Brad Fritz stood with family in Park Hills on Sept. 11, wearing "Remember 81" shirts and honoring the cousin killed in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Brian Williams was 29 years old and working as a bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of the North Tower when it was struck that morning. He grew up in Edgewood, attended St. Pius X grade school and graduated from Covington Catholic High School, where he was a senior football captain, three-year varsity letterman and first-team All-State tight end.

Fritz gathered with Williams' relatives ahead of CovCath's football game against Dixie Heights, WLWT reported. The family's shirts honored the jersey number Williams carried on the CovCath field.

"When he heard about my first wreck, he was on the first flight—and was here by morning," Fritz told WLWT, recalling how Williams flew to Kentucky after Fritz's crash as a teenager.

Williams earned a 4.0 GPA at CovCath, ranking fourth in his class of 125 students, according to the KB Williams Fund. He won the "That's My Boy Award" for Greater Cincinnati's best football and scholar athlete, then earned a scholarship to Columbia University, where he played football all four years.

His plan was to build a career in New York and return to Northern Kentucky to coach football at CovCath. He never got the chance.

Fritz, a Crestview Hills resident, is well known across the area for waving and smiling at passing drivers from his wheelchair near the corner of Turkeyfoot Road and College Park Drive in Edgewood. A crash at age 15 left him in a wheelchair. In July 2025, he was hospitalized again after being struck by a suspected drunk driver at that same intersection.

"Just smile and hug your loved ones tonight, because Brian would want you smiling and not sad," Fritz told WLWT.

Fritz's own community impact led the Horizon Community Foundation of Northern Kentucky to launch The Champ Fund in September 2025, seeded with a $25,000 anonymous donation to help families recovering from traumatic injuries. Williams' legacy also continues through scholarships and charitable donations in his name, including support for students at Covington Catholic.

The CovCath football program kept No. 81 on its roster for the Sept. 11 game, ensuring Williams' number still belonged to a team.