RALEIGH - The limo pulled up at the motel where Matt Cooper and his family were staying. There were roses for his mother, a bag of toys for his little sister and a night for everyone that would make them forget, even if just for a little while, why they were there.

Cooper is 15 now, still undergoing treatment at Duke Children's Hospital for the brain tumor that stole his vision. And when Ron Francis is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, Cooper will be one of many Duke patients cheering.

"At the time, not knowing who he was, you didn't say, 'This guy's amazing.' You just said, 'I'm meeting a hockey player,' " Cooper says. "I had no idea he was going into the Hall of Fame one of these days. Now, it's like, 'Wow, how did I get lucky enough to meet him?' "

Seven years ago, Cooper got the benefit of a charitable endeavor Francis started when he signed with the Carolina Hurricanes in the summer of 1998.

On the nights of Hurricanes games, a limo would pick up a Duke patient and his family. The whole party -- aunts, uncles, even the limo driver, in Cooper's case -- would eat dinner in the arena restaurant and watch the game from Francis' luxury suite. After the game, the group would meet with Francis outside the locker room door.

The Ron Francis Night Out program was the most famous manifestation of Francis' charity work in the six years he played for the Hurricanes. He retired after the 2003-04 season.

Francis, now the team's assistant general manager, led the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup finals in 2002, and his No. 10 is the only number the team has retired. In the NHL record book, he is among the elite. He is in the top four in points, assists (second only to the great Wayne Gretzky) and games played, and one of only two players to record 22 consecutive 50-point seasons.

That legacy of excellence garnered Francis many awards and trophies: the Selke Trophy as the game's best defensive forward, the Lady Byng trophy honoring sportsmanship and gentlemanly play; and two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992.

But one lesser-known trophy stays with Francis as much as any. In 2002, he won the King Clancy trophy, which honors leadership and humanitarian contributions.

"The one that's really special to me is the Clancy, because it's about giving back to the communities you live in," Francis says. "For me, that was something I always thought was extremely important.

"We're pretty fortunate to do what we do, and I was pretty fortunate to live in some pretty good cities during my career. To be able to give something back to those communities and get recognized for it was something I'm proud of."

Key role in fundraiser

Francis also won the NHL Foundation Player Award that season and helped publicize a December 2001 charity hockey game between the Raleigh Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service that raised more than $20,000 for the family of a Secret Service agent killed on Sept. 11.

"He wanted to meet with our players, come into the room and talk to the guys and thank us for what we do," says Secret Service agent Chip Sheehan. "He had a nice little talk with us and wanted to meet with the spouses. ... He was very generous to the family."

He has also been involved with Special Olympics in Hartford, Conn., and his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The Special Olympics is a cause as close as a brother. Francis, the son of a mill worker, grew up balancing hockey with caring for his younger brother Rick, who suffered from seizures and a learning disability.

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