At the fundraiser for the ALS Association, Chapter President John Pagliarini, left, Dr. Robert Carothers, URI president; NFL legend Jim Brown; and Dan Migala, author of Dugout Wisdom.

Football legend Jim Brown was friendly and personable on June 12 at the Crowne Plaza.

At the ALS Association’s annual Evening of Hope, he rubbed shoulders with the 275 guests, and witnessed a football he autographed sell for $750 during the live auction.

Some $40,000 was raised, and it will be used to support patient services, including the Louise Wilcox ALS clinic at Rhode Island Hospital.

Each year the event includes the presentation of the Brian Dickinson Courage Award to someone who has shown fortitude in the battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), a neurological disease in which motor cells in the spinal cord and brain deteriorate. Dickinson was an editorial writer and columnist for The Providence Journal who died in 2002 after a long fight with ALS.

This year’s award recipient was University of Rhode Island economics professor Yngve Ramstad. Former Gov. Lincoln Almond, who lost a brother to the disease, received an accolade to honor his support of the nonprofit.

Gregg Burke, URI’s deputy director of Athletics, co-chaired the event.