On the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, athletic officials at the University of West Virginia honored three individuals during the football team’s Sept. 11 home game against Long Island University in Morgantown, W. Va.
During a ceremony, Mountaineer football fans paid tribute to former West Virginia quarterback Chris Gray, a native of Manalapan and a graduate of Manalapan High School who played for West Virginia from 1988-91.
Gray earned a bachelor’s degree in 1992 and a master’s degree in 1994. At age 32, Gray was working at One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan on the morning of Sept. 11 when an airliner that had been highjacked by terrorists struck and destroyed the building.
Shortly after Gray’s passing, the Chris Gray Memorial Football Scholarship Fund was established and has been a resource to benefit student-athletes at West Virginia University, according to information provided by the university.
Gray’s brother, Tim, and his family were present at the Sept. 11 football game as special guests, alongside Chris Gray’s coach at West Virginia, Don Nehlen, and WVU Director of Athletics Shane Lyons.
West Virginia athletic officials also remembered and honored Keith Glascoe, the father of current LIU tight end Owen Glascoe.
Keith Glascoe was a firefighter for three-and-a-half years with the Fire Department of New York, Ladder Company 21. He was 38 years old when he died on Sept. 11, 2001.
The Mountaineers also remembered and honored Durrell Pearsall, a former LIU standout offensive lineman.
Pearsall was one of the 343 Fire Department of New York members who gave their lives in the line of duty on Sept. 11, 2001. Pearsall was 34 years old at the time of his passing, according to the information provided by West Virginia athletic administrators.
