Major League Baseball and teams across the sports world, including the New York Mets and New York Yankees, paused Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with on-field tributes, special programming, community service projects and other observances.
In New York, MLB and the Mets co-hosted a meal-packing event Friday at Citi Field with the nonprofit 9/11 Day as part of the UNITE for Good initiative. The event took place just miles from where the attacks unfolded 25 years ago.
Later in the day, players, managers, coaches and umpires across the MLB wore special caps bearing a “We Shall Never Forget” side patch. The Toronto Blue Jays wore caps featuring both the Canadian and American flags, while the Yankees and Mets wore first-responder caps with their team logos at Yankee Stadium.
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Ahead of Friday night’s first pitch in the Bronx, Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole joined manager Aaron Boone to lay a wreath at the 9/11 memorial in Monument Park.
A giant flag covered the outfield for the national anthem, sung by the opera tenor James Valenti, with Lee Greenwood following him with “God Bless America.”
At ballparks across the majors, customized base jewels and official lineup cards were part of the tribute. The home teams observed a leaguewide moment of silence.
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Days after the tragic events on Sept. 11 , Shea Stadium became a staging ground for relief efforts, with players and volunteers loading trucks with boots, water and batteries bound for Ground Zero. The Mets moved to Citi Field in 2009.
Baseball returned to New York on Sept. 21, when Mike Piazza’s eighth-inning home run lifted the Mets to a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Six weeks later, President George W. Bush, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. New York ultimately fell short of defending their title, losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks in seven games.
College football remembers
Boston College and Rutgers commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks when they met in a special-edition Friday night college football game. Rutgers wore red jerseys and white helmets featuring No. 37, with an American flag inside the number to honor the 37 alumni whose lives were lost a quarter century ago. “Never Forget” appeared on the side of the Scarlet Knights’ pants.
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Boston College’s white uniforms featured a red bandanna design on the sleeves, chest logo and helmet stripe for the 13th annual Red Bandanna Game.
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The tradition honored Welles Crowther, a former Boston College lacrosse player who rescued people during the attacks and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Sept. 8, 2026.