Mike Mushaw to be Awarded The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston's Flamekeeper Medal
Linebacker donated bone marrow in the summer of 2018 to a recipient he had never met
Gridiron Club of Greater Boston College Awards Committee chairman Tim Whelan today announced that Mike Mushaw, Central Connecticut junior linebacker from Scotia, NY is the first recipient of the club's Flamekeeper Medal. Mushaw's donation of bone marrow saved the life of a young girl in 2018. The recipient, Eleanor, is now almost two years old and recently attended a game at CCSU to meet Mushaw for the first time.
Mushaw has been a mainstay in 2019 for the Blue Devils, who have posted an 11-1 mark and will play Albany in the NCAA's FCS Playoff First Round on November 30 at 1p.m. on ESPN3.
The club will honor Mushaw along with an all-star slate of players, coaches and officials at the club's annual Bob Whelan College Football Awards Night on Thursday, December 19, 2019 at the Marriott Hotel in Burlington, Massachusetts.
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"The Gridiron Club recognizes the best in college football each year," remarked Whelan. "We are pleased, and are ourselves honored, that Mike will be with us. He is an example of the best that our sport has to offer."
Cheryl Duddy Schoenfeld, Gridiron Club president, added, "We at the Gridiron Club have always considered ourselves the Keepers of the Flame – of fair play, love of community and country, and sportsmanship. The Flamekeeper Medal is a fitting award to recognize and thank Mike. We established it specifically for him. What he has done for Eleanor is an extraordinary example of sportsmanship of the highest order – love and sacrifice for a fellow human being."
Mushaw became a donor through the Get in the Game initiative established by the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation. "Get in the Game. Save a Life" is a recruitment program that utilizes the power of collegiate athletics to recruit marrow donors for the Be The Match Registry®. With the support of over 125 college football teams, this nationwide endeavor has added over 104,000 donors thus far, and is responsible for an astounding 580 transplants.