The General Council adopted ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, as philanthropy of Phi Delta Theta late in 1983.

That action was taken to tribute to Keith R. Worthington, Missouri ’53, who waged a gallant eleven-year struggle against the disease. He was well known and respected in Kansas City, where he helped establish the local ALS support group.

Worthington was a good friend of George Brett, the tremendous third baseman of the Kansas City Royals. Brett got involved in ALS support and was a deserving winner of the Fraternity’s Lou Gehrig Award in 1986.

Phi Delta Theta’s close affiliation with ALS was affirmed when a trio of brothers served on the board of the ALS Association. The three were Bob Biggs, Georgia Southern ’76, Warner A. Peck III, Wabash ’69, and Andrew J. Soffel, Pittsburgh ’52. Later, Robert S. Mclnnes, Dalhousie ’85, would serve on the Canadian ALS board, and Jonathan M. Harris, Toronto ’86, would be elected its president.

In 2018, Phi Delta Theta and the grassroots organization LiveLikeLou, founded by Phi Delt Brother Neil Alexander, joined forces to launch The LiveLikeLou Foundation, a stand-alone 501c3 not-for-profit entity with a national scope and a renewed purpose.

Read the article from the Fall 1983 edition of The Scroll