Football | October 03, 2016
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – When the Boston College football team takes the field Friday night against No. 3 Clemson, the Eagles will be wearing accessories trimmed in a red bandanna design in honor of Welles Crowther, a former BC lacrosse player who is credited with saving at least a dozen people in the south tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Crowther, who was wearing his signature red bandanna that day, lost his own life when he raced back up to save others before the tower collapsed. He has been celebrated as "The Man in the Red Bandanna" and friends, family and teammates hold an annual "Welles Remy Crowther 5k Red Bandanna Run" to support a charitable foundation formed in his name.
The Crowther family will be on hand for the 7:30 p.m., ESPN game, which is deemed Service Day, celebrating many groups and individuals from the BC community who epitomize the University's mission of "Men and Women for Others."
The Boston College athletic department is giving thousands of red bandannas at every gate of Alumni Stadium on Friday night. BC players will be donning shoes, socks, gloves and helmets with the red bandanna pattern and trim. The coaching staff will be wearing Under Armour apparel designed in honor of Crowther and will feature the red bandanna pattern.
The American Heroes Channel (AHC) is the Service Day sponsor. For the second straight year, AHC partnered with the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust and The Huffington Post to present the "Red Bandanna Hero Award." This year's recipient is Christopher Baity, founder and executive director of Semper K9 Assistance Dogs. He will be honored on the field during the game.
During the tilt with the Tigers, BC will recognize former Eagle standouts Brian Flores, now the New England Patriots linebackers coach and former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, as well as Steve DeOssie and Gerard Phelan, who are with the Atlantic Coast Conference Legends Tour.
Boston College will also honor veterans who participated in the College Warrior Athlete Initiative, a research project directed by the Connell School of Nursing to improve the fitness levels of post-9/11 veterans.
In 2011, Boston College graduate Drew Gallagher produced "Man in the Red Bandanna" for ESPN, about his classmate Welles Crowther. Earlier in 2016, ESPN national correspondent Tom Rinaldi wrote "The Red Bandanna" about Crowther's choice to save lives in his last hour.
