Zac Brown Band bassist serenades crowd at Reds' ALS Night 

CINCINNATI -- John Driskell Hopkins has been the longtime bass player for country super-act Zac Brown Band, but Friday was the perfect time and place for "Hop" to take center stage.

Before the Reds played the Brewers on ALS Night at Great American Ball Park, a 5-4 loss in 11 innings, Hopkins sang the national anthem. With a booming, low-octave voice, he delivered “The Star Spangled Banner," and received a loud ovation for his effort.

In December 2021, Hopkins was given the diagnosis that he had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) -- the 100 percent fatal illness also known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease.”

After the game, Zac Brown Band performed a full concert for the only Cincinnati appearance on their current tour. A portion of every ticket sold for the game and concert benefitted the Hop On A Cure Foundation -- which was founded by Hopkins.

"We’ve been blessed to have raised $1 million in our first year, and we hope to put that into overdrive," Hopkins said this week. "We’re still kind of new at this and learned a lot and come a long way."

The Hop On A Cure Foundation has already made contributions for ALS research to the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital and Duke University.

Major League Baseball is in its third year of holding Lou Gehrig Day. It's held every June 2, which is both the date that Gehrig replaced Wally Pipp as the Yankees’ regular first baseman in 1925 and the day he died from ALS in 1941 at the age of 37.

Adam Wilson, a local man and ALS battler who was instrumental in getting MLB to hold Lou Gehrig Day annually, was honored on the field during pregame ceremonies. The Reds also recognized members of the ALS Association of Central & Southern Ohio, I AM ALS and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Aided by two friends, James Bowman threw a ceremonial first pitch.

Reds manager David Bell is a big fan of baseball doing what it can to boost ALS awareness. When he was a player with the Phillies, Bell noted that the club was an early proponent of awareness events, and he got to know families who deal with the progressive disease.

"Somewhere along the way, we all know someone that has been affected," Bell said. "I know there will be people around the ballpark. It’s a day to see if there is any way to make any sort of difference and help people have an enjoyable time and enjoy the day. We’ll just do anything we possibly can for the awareness.”

After Friday's game, there was a check presentation for $125,000 to the Hop On A Cure Foundation. Hopkins appreciated the support of the Reds and MLB.

"Not only is MLB stepping up, but individual teams are stepping up, and it’s really exciting to see the support," Hopkins said. "We stand facing a disease that is not incurable but is grossly underfunded, and we need to make ALS first livable and then work towards reversing it. We need to stop it in its tracks like we did with HIV. We as a human force can make this progress and can be victorious over this thing. It takes teamwork and communication, and we’re excited to be helping lead that charge. We’ll need everyone to pitch in.”