Pat Putt
2007
In 1982, Pat Putt read an article about how wheelchair sports helped people with disabilities gain confidence and the power to succeed. Being a special education teacher for many years, Pat thought this would be a good activity for her students. She did more research, and thereafter the A. Harry Moore School team in Jersey City was born. If you ask anyone who knew Pat, they would say the same thing — Pat was all about her students. Nothing was more important than their learning and achieving goals in inner strength they never thought possible.
In the summer of 1982, Pat took her team to the first-ever National Junior Wheelchair Games in Dover, Delaware. After that experience, Pat realized there was so much more to wheelchair sports than the competition; it was an opportunity to teach her student-athletes about a world they otherwise wouldn’t know. It wasn’t easy — at times she traveled with as many as 15 to 20 children with disabilities of various ages and needs.
Pat recognized there was so much to learn: researching how to board an airplane or negotiate a hotel room in a wheelchair. This all took place long before the ADA was enacted. Most of her athletes came from the inner city of Jersey City and Newark. Pat knew that for most of her kids, traveling to competition in other parts of the country wouldn’t otherwise be possible. She worked tirelessly to raise funds to enable her athletes to have that opportunity.
And wherever the team found itself, Pat ensured that they experienced the culture and education of the places they visited. When in Colorado, they visited the Grand Canyon; when in New Mexico, they visited a Native American reservation; when in San Jose, the team took a trip to San Francisco for the thrill of riding the streetcars.
Pat was tenacious — if she thought her team was being treated unfairly, she would let you know it! Everyone in a five-mile radius would hear her, making sure her kids were given every opportunity afforded to others. Pat was very protective of her students!
In 1999, Pat was diagnosed with ALS and knew her time running and managing the team was coming to an end. She worked with her coaching staff to ensure a smooth transition after she was gone. Today, the team is no longer part of the A. Harry Moore School, but her spirit still lives on. She ensured that the team would be able to go on financially, and to this day the team still has strong ties to the Jersey City area and has seen countless athletes make it all the way to the Paralympics — including Ray Martin.
One of Pat’s favorite quotes was, “You need to get involved!” It’s still happening today because of Pat Putt.