via SF, Wilson Trophy

 
 

In addition to raising funds for research to cure ALS, our event honors those who are living with ALS (pALS), caregivers and family members of those with ALS, and the memories of those lost to this relentlessly cruel disease. We’ve been fortunate to have several esteemed guests and speakers at past events, including those closely involved in ALS medical research, respected ALS advocates and caregivers, and pALS (the real ALS warriors). We were pleased to welcome several special guests again this year, including pALS Corey Reich, Chris Mavraedis, and Osiel Mendoza & Phil Green (featured speakers).

 
 

Phil Green traveled from his Southern California home to be a featured speaker at our post-golf banquet this year. Phil is husband to Jennifer, father to Arianne, Hunter, Parker, and Whitney. He was a football player for the University of Washington, and a member of their undefeated, no. 1 ranked team (Coaches Poll) in 1991. Phil was diagnosed with ALS in August of 2018.  While fighting his own battle against ALS, Phil has taken on a role as one of the leading advocates in the country for all people with ALS.  He is active with several ALS organizations, including I Am ALS, ALS TDI, Team Gleason, and Augie’s Quest, and is a member of the Lou Gehrig Day Committee that successfully lobbied MLB to establish an annual day to recognize the Gehrig, and bring awareness and needed funding to the ALS cause. Fittingly, Phil was selected to throw out the first pitch at the Dodgers Lou Gehrig Day game this year versus the Yankees.

Osiel  Mendoza was diagnosed with ALS in October 2016 at the age of 21. At the time, he was finishing college at the University of Oregon, getting engaged, and creating goals, dreams and aspirations for his future. ALS interrupted those goals and dreams, and changed life for Osiel over the almost seven years since he was diagnosed. However, he shares his story, not in search of pity, but to be heard, as part of his pursuit for a future without ALS. Osiel is a member of the Lou Gehrig Day Committee that successfully lobbied MLB to initiate Lou Gehrig Day, now an annual event raising ALS awareness and fundraising. He is an amazingly positive and selfless ALS warrior and advocate, and was recently honored by the Giants at their third annual Lou Gehrig Day on June 2, 2023. 

 
 

This year we also honored the memories of Nancy Sallaberry, Dan Carrozzi, George Brokenshire, Augie Nieto, and Nic Bonotto, all of whom lost their battle to ALS in the past year, and whose family and friends were present for the 2023 tournament/dinner.

 
 
 

Low Gross Winning Team: Brad & Michael Rocca, Nate Deaton and Eric Arnold pose with Michael Conforto and their trophies

Low Gross Team:  :  Brad Rocca, Michael Rocca, Nate Deaton, Eric Arnold

Low Net Team:  John Chovanec, Phil Dalton, Will Clark, Trey Clark

Long Drive- Hole #10:  Casey Kirchberg

Long Drive- Hole #18:  Rick Morgan

Closest To Pin #4: Tony Schwee

Closet To Pin #13:  Alex Edfort

Closest To Pin #15:  Angelo DeRosa

Putting: Steve Romo

Low Net Winning Team: John Chovanec, Phil Dalton, Will & Trey Clark with Mike Crawford

 
 

 We also honor the memories of those before them whose lives were tragically cut short after battling ALS, whose family members and friends have joined us for previous tournaments:

Bob Paul, Sr. | Dwight Clark | Gretchen Piscotty | Kevin Heller | Liz Bodine | Pete Hinojosa | Pete Frates | Vince Murray | Nancy Sallaberry | Dan Carrozzi | John Arthur Macpherson | Augie Nieto | George Brokenshire | Nic Bonoto

 
 
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 ALS, or amyotrophic laterals sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. “A” means no. “Myo” refers to muscle, and “Trophic” means nourishment – “No muscle nourishment.” When a muscle has no nourishment, it “atrophies” or wastes away. “Lateral” identifies the areas in a person’s spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening (“sclerosis”) in the region.

Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their demise. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, people may lose the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe. The motor nerves that are affected when you have ALS are the motor neurons that provide voluntary movements and muscle control. Examples of voluntary movements are making the effort to reach for a smart phone or step off a curb. These actions are controlled by the muscles in the arms and legs.

There are two different types of ALS, sporadic and familial. Sporadic which is the most common form of the disease in the U.S., is approximately 90 percent of all cases. It may affect anyone, anywhere. Familial ALS (FALS) accounts for approximately 10 percent of all cases in the U.S. Familial ALS means the disease is inherited. In those families, there is a 50% chance each offspring will inherit the gene mutation and may develop the disease. French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot discovered the disease in 1869.

 
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Watch John Frates, Jeremy Affeldt, and Kevin Heller speak at the 2020 post-golf banquet.

Watch Pete Frates: A Father’s Legacy

Watch Sports Center’s feature Safe at Home about the Piscotty family’s battle with ALS

Watch Sports Center’s feature Safe at Home about the Piscotty family’s battle with ALS

Sam Hilliard talks about his father’s diagnosis, and steps up in the fight against ALS

Sam Hilliard talks about his father’s diagnosis, and steps up in the fight against ALS

 
 
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