(From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Cardinals third baseman David Freese is joining the board of Guns ‘N Hoses, an annual boxing tournament that raises money for the families of fallen police officers, firefighters and emergency medical responders in the St. Louis area.
That announcement came today as the Guns ‘N Hoses Boxing Association presented $285,000 raised from November’s event to Backstoppers. Guns ‘N Hoses board president David Stokes made a surprise donation of another $100,000, bringing the total raised since the inaugural boxing matches in 1987 to $4 million. Stokes is chief executive officer and president of Grey Eagle Distributors.
On Nov. 21, area firefighters edged out police officers with a 12-9 team decision in the 26th annual Budweiser Guns ‘N Hoses at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The event generally garners between $200,000 and $300,000 for Backstoppers.
The presentation of this year’s check to Backstoppers took place in the rotunda at St. Louis City Hall this morning.
Freese said he attended his first Guns ‘N Hoses boxing event years ago with his St. Louis Metro Collegiate League coach, John Sanders. Freese played in the league in 2003 and 2004. He said he was hooked and hasn’t missed the annual event since.
“It’s a blessing to have an organization around like this to raise money for and to be a part of it,” Freese said. “I really enjoy being part of this organization.”
