Knights Manager Wes Helms Reflects On Playing For Braves In First Game After 9/11

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “It was something you never forget but it was a special moment,” said Charlotte Knights manager Wes Helms.

The day the sports world resumed play following the September 11th terrorist attacks, Charlotte Knights manager Wes Helms was right there in New York as a member of the Atlanta Braves

“To be the first professional sports team to play in New York City after 9/11 it was pretty special.”

Shea Stadium September 21, 2001 Helms vividly remembers the game against the Mets, especially the national anthem when the gravity of the moment began to sink in.

“I’m standing there on the third base line and the Mets are on the first base line, and you just kind of look around and you see grown men tearing up. And that right there was when it kind of sat with us, like wow, this is really special”

Helms and his Braves lost 3-2 in dramatic fashion, but that was alright with them.

“We came in the clubhouse, and Bobby Cox was the manager, he pulls us together and he says, ‘You know guys, you’ll never hear me talk about losing. I hate losing, I hate it with a passion, but I wanted them to win that game tonight. The city of New York needed that, the Mets needed that.’”