Cardinals to honor Tillman
The Arizona Cardinals today announced the plaza surrounding the perimeter of the new Cardinals Stadium, scheduled to open in 2006 in Glendale, will be named “Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza.”
“Pat exhibited the finest qualities of humanity—loyalty, integrity, and excellence—and we are honored to show our appreciation to this citizen soldier,” offers Cardinal President Bill Bidwill. “The plaza will be open 365 days a year as an interactive
exhibit to celebrate American freedom and Pat’s legacy.
We will coordinate efforts with the City of Glendale and the Tourism and Sports Authority to make this a reality.”
In addition, the team plans to retire Tillman’s number 40 jersey, only the fifth retired number in club history (8–Larry Wilson, 77–Stan Maudlin, 88–J.V. Cain, 99–Marshall Goldberg). No player has worn the number 40 since Tillman last played for the team in 2001. The team also will be consulting with the National Football League regarding display of Tillman’s number ‘40’ on team apparel.
In conjunction with Arizona State University earlier this afternoon, the team announced the formation of the Pat Tillman Memorial Scholarship Award. Tillman was a four-year standout for the Sun Devil football team and played from 1998–2001 with the Cardinals. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a student in the W.P. Carey School of Business that is studying
marketing, the same major Tillman attained his degree in just three and one-half years.
"Some people create with words, or with music, or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, "I've never seen anyone run like that before." It's more then just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better then anyone else. It's being creative." -Steve Prefontaine
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