Thomas Tull picked the perfect day to make a sizable and much-needed donation to area hospitals, donating $4.2 million on Major League Baseball’s Jackie Robinson Day.
The money will be used for personal protective equipment in hospitals that mainly serve black communities, Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday.
When he was CEO of Legendary Pictures, Tull was the executive producer on “42,” a film about Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier. Robinson, who wore No. 42, became the first African-American player in Major League Baseball on this day in 1947, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.
“This is in honor of Jackie Robinson Day," Wolf said. "This is an incredible gift and one I hope inspires others during this time of incredible need."
The Edgeworth billionaire is a lifelong sports fan and is also part owner of the Steelers. In 2017, Tull invested $65 million into FIGS, a female-founded medical apparel company.
Baseball is also plenty familiar to Tull.
In addition to following the Pirates, in 2013 he was elected to the board of directors for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. In July 2018, along with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, Tull was inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence.
Tull moved to Pittsburgh full-time from the Los Angeles area in 2018 and serves as CEO of Tulco, a company he started in Pittsburgh.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: April 15, 2020, 9:39 p.m.
