Teammates plan tribute to 9/11 flight officer

When a New Jersey lawyer learned that a former football teammate had died in the World Trade Center attack, he knew that Michael R. Horrocks, the first flight officer on United's ill-fated Flight 175, would not be forgotten.

"That's just the kind of guy he was; he made a lasting impression," said John Mininno, who said it did not matter that he'd had no contact with Horrocks in almost two decades. "You don't have to take my word for it; just look online."

Indeed, tributes abound, and not just on the Internet. In 2002, a renovated playground opened in Horrocks' memory at Glenwood Elementary School in the Rose Tree Media School District, where he was a frequent parent volunteer.

Now, Mininno and other football players from West Chester University have scheduled a fund-raiser on Friday to establish a scholarship and create a permanent university memorial for Horrocks, a popular quarterback who became a Marine officer and then a commercial pilot.

Horrocks, who is survived by his wife and two children, was 38 when terrorists hijacked his jet and flew it into the south tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

The fund-raiser, which has a $45 admission charge, will be held at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott at 6 p.m. Friday. Tax-deductible donations for the memorial can be made to the West Chester Alumni Association, earmarked for "Friends of Mike Horrocks."

"We have always planned to pay a fitting tribute to Mike but weren't sure exactly how or when," said Tom Schafer, another former teammate. "Now we have a goal to achieve in his honor; since Mike was big on setting and reaching goals, I think he would approve."