BC to Honor Welles Crowther at Football's
September 10, 2014 | Football
Chestnut Hill, Mass. - When the Boston College football team takes the field Saturday night against ninth-ranked Southern California, 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 8 p.m., nationally-televised game, which is deemed Service Day, celebrating many groups and individuals from the BC community who epitomize the Univerisity's mission of "Men and Women for Others."
The Boston College athletic department is giving 6,000 red bandannas to the student section to wear during the clash with the Trojans. 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.
Last year, BC introduced a live eagle at its games for the first time in decades and held a naming contest via social media; the overwhelming choice for the eagle's name was Welles. Fans can visit Welles during the pre-game FanFest in the Flynn Recreation Complex, which opens at 5 p.m.
In 2011, Boston College graduate Drew Gallagher produced "Man in the Red Bandanna" for ESPN, about his classmate Welles Crowther.
