1. Travis Matthew Roy was an American college ice hockey player, author and philanthropist.
19 Facts About Travis Roy
1. 2.
Travis Roy later created the Travis Roy Foundation, which gives grants to enhance the life of people with spinal cord injuries and for research.
3.
Travis Roy was born on April 17,1975, in Yarmouth, Maine, the son of Lee and Brenda Roy.
4.
Travis Roy attended Yarmouth High School as a freshman, then transferred to nearby North Yarmouth Academy in order to pursue an athletic scholarship.
5.
Travis Roy transferred again and graduated from Tabor Academy and received an ice hockey scholarship to Boston University.
6.
Elisha Goodsell, Travis Roy's great-grandfather, ran ferries on Lake Champlain, and lived on Malletts Bay, where the Travis Roy family continues to spend time in summers.
7.
The awkward impact with the boards resulted in Travis Roy's cracking his fourth and fifth vertebrae and leaving him a quadriplegic.
8.
Travis Roy remained a supporter of the Terriers men's hockey team, and forged a life-long friendship with head coach Jack Parker.
9.
Travis Roy sought to help others who had less support and fewer resources than he did.
10.
Travis Roy believed that providing grants for adaptive equipment to people with spinal cord injuries was a way to help people live better quality lives.
11.
The Travis Roy Foundation has collaborated with professional athletes in its fundraising efforts.
12.
Travis Roy was paid to tell his story at schools and businesses.
13.
Travis Roy was a well-regarded motivational speaker and gave approximately 40 talks a year.
14.
Travis Roy wanted to show his positive outlook on life, despite the challenges he faced.
15.
Travis Roy was the only BU hockey player to have been honored with a retired number until his former coach, Jack Parker, was given the honor in 2014.
16.
In 2016, Travis Roy received an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Boston University.
17.
Travis Roy's degree was earned due to his humanitarian work to help those with spinal cord injuries through fundraising for research, equipment, and fighting for legislation.
18.
The book's title refers to the amount of time Travis Roy spent playing for Boston University before his injury.
19.
Travis Roy died on October 29,2020, at the age of 45, of complications from a recent surgery.