Pope High names field after late football player Matt Hobby

Matt Hobby honored at Pope High School

Pope High School marked the 20th anniversary of its annual football fundraiser Friday night by officially naming its stadium field after a former player who inspired the effort. The school announced the field will now be called Matt Hobby Field, honoring the teenager who died of cancer in 2006, just months after graduating.

MARIETTA, Ga. - Pope High School marked the 20th anniversary of its annual football fundraiser Friday night by officially naming its stadium field after a former player who inspired the effort.

Pope High School's new football field

What we know:

The school announced the field will now be called Matt Hobby Field, honoring the teenager who died of cancer in 2006, just months after graduating.

Matt wore number 70 for the Greyhounds before he was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare cancer, in 2003. As he battled the disease, he and his family learned how little funding the cancer received compared to others. His friends and teammates rallied around him, sparking what would become a national movement.

During a home football game that year, Pope partnered with the newly formed Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research to launch its first "4 quarters 4 Matt" fundraiser. When Matt was presented with the money, his father recalled, "He told them that he was thankful but asked all money be donated to childhood cancer research."

Though Matt died three years later, the fundraiser endured. It grew into "4 Quarters 4 Research," a program that has since raised more than $400,000 at Pope High School alone and expanded to more than 300 schools nationwide, generating millions of dollars for research.

Matt Hobby honored

What they're saying:

"We’re overwhelmed with emotion right now but very honored for Matt to be remembered this way. He took such great pride anytime he stepped out on that field," said his father, Jud Hobby.

"They’ve raised almost a half million dollars doing 4 Quarters for Research. This community is committed and we really need that," said Dean Crowe, CEO of the Rally Foundation.

Matt’s brother, Dan Hobby, said the tradition carries on his brother’s legacy. "The fact that we’ll continue to raise money for such a great cause is truly inspiring and really an honor," he said.

For the family, Friday night’s dedication was a promise fulfilled. "Our promise to him was he’d never be forgotten and now with the field being named after him it’s assured," said Jud Hobby.