Ex-Boston College baseball player Pete Frates -- the man who inspired millions of people to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge -- has passed away at 34 years old, the school announced Monday.
Frates -- who served as team captain in 2007 -- was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in 2012 ... and 2 years later, became the face of the worldwide campaign that raised more than $220 million for ALS research.
Frates didn't create the create the Challenge but was one of the first to do it -- and he's credited with being one of the most important factors in the Challenge going mainstream.