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November 5, 2006

A tribute to Anthony

Mavericks retire No. 99 in honor of late fan/friend

By Shane Frederick

MANKATO — The number 99 may forever be attached to The Great One. But around the hockey rinks of this town, that number — and maybe even the nickname — belongs to someone other than Wayne Gretzky.

On Saturday night, the Minnesota State men’s hockey team paid homage to its great friend, Anthony Ford, raising a banner and retiring 99 in his memory.

Nine-year-old Anthony died in April after an 18-month battle with leukemia. He spent that same year and a half becoming an honorary member of the hockey team, and likewise, several Mavericks became honorary members of the Ford family.

“I don’t think they will ever know how much they helped us,” Anthony’s mom, Robin Ford, said.

The feeling’s mutual.

“They did more for us than ever could have done for them,” said ex-Maverick Ryan McKelvie, now a graduate assistant coach with Bemdij State, MSU’s opponent over the weekend. “Anthony will be part of every player who played on this hockey team, and that will last a lot longer than the stuff we did for them.”

It was a little over two years ago that Anthony was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease, and Mavericks coach Troy Jutting saw to it that a few of his players, including current players Chris Clark and Kurtis Kisio, visit the boy at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester.

A hockey player and fan who often wore a No. 99 Mavericks jersey, Anthony was thrilled by the meeting. Little did any of them know that it was going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

“One time we invited a few of them over for dinner,” Anthony’s dad, Michael Ford, said, “and they never left the house.”

This wasn’t just a Make-A-Wish experience — Anthony actually got to meet Gretzky through that foundation. This transcended team and family.

Several Maverick players hung out with Anthony regularly. They invited him to the rink and to campus. They played video games with him and challenged him to knee-hockey games at his home.

They baby-sat him when his parents were in a bind with work. They rode with Robin to the hospital when she needed support during Anthony’s treatments.

They were at the Fords’ house the day Anthony died. They were front and center at his funeral.

“We all fell in love with him,” McKelvie said.

During his part of the eulogy, Clark called Anthony his best friend.

“I believe it helped Anthony though a trying time,” Jutting said. “At the same time, it was a real growing experience for our players. ... I think they gave a lot but they received a lot as well.”

The least the Fords could do in return, Robin said, is fix the fellas a home-cooked meal once in awhile and offer them a family setting to relax in when they needed it.

The Fords are still doing that, even with the freshmen who never got the chance to meet Anthony.

“Robin’s a good cook and word’s spread,” Michael said with a laugh. “It was really fun. ... It’s nice that they still come over. They make themselves right at home.”

The family has also set up the Anthony Ford Foundation, which will provide scholarship money to youth in the Mankato Area Hockey Association who cannot afford to play.

Proceeds from an auction of game-worn Maverick jerseys and sales of a CD of MSU defenseman Chad Brownlee’s song for Anthony, “The Hero I See” were presented to the foundation Saturday.

“It’s important to take a little time each day (to think about Anthony) because he did inspire me,” Brownlee said. “I have a picture of him and me in my truck and on my desk as a little reminder.”

Now there’s a big reminder on the north wall of the Civic Center.

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