Arizona State to retire Pat Tillman's #42

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Pat Tillman

 

 

Arizona State set to honor Tillman on Saturday

 

By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer

November 11, 2004

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Pat Tillman used to climb the light towers over Sun Devil Stadium to meditate. He was a fierce Arizona State football player and an honor student who graduated in 3 1/2 years.

 

The school will honor the fallen hero, killed in combat in Afghanistan last April, and retire his No. 42 in a halftime ceremony of Saturday night's game against Washington State.

 

Jake Plummer is scheduled to be among the former teammates who gather on the field for the ceremony, the second one at the stadium this season.

 

The Arizona Cardinals retired Tillman's number at their home opener on Sept. 19.

 

Tillman was the Pac-10 defensive player of the year as a senior in 1997, when he and Plummer led the Sun Devils to an 11-0 regular season and the Rose Bowl. Tillman, an academic All-American, graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in business.

 

Undersized for a linebacker, he switched to safety and became a hard-hitting, overachieving member of the NFL's Cardinals, who play their home games at the university.

 

``I had a chance to meet for five seconds,'' Arizona State quarterback Andrew Walter said. ``Hopefully, I'll remember those five seconds forever.''

 

Tillman gave up millions of dollars in the NFL to join the Army Rangers following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He was killed, apparently by friendly fire, while on patrol in Afghanistan in April.

 

Tillman posthumously was promoted to corporal and awarded the Silver Star, the Meritorious Service Award and a Purple Heart.

 

``We do our leadership meetings two days a week,'' Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter said. ``When I ask our players to give examples of almost any characteristic, no matter what the lesson is, Pat Tillman's name always comes up. He is off the charts in that respect.''

 

Plummer, who defied the NFL and wore a No. 42 decal in honor of his friend beyond the one game it was allowed, is able to come because his Denver Broncos are off this weekend.

 

The school put out a call for all others who played with Tillman to join in the ceremony.

 

Washington State's football team will join in the tribute.

 

``He's an American hero,'' Washington State coach Bill Doba said. ``We're going to honor the man, wear a 'PT' on our helmets to honor what kind of man he is. Win, lose or draw we'll be part of that.''

 

Members of Tillman's family will be on the field for the ceremony. The family has formed the Pat Tillman Foundation to promote leadership and public service. The university, Cardinals and the family also have established the Pat Tillman Memorial Scholarship.

 

All who knew the blunt, charismatic Tillman agree that he would have hated all the attention that has followed his death. He refused to give any interviews after it was announced he would join the Army.

 

Maybe it's appropriate, then, that the 20th-ranked Arizona State team, 7-2 overall and looking to finish undefeated at home, probably won't watch the halftime ceremony because of the task at hand.

 

``Pat wouldn't have wanted it any other way than for us to win the game first,'' Koetter said.