Wheaton family raises cash to kick cancer

The corporate logos dotting Seven Gables Park in Wheaton Saturday underscored a fierce family effort to raise money for cancer research.

Jack Blake and his family organized the daylong Jack Kicks Cancer 3-on-3 soccer tournament to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation in honor of Blake's father, who died of cancer 11 years ago.

Blake said this year, family members tapped friends and area businesses to get sponsorships to provide equipment, food and donations for the event.

Twenty-seven teams and more than 100 people from the Chicago area came to support the family's cause.

"After talking to a few people, we realized this could be a big thing," Blake said.

Most of Saturday's participants, like 22-year-old Dan Pecora of Wheaton, had some sort of connection to the Blake family, either as relatives, past classmates or old neighbors.

"I went to high school and grade school with members of the family," said Pecora. "We're all a tight-knit group of friends, so we wanted to come back and help out in any way we could."

Saturday's event honors Jack Blake, the father, an avid soccer player who played at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and was a member of the U.S. national team in the 1971 Pan American Olympic Games.

The Wheaton Park District named a field at Seven Gables Park in the elder Blake's honor years ago and, in 2006, he was included into the SIUE Hall for Fame for his contributions to the soccer program.

During last year's inaugural event, Jack Kicks Cancer raised more than $5,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Blake said he's expected to far surpass the amount this year. All the proceeds will be donated to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

"I'm very proud of everything Jack has done to put this together," said Tommy Blake, another relative who drove his family from St. Louis to compete. "My brother's legacy was all about soccer."