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City proposes Williams statue
By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff, and Alice Gomstyn, Globe Correspondent, 7/10/2002
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and City Councilor Rob Consalvo are proposing a statue to honor Williams, who died Friday at age 83. Though Boston has already named a tunnel for the revered star, Menino believes an additional monument is appropriate. ''He was a great athlete who left his career as an athlete twice to go serve our country,'' Menino said. ''And the work he did with the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber - that's an individual you have to say ` Thank you' to. He gave so much back, and that's why it would be a fitting tribute.'' Menino and Consalvo aren't sure where the statue to the best hitter in baseball history should go: Menino suggested putting it outside Fenway Park or in front of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Consalvo said it might work at Faneuil Hall, already graced with the likeness of legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach. Menino said the city would put up about $25,000 and would try to raise private money to cover the rest of the cost, which might be several hundred thousand dollars. In a letter sent to the Red Sox this week, Consalvo suggested the team contribute to the cause. Dr. Charles Steinberg, the team's executive vice president for public affairs, said through a spokesman: ''We spoke to the mayor's office today, and we're completely supportive of the mayor's leadership in pursuing a statue of Ted Williams, and we'll be happy to cooperate in any way we can.'' By the end of the month, Menino hopes to convene a committee of former Red Sox players, sportswriters, cancer researchers, and business leaders to help choose a site for the statue. The city's Art Commission would also have a role in approving a design, an artist, and a location. If the site is in a public park, the Parks and Recreation Department would have to sign off on it as well. The last statue built in Boston was the memorial to the nine firefighters who died in the Vendome building fire 30 years ago. It was erected in 1997. The Women's Commission is also in the process of building several statues around the city. Menino and Consalvo say their statue idea has nothing to do with the controversy surrounding the fate of Williams's body. Shortly after Williams died, his son sent his remains to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz., to be cryonically frozen. Williams's daughter Barbara Joyce ''Bobby-Jo'' Williams Ferrell is fighting to have the body of the Red Sox legend cremated instead. The siblings plan to file a joint motion this week asking a Florida judge to settle the dispute.
This story ran on page B2 of the Boston Globe on 7/10/2002.
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s Ted Williams's son fights to keep the legendary slugger's body in a deep freeze in hopes of reviving or cloning him someday, Boston is looking to preserve the memory of the Splendid Splinter more traditionally, in bronze.