Blind boy with autism sings anthem at Fenway

BOSTON (AP) - A 13-year-old blind and autistic boy who sang the national anthem at Fenway Park before the Cleveland Indians-Boston Red Sox game received a loud and long ovation from the players and fans.

Christopher Duffley, from Manchester, New Hampshire, was born prematurely and weighted only 1 pound, 12 ounces at birth and was rendered blind due to Retinopathy of Prematurity.

At Fenway Monday night, he paused before starting the anthem when the microphone didn't appear to be working.

"The mic wasn't working right away, so I was tapping it, and saying thank you, and I paused, and was about to start, and all of a sudden they started cheering," Duffley told FOX25.

The crowd gave him encouragement and a loud ovation - as did the players from both dugouts - as he waved before starting. When it was over, the ovation was even longer.

He said he was surprised by the emotional response from Red Sox fans. He was representing Autism Speaks when he stepped onto the field to begin his performance.

Duffley began singing before he could even talk, and now travels the country singing and speaking about his disabilities. He told FOX25 he has performed at Fenway Park two other times, so he wasn't nervous.

Duffley's mother said the crowd of more than 37,000 may have thought he was scared, and they tried to encourage him, but she said he was simply waiting for the right moment.

"I told him to always sing when he's ready to sing, cause it's a hard song to sing and you need to be focused," Christine Duffley said. "And he handled it wonderfully."

For Duffley , who has performed all over the United States, it was a first - the first time a crowd has erupted into applause before he sang a single note.

"It was kind of strange because it's never really happened," he told FOX25.

Cox Media Group