Many times over the years, Scott and Jeff Bridges obliged their Griffith business, Bridges Scoreboard, to host a benefit for someone in need.
Now, it’s Scott Bridges’ chance to have the favor returned.
On Sept. 27, the Scott Bridges Kick Cancer fundraising event will be held from 4 p.m. to midnight at Avenue 912, 202 W. Ridge Rd., Griffith. Admission is $20 per person, and includes food, cash bar and live entertainment.
The fundraiser will help Bridges, who is battling stage four prostate cancer, defray cancer treatments not covered by insurance. While Bridges expects a large outpouring of support at the event, he will be absent his brother, Jeff Bridges, who died at age 57 on Aug. 12 at his Griffith home.
Tickets to the event can be purchased at Bridges Scoreboard, 121 N. Griffith Blvd., and other local businesses, as well as through the event organizer, Don Hill, by contacting him at 219-781-9012.
Cancer prognosis improves
Scott Bridges, 61, said that while his cancer had metastasized to his bones, his treatments have shown significant improvement and his life expectancy has improved from an initial diagnosis of 2-3 years to now five or more years.
“In the last meeting with my doctor in Munster — who doesn’t believe in using a term ‘remission’ and thinks it’s a misleading term — did say things are going really good,” said Bridges.
Bridges said that he has scaled back his activities at his business and is down to “about 50 hours a week.” He’s thankful for the employees who he promoted to management roles and to his brother’s widow, Denise, who is now his business partner and taking an active role at Bridges Scoreboard.
Despite his cancer diagnosis and loss of his brother, he emphasized that he has no plans to sell the business.
“I’m not slinging kegs around like I used to, but I am handling some of the kegs, sometimes,” he joked. “I’m still playing in the Bridges golf league at Wicker Park on Thursdays. But I am taking some nights off, like tonight I’m going to watch my grandson play T-ball.”
Giving back to the Bridges
Bridges said a car accident in which he and Hill were both involved alerted him to the cancer diagnosis, which was discovered when he underwent a routine medical examination.
Hill said he put the fundraiser together as any friend would, and wanted to help pay back the Bridges family for all they’ve done for the Griffith community and individuals over the years.
“We’ve received numerous donations from people, all over the country, actually, including his old college teammates donating stuff (Bridges is a former Honorable Mention All-American Kicker at Indiana State University),” Hill said. “We just got a dozen baseballs donated by John Mallee, the assistant hitting coach of the Chicago Cubs, a personal friend of ours. Basically, Scott’s my best friend, so I’d do anything for him.”
Sitting with Hill at a table in the back of his restaurant, Scott Bridges got choked up at the thought of so much outpouring of support — and that of his brother until his tragic loss.
“Jeff was the greatest PR man in the history of owning a bar. He could really talk to people,” Bridges said. “He was the front man, and I was the business guy in the back. I used to joke with him that he kept me locked up in the office doing the book work, not fun stuff. Jeff was out here with the customers all the time, and was very good at it. He made everybody feel like this was their second home.”
To underscore the impact Jeff Bridges — a former star basketball player for Griffith High School who also played for Purdue University Calumet — had on the community, people waited in line at White Funeral Home more than two-and-a-half hours to pay their respects to the family. The wake began at 1 p.m. and the Bridges family greeted people until nearly 10 p.m., Bridges said.
“Jeff was the type of person to go up to the kids and let him pick out some candy out of a bag, lead our staff in singing happy birthday to patrons,” he said. “He was someone who people could reach out to when they were in need, offer an employee or someone a loan if they were having a tough time.”
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
