This Stephen Alonzo Jackson Weekend of Giving, March 1-3, we're asking you to make a tax-deductible donation to support a cause near and dear to the Delta-Chi Chapter– the creation of a new Scholarship-Leadership Award named in honor of Brother David M. (Boo) Ferriss. 100% of your gift, in the amount of $10.34, $50.34, $150.34, $340, $3,400, or $34,000, will help fund this special scholarship.
Our goal is to raise $50,000 to establish a permanent $2,000 annual Scholarship in Brother David M. (Boo) Ferriss's name that will benefit a Delta-Chi Chapter Brother every year in perpetuity. In the event Delta-Chi does not reach the $50,000 threshold during the Weekend but reaches $25,000, it will automatically create a $1,000 annual Scholarship-Leadership Award. All amounts raised shy of $25K between or over $50K will directed to the existing Chapter Scholarship Fund to benefit Delta-Chi undergraduates.
David M. “Boo” Ferriss is a baseball legend and pride of Mississippi. ”Boo” was a 1940 initiate of the Delta-Chi Chapter at Mississippi State, and from a young age, excelled in all sports. He attracted interest and contract offers from several Major League teams but instead signed a baseball scholarship at Mississippi State. The legendary coach and athletic director Dudy Noble awarded Ferriss the first full-ride baseball scholarship in school history. After his Junior year, he signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox, and in June of 1942, he broke into professional baseball with the Greensboro, N.C. Team of the Class B Piedmont League. At age 20, he led Greensboro to the league championship.
Ferriss’ baseball career was interrupted by World War II where he served in the Army Air Corps until severe asthma forced a medical discharge. In 1945, Brother Ferriss returned to baseball, and In his first Major League game on April 29, 1945, he pitched a 2-0 shutout victory over the Philadelphia A’s. In 1946, he joined Babe Ruth and Bill Dinneen as the only pitchers in Red Sox history to throw a World Series shutout. During his 28-year coaching career at Delta State University, the team won 639 games. After retiring from coaching, Ferriss served at numerous baseball clinics around the state, the nation, and the globe. The U.S. State Department sent Ferriss and former teammate Bobby Doerr to clinics in Germany, Hawaii, Okinawa, Japan, and Korea. He and Doerr also conducted the first baseball clinic ever held in Guam.
Ferriss remained active in civic, community, and church affairs into his 90s. He is in the Red Sox Hall of Fame, Mississippi State University Hall of Fame, Delta State University Hall of Fame, and the State of Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. The Delta-Chi Undergraduate Brother who receives this annual David M. (Boo) Ferriss Scholarship-Leadership Award will represent the exemplary legacy he continues to leave on Kappa Sigma and the state of Mississippi.
Now is the time to rally behind this historic initiative and honor the lasting legacy of Brother David M. (Boo) Ferriss. Donate Now!
