Third annual Roger Maris All-Star Week returns June 19
April 19, 2023
Contact:
Nathan Aamodt
Sanford Health Media Relations
(701) 200-6080/nathan.aamodt@sanfordhealth.org
FARGO, N.D. – The third annual Roger Maris All-Star Week returns June 19-25 at various locations throughout the Fargo-Moorhead area.
100% of funds raised during Roger Maris All-Star Week will stay local and help support Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center’s vision to expand into a national destination for cancer research, treatment, education and training. In October 2021, Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center launched the region’s first and only Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Program. To date, Sanford Fargo has completed 32 autologous transplants, meaning the patients donated their own cells for processing and transplant. This past fall, Sanford Fargo initiated allogeneic bone marrow transplants, where cells are taken from a healthy donor’s bone marrow for a transplant, and in the coming months, Sanford Fargo is introducing CAR T therapy, where genetically modified T cells are infused.
“The Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Program has been everything we had hoped for and is a true game-changer for our region,” said Dr. Anu Gaba, Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center medical oncologist. “We take great pride in providing world-class health care close to home, and The Roger Maris All-Star Week helps raise funds that allows us to continue do so.”
Roger Maris All-Star Week was created to support the work happening at the cancer center, honor loved ones, friends and neighbors affected by cancer, promote Roger’s passion for fitness and youth sports and celebrate the enduring legacy of hometown hero, Roger Maris.
The list of events during Roger Maris All-Star week includes:
• Youth sports clinics– June 19, 20, 23
• RedHawks game – June 21
• Roger Maris Celebrity Golf Tournament – June 22
• Youth baseball tournament – June 23-25
Youth clinics this year include basketball, football, baseball and softball, golf and hockey. Each clinic is free to attend and will be conducted by local, high school and collegiate coaches. Parents can sign their children up for the free clinics at RogerMarisWeek.com.
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks will play host to the Gary SouthShore RailCats on Wednesday, June 21, on Roger Maris Night. The first 61 fans to attend will receive commemorative ‘61’ hats.
The Roger Maris Celebrity Golf Tournament presented by Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops returns for a 39th season. The tournament began as a way to raise money for local charities. Nearly four decades later, the tournament has now transformed into a weeklong event supporting the needs of the community. The golf tournament now includes two rounds on Thursday, June 22: a nine-hole tournament in the morning and an 18-hole tournament in the afternoon at Rose Creek Golf Course, 1500 E. Rose Creek Parkway S., Fargo.
New to the celebrity golf tournament this year is a virtual golf tournament at Suite Shots, 3400 James Wy S., Fargo. Participants can take place virtually at the same time as the 9 and 18-hole events at Rose Creek. Cost is $500 per team.
Celebrity athletes will once again make an appearance at numerous events throughout the week. This year’s list of headlining athletes includes:
• Ken Griffey Sr., Two-time Major League Baseball World Series Champion
• Goose Gossage, Nine-time Major League Baseball All-Star and Class of 2008 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee
• Brock Lesnar, ten-time World Wrestling Entertainment champion
• Cordell Volson, Cincinnati Bengals offensive guard
• Rocky Kreuser, former NDSU Bison Men’s Basketball star and European professional basketball player
• Cody Mauch, former NDSU Bison Football offensive tackle and NFL draft prospect
• Ben Ellefson, Minnesota Vikings tight end
The Roger Maris Invitational youth baseball tournament takes place June 23-25 from various sports complexes throughout the region. The invitational features the ’61 for 61’ Home Run Derby, which is open to children ages 9-12, even if they are not playing in the tournament. All spectators and participants who attend the home run derby will be given a ticket for a chance to win a baseball autographed by New York Yankee outfielder Aaron Judge. The drawing will be at the conclusion of the home run derby and the winner must be present to win.
“The first two years of Roger Maris All-Star week has been everything we had envisioned by creating awareness in the battle against cancer and providing opportunities for the youth in the community,” said Roger Maris Jr. Our dad would be proud with the way his name is living on through Roger Maris All-Star Week and the Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center. We can’t wait to continue to see this event grow.”
In 1961, Roger Maris hit a Major League Baseball single-season record 61 home runs. Although Maris lost his battle to non-Hodgkin Lymphoma at the age of 51, his legacy lives on through Roger Maris All-Star Week and the lifesaving care provided at the Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center. Since opening its doors in 1990, the comprehensive cancer center has and continues to bring hope to those in and around the region.
For more information on Roger Maris All-Star Week or to sign up for the youth clinics or golf tournaments, visit RogerMarisWeek.com.
About Sanford Health
Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, is dedicated to transforming the health care experience and providing access to world-class health care in America’s heartland. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization serves more than one million patients and 220,000 health plan members across 250,000 square miles. The integrated health system has 47 medical centers, 2,800 Sanford physicians and advanced practice providers, 170 clinical investigators and research scientists, more than 200 Good Samaritan Society senior care locations and world clinics in 8 countries around the globe. Learn more about Sanford Health’s commitment to shaping the future of rural health care across the lifespan at sanfordhealth.org or Sanford Health News.
