The official blog of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum features stories of commemoration and memorialization, and information on our public programs, special events, and ways to get involved.
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Since the special exhibition “Comeback Season: Sports After 9/11” opened at the 9/11 Memorial Museum in June, museum visitors have gotten a chance to revisit the unifying power of sports in the days, weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks.
During the early morning hours of Aug. 7, 1974, 24-year-old French high-wire artist Philippe Petit took his position at 1,350 feet above ground on the edge of the South Tower. High above the streets of New York, Petit began the 131-foot walk between the Twin Towers with no net.
While attending an IndyCar race at Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania, Karen Juday sat down next to a New Yorker named Richard Pecorella. Karen was there to cheer on her brother, a mechanic with Team Penske. She would often drive from her hometown of Elkhart, Ind., to support her brother’s team as they travelled around the country. Rich had received tickets from a friend, and this was his first auto race as a spectator.
The New York City Medical Examiner’s office announced on Wednesday that it had identified the remains of Scott Michael Johnson, a victim of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. He is the 1,642nd person to be identified as a victim of the attack on New York, and the first identification made since August 2017.
The Staten Island Yankees, a minor-league affiliate of the New York Yankees, host Chief Jerry Barbara Night at a game every summer. FDNY Assistant Chief Barbara, who lived on Staten Island, was a supporter of the team, as well as the major league Yankees in the Bronx.
It is estimated that more than 300 working dogs aided in the search, rescue, recovery or therapy work at Ground Zero. These furry responders worked courageously and tirelessly alongside their handlers searching for survivors and human remains while providing comfort to victims’ family members and relief to rescue workers.
Before the age of 30, Jennifer Louise Fialko learned to speak fluent Spanish and Portuguese, lived in Spain, graduated from the University of New Hampshire and had overcome a battle with Hodgkin’s Disease. On Aug. 6, 2001, the 29-year-old started a new job in the World Trade Center’s South Tower with AON Insurance Corporation. She was at work on the 92nd floor on the morning of 9/11.
Within hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, thousands of rescue workers from across America deployed to ground zero to help in the search and rescue efforts. Joining the endeavor were dogs specially trained in search and rescue, police work, therapy and comfort. It is estimated that more than 300 dogs took part in the search, rescue and recovery efforts at ground zero.
The emotional effects of sports are multi-pronged. They course through every society and country, and can be unifying, particularly in times of crisis and upheaval. As ESPN staff writer Tommy Tomlinson observed, “This is the blessing of sports. They help you remember when you want to remember, and they help you forget when you need to forget. They heal us an inning at a time, quarter after quarter, play by play.”
A year following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Joseph Pellegrini, vice president of business operations for The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), received a Brink’s U.S Global Services envelope recovered from Ground Zero. In 2001, the OCC used Brink’s to send correspondence back and forth between the company’s headquarters in Chicago and its New York office at 17 State Street.
