Team Hoyt Immortalized!

April 9, 2013 8:59 AM

Team Hoyt has been honored with a bronze statue! Team Hoyt is a fixture of the Boston Marathon. For 30 years, Dick has pushed his son Rick the entire 26.2 miles. Rick has Cerebral Palsy and decided in 1977 that he wanted to participate in marathons and other sporting events around the country. And thus, Team Hoyt was born!

To date, Dick and Rick have participated in over 1,000 sporting events around the country and have inspired an entire generation of people with disabilities to participate in sports. (Indeed, they have started a nonprofit dedicated to it!)

Real Heroes segment from the Today Show.(Previously on Metafilter.)

Team Hoyt's Iron Man video.

For the 2013 Boston Marathon, Team Hoyt, a team comprising now of 30 additional charity runners, has raised over $62,000 for the The Hoyt foundation. In 1977? They had raised $5,000.

posted by zizzle (16 comments total)

The greeks had statues of their great athletes - they embodied physical, mental and social virtues their civilization found admirable. We know a lot about how they thought and felt about the world from these works of art.

Our civilization chose to commission a statue of an average athlete, who nevertheless best embodies virtues most Americans admire - physical toughness, mental discipline, and an unshakable resolve that we're all in this together, no one gets left behind.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:10 AM on April 9, 2013 [22 favorites]

I saw a story on them on a few years ago on some show like 60 Minutes (maybe it was HBO Real Sports) and it was really inspiring. Nice to see them honored. Slap*Happy said it perfectly.
posted by zzazazz at 9:18 AM on April 9, 2013

I know very little about life with severe disability, despite having worked with severely disabled children in the past. I have some deeply conflicted feelings about this kind of participation. I would eternally appreciate the gesture if there was a courageous MeFite with some sort of life-altering disability who could talk about what this kind of involvement in sports means to them. I do know that it's a complicated topic and I don't mean to imply that all people with, say, cerebral palsy, feel exactly alike on this subject. But I'd love some help.
posted by Nomyte at 9:18 AM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Wonderful story and tremendous inspiration.

These guys are my idea of Great Athletes.
posted by kinnakeet at 9:19 AM on April 9, 2013

IIRC, Rick's first words when he was finally given a computer to communicate with was "Go Bruins". The Hoyts are amazing. Such a bummer that Dick's marriage did not survive.
posted by Melismata at 9:19 AM on April 9, 2013

Oh, that's wonderful. I grew up in the Boston area and have lived here most of my life, and while I really don't particularly care which elite runners win the marathon, stuff like this is what's just excellent about the Boston Marathon.
posted by rmd1023 at 9:21 AM on April 9, 2013

an average athlete

There is nothing average about the Hoyt.
posted by jsavimbi at 9:46 AM on April 9, 2013 [4 favorites]

Isn't there a dhoyt?
posted by infini at 9:53 AM on April 9, 2013

I've watched the marathon most years since I was a kid. The Hoyts are certainly one of the highlights of the race. Nice to see such a great tribute to them in Hopkington.

This year another highlight will be seeing Peter Sagal (he of NPR fame) guiding a blind runner. I'm hoping to catch them running by.
posted by bondcliff at 10:08 AM on April 9, 2013

Our civilization chose to commission a statue of an average athlete, who nevertheless best embodies virtues most Americans admire - physical toughness, mental discipline, and an unshakable resolve that we're all in this together, no one gets left behind.

Agreed, but compassion is nothing new to humankind.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 10:41 AM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

yeah, people who complete an Ironman, even by themselves, are much more than an 'average athlete'.
posted by sideshow at 11:19 AM on April 9, 2013

Not mentioned in the OP but definitely worth noting: In total, they've completed 1,091 events, including 252 triathlons, 70 marathons, 94 half marathons, and 155 five-kilometer races. They have never finished last in any of them.
posted by Sternmeyer at 12:29 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

I've run races with those guys... always a pleasure seeing 'em out there.
posted by ph00dz at 12:34 PM on April 9, 2013

Our civilization chose to commission a statue of an average athlete, who nevertheless best embodies virtues most Americans admire - physical toughness, mental discipline, and an unshakable resolve that we're all in this together, no one gets left behind.

Ayn Rand would just shit.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 12:36 PM on April 9, 2013 [7 favorites]

I saw the title and thought "there are better True Blood characters to worship with fan-love" before reading the intro text.
posted by DisreputableDog at 9:43 PM on April 9, 2013

I grew up along the Boston marathon route- for those of you who aren't familiar, the marathon is run on Patriots' Day, a state holiday- meaning that nearly everyone in the state has the day off, and watching the marathon is the Thing To Do- an estimated 500,000+ spectators line the course each year. The Hoyts have long been a local favorite and an inspiration to runners and fans. On race day, you can tell when they're approaching because you can hear the cheers coming long before you can see them. Back when they started, Dick pushed Ricky in what was essentially a bed on wheels. It's great to see them getting so much well-deserved praise and attention.
posted by emd3737 at 10:00 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]