Pete Frates Of The “Ice Bucket Challenge” Becomes Father

Congratulations goes out to Pete Frates on his new baby girl. Frates inspired the "Ice Bucket Challenge" after being diagnosed with ALS, or "Lou Gehrig's Disease".

Pete's wife, Julie, gave birth to Lucy Fitzgerald Frates this past Sunday, who was born in perfect health at 7.8 pounds and 19 inches long. She is the couple's first child, who have received thousands of people's support through the "Ice Bucket Challenge" awareness campaign this summer. Because of the rapid debilitation ALS causes, Pete is now wheelchair bound and unable to speak at 29 years-old, but even that can't change the joy for his daughter's birth.

A tremendous athlete best known for his baseball days at Boston College, Pete Frates was a hockey and baseball star at my alma mater, St. John's Prep. Topps, the sports memorabilia company, even created a series of trading cards and pictures dedicated to Pete's athletic career and his fight with ALS, seen above.

So Congrats and good luck to Pete and his family!