It was more than a dozen years after he graduated from The Blake School when Gordy Aamoth died inside the World Trade Center South Tower after it was struck by a hijacked airliner.
Gordy was captain of Blake's football team in 1987, and one year after his death, the school dedicated its football stadium in his name.
Kids from Blake now play for the SMB Wolfpack co-op team, with their home games at Gordy Aamoth, Jr Memorial Stadium.
Situated on Blake's campus not far from Hopkins in the west metro, the stadium includes what looks like a sculpture.
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It's a piece of a twisted steel beam in between two blocks of Kasota limestone.
"A lot of people walk by it and probably go 'that's an interesting piece of art,'"said Chris Goodwin, head coach of the Wolfpack.
The steel is from the south tower of the World Trade Center, where Gordy Amoth worked.
"I've had opposing teams comment about it, the opposing teams have to walk right by it to get to their locker room," said Goodwin. "I tell them the story, and they say 'wow, that's pretty amazing.'"
The current players on the SMB Wolfpack were all born after September 11th, 2001, and Goodwin makes sure they know who Gordy Aamoth was.
"It is interesting watching them connect," he said. "It's not just some guy who donated a bunch of money, it's a person who died, and from their school."
The memory of Gordy Amoth is expected to be told a number of times during the preparations for Friday's game against North St. Paul.
The following day marks 20 years since the attacks.
"We'll talk about freedom and sacrifice and all the things that are related to 9-11, not to take those for granted, how that can relate to our team," Goodwin said. "Especially with what's happening in Afghanistan right now, I think they kind of start putting it together. They're smart guys."
Goodwin says he won't refer to Gordy Aamoth in his pre-game speech.
"I don't know if that is going to help us beat North St. Paul," he said. "It'll be something they'll think about, that's for sure, absolutely. Especially our kids."
There's no mistaking who the stadium is named after.
There are no fewer than five signs that bear Gordy Aamoth's name, one of them a plaque with his likeness, noting his athletic moments at Blake, and his sacrifice 20 years ago.