ALF Showcase
Our People
Pat Tillman – An athlete, scholar, professional football player, and soldier; Pat Tillman was an accomplished young adult who decided to put his own interests aside by enlisting in the U.S. Army after the terrorist attacks on the World trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. This cost him his life.
Pat was born on November 6, 1976 in San Jose, California. The oldest of three sons, he excelled in high school football, and went to Arizona State University (ASU) on a football scholarship. At ASU, Pat excelled on the field and in the classroom. He helped his team achieve an undefeated season to make the Rose Ball game. He won the PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Year and was selected as the ASU Most Valuable player in 1997.
Pat was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the 1988 National Football League draft, earned his way to be a starting player, and set a new team record for number of tackles in 2000. He demonstrated his loyalty to his team when he turned down a lucrative contract with the St. Louis Rams to stay with the cardinals in 2001.
After the 9/11 terrorist attack, Pat turned down a $3.6 million contract with the cardinals, married his high school girlfriend, and did what he thought was right – he gave up the perks of a high paid athlete to join the Army, become an Army Ranger, and went to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and then to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom – all in the service of America.
Pat was killed in a battlefield accident, and was subsequently awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.