Community Corner

'Terrible Ted' Lindsay Picks a Fight with Autism in Royal Oak

The Detroit Red Wings and Hall of Fame legend is a champion of autism research.

Detroit Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay is still fit, tenacious and a champion. And, he’s not afraid of a fight – at age 87.

Lindsay and wife Joanne were at Children’s Hospital Friday helping area children with autism with a $36,000 gift to the Beaumont Children’s Hospital’s HOPE Center through the Ted Lindsay Foundation. The money will be used to purchase iPads for the center and to provide autism treatment scholarships for children.

The hockey great created the Ted Lindsay Foundation 11 years ago to support autism research after hearing a colleague’s son had the disorder.

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“He’s not your ‘sit in an easy chair’ type of senior,” said Dale Hollandsworth, manager of integrated communications for Kroger, who works with Lindsay. “He creates excitement, and when he speaks people pay attention.”

When it comes to finding a cure, Hollandsworth said Lindsay is laser-focused and every bit the champion he was when he led the Red Wings to four Stanley Cups in the ‘40s and ‘50s as part of “The Production Line.”

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“I hope in my lifetime we can find out what is causing this epidemic,” Lindsay said. “We are committed to fighting autism and helping the people it impacts.”

Lindsay said his generous gift was just the beginning.

“We’ll be back next year with more,” he said, crediting the board of the Ted Lindsay Foundation and partners, such as Kroger, with helping him skate toward a cure.

“The teammates I had on the Red Wings made me a champion and that’s the same thing with my foundation,” Lindsay said. “I couldn’t do this alone. I came to this city in 1949, and it has been good to me - the state has been good to me. I want to give something back. You have to do what you believe in for as long as you can.”

Ron and Michelle Redmond, of Allen Park, are grateful for Lindsay’s support. The couple’s 3-year-old son Trevor uses an iPad in his autism treatment.

“I am so happy we live in a day and age that the iPad exists for my son,” Michelle said. “It has helped him so much. These kids sometime don’t learn a lot from watching their peers - for some reason it doesn’t stick. But with a screen, for some reason they can watch something and really learn it better. And, it sinks in.”


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