click to enlarge

Anthony Lee Franklin, a 2002 graduate of Berkeley High School, is the embodiment of a scholar athlete. He was recognized by his fellow graduates as the “Athlete of the Year” and was among the first group of inductees into the Berkeley High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

Lee lived a short and fulfilled life, having succumbed to leukemia in November 2006, at the age of 22. Lee was first diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 13, but as a Berkeley High School student, he remained healthy and in remission. He was a popular, conscientious, talented, and hard-working student, loved by his fellow students, teammates, teachers, counselors, and coaches.

Upon graduation from Berkeley High School, Lee attended the University of Arizona where he was thrilled to played baseball (second base) as a Wildcat. In 2004, as a sophomore at the University of Arizona, Lee experienced his first leukemia recurrence. He battled his disease for two more years, through another remission and recurrence, and finally, a cord blood transplant. He struggled courageously, without feeling sorry for himself, and by making everyone fortunate enough to know him feel blessed in his presence.

This scholarship, sponsored by Berkeley High School Athletic Fund, Hematology/Oncology Department at Children’s Hospital Oakland, and The Lee Franklin Memorial Fund is dedicated to Lee’s fighting spirit and to his lasting memory as a scholar athlete.

*/