The Chicago White Sox had just landed in New York on September 11, 2001, fresh off the plane in the early morning hours, ready for a game against the Yankees. What started as routine travel quickly shifted into an unforgettable experience, as players and staff found themselves just about a mile from Ground Zero during the devastating attacks.
The Morning No One Saw Coming
Team member Darrin Jackson recalled seeing the Twin Towers and the Statue of Liberty from the team bus around 12:30-1 AM after landing in Newark. Just a few hours later, the day turned upside down. Ed Cassen got a call around 8 AM from his wife, asking if he was alright. He was confused, then turned on his TV. “It was shock,” Cassen said. Jackson watched the images unfold on TV, seeing the first plane hit the towers. He told his fiancé, “Oh that’s terrible.” Then the second plane struck. That’s when it hit him: “Do you realize our world has just changed forever?” Talk about a gut punch. You go to bed thinking about a game, and wake up to a nightmare.
“Get Us Out of Here”
With Manhattan in lockdown and the country following suit, Cassen immediately called team leadership. “My first call to Kenny Williams. ‘Kenny what would you like us to do? I don’t care if we forfeit the game, get us out of here.’ That was my only directive: Get us out of here,” Cassen recounted. It took Cassen nearly 12 grueling hours, working with authorities, to secure buses for the team’s evacuation. Finally, permission was granted for two buses to come to the Grand Hyatt on the morning of September 12th. There was one condition: if emergency workers needed a lift to the Jersey side, the team would be amenable. Jackson confirmed they picked up nurses stuck on the island, taking them where they needed to go before hitting the highway.
Once back in Chicago, the White Sox faced a quiet week, everyone wondering when and how to get back to normal. Jackson felt resuming baseball was the right move. “The world needs to get back its normalcy. We have to entertain the masses – we have to give them a break and… it was perfect,” he said. One week after the attacks, the White Sox hosted the Yankees in Chicago. Cassen remembered the moment as incredibly powerful. “Our fans were amazing.. it was like-we’re all together in this. If you’re from Chicago you generally don’t like the Yankees but it was like, we’re all together in this. We’re all Americans -and let’s go-we got your back,” he added. What a scene that must have been, putting rivalries aside for something way bigger than baseball.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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