Morgantown, West Virginia – On September 11, 2001, in one of America’s darkest days, nearly 3,000 lives were lost. Among them was Christopher “Chris” Stewart Gray, a former West Virginia University quarterback, whose name resonates each year with both sorrow and pride.
Early Life & WVU Football
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Born February 4, 1969, in Manalapan, New Jersey, Gray showed early promise as an athlete in high school.
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He enrolled at WVU in the late 1980s, playing under coach Don Nehlen from around 1987 to 1991.
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Gray was largely a backup quarterback—most notably behind Major Harris, a WVU legend—yet he saw action, particularly in his freshman and senior years. In 1991, his senior season, he threw for about 400 yards and one touchdown.
After Graduation & Work
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Gray graduated in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree, and later earned a master’s degree in 1994.
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He pursued professional football briefly: he had a tryout with the Miami Dolphins as a free agent in 1992. Though it did not result in a long NFL career, it was a dream come true for him.
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Subsequently, Gray shifted to a career in finance. He worked as a foreign exchange broker for Cantor Fitzgerald, whose offices occupied the upper floors of the North Tower at One World Trade Center.
September 11, 2001
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On the morning of September 11, Gray went to his office in Cantor Fitzgerald, like so many, expecting a regular day.
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His offices were located on floors 101–105 of the North Tower, several stories above where American Airlines Flight 11 struck.
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Sadly, Gray did not survive. His death, like that of so many others, was a loss felt by family, friends, the WVU community, and by all who believe in resilience and remembrance.
Legacy & Remembrance
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The year following his death, WVU established the Chris Gray Memorial Scholarship, to honor his memory and aid student-athletes.
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His hometown high school, Manalapan High, also honors him through both academic and athletic scholarships; his number (“#16”) has been retired.
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Each year, West Virginia University and the broader Mountaineer community remember Gray. On the anniversaries of 9/11, WVU Football posts tributes, and memorials and ceremonies take place to keep his story alive.
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To those who knew him, Gray was more than a quarterback. He was known for humor, kindness, grit, and a desire to set goals and reach them.
Reflections
Chris Gray’s story is a reminder that behind every name lost in tragedy is a life of aspirations, accomplishments, relationships, and love. To remember Chris Gray is to recognize the value of every human life, to carry forward the promise to help others, and to ensure that loss does not lead to forgetting.
