Last month, the boys lacrosse teams of Oyster Bay High School and St. Dominic’s High School met on the turf field of Theodore Roosevelt Park for a friendly game in honor of fellow lacrosse player Welles Crowther, who became a hero at the age of 24 and an inspiration for young athletes.
His father Jefferson Crowther was on hand to thank the teams and delivered a speech to begin the game between the neighboring teams, who are hopeful that it will become an annual tradition.
Dan Cutler presented Crowther with flowers to take home to his wife, who was so touched and honored by the gesture that she later took one of the flowers and laid it on the Welles Crowther Panel S-50 at the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City.
The Italian American Club of Oyster Bay hosted both teams for a dinner the night before the game.
The entire weekend was a great experience for the young athletes to engage in sportsmanship, camaraderie and compassion. Laurie Cutler, Jen Ballone, Coach Brian Soper and many parents of the lacrosse players helped bring this event to the community.
Crowther, of Nyack, was an equities trader at Sandler O’Neill and Partners on the 104th floor of South Tower of the World Trade Center and is known for saving at least a dozen lives during the 9/11 attacks in New York City, during which he lost his own life.
At the age of 6, his father gave him a red bandana that would become a signature trademark as he carried one with him everywhere. He became a volunteer firefighter at age 16, attended Boston College, where he played lacrosse and graduated with a degree in economics in 1999.
On Sept. 11, 2001, his mother said that he left her a message minutes after United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower, telling her that he was okay. But, according to survivor accounts, he helped others get out of the building and saved as many as 12 people following the attacks. He was said to have had a bandana around his nose and mouth to protect him from smoke and haze.
As occupants of the tower headed for the street, Crowther turned around and went back inside multiple times, according to witnesses. He was last seen doing so with members of the FDNY before the South Tower collapsed.
Following his death, Crowther’s parents, Allison and Jefferson Crowther, with the support of a Michigan foundation, created the Red Bandana Project, a character development program for classrooms, sports teams, camps and youth programs. The family also established the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust and The Welles Remy Crowther Red Bandana Run, held annually at Boston College. In 2006, Crowther was posthumously named an honorary New York City firefighter.
