ITHACA, NY (CortacaToday) — A legend not only for Cornell lacrosse but the game of lacrosse as a whole, Eamon McEneaney (Cornell ’77) had an effect on people that will not soon be forgotten, even more than two decades after his passing during the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center where Eamon worked.

Wearing number ten, Eamon stood approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed about 140 pounds during his time at Cornell. A freshman in 1973, he was immediately a force to be reckoned with, even before being able to play on the varsity team.

Former classmate Buck Briggs (Cornell ’76) who was close with Eamon tells that until 1971, there wasn’t a national lacrosse tournament at the collegiate level. It used to be that lacrosse was a mainly southern sport, and any lacrosse played up north was just seen as amateur hour. When the Cornell men’s lacrosse team went on to beat the University of Maryland 12-6 in the NCAA tournament championship game, it “tipped what everybody thought about lacrosse, that really drove the stake into the ground,” says Briggs.

When Eamon arrived on the scene in 1973, he brought an energy to the game that was unprecedented. He was unlike anything people had seen before, seemingly always ready and excited to give more than his all.

“There was a fervor over lacrosse that I can’t really describe, you just had to be there to see it. You didn’t have to be knowledgeable about lacrosse to know there was something special about number ten,” says Briggs about Eamon’s arrival to the Cornell lacrosse scene. “He would take possession of the ball and watching him, he moved almost like a deer, bouncing up and down when he ran. It seemed like, even though it doesn’t make sense because of the laws of physics, that each time his foot hit the ground he would accelerate at full speed. He was a man of hyper-intensity. If you got close, he would beat you with his speed. If you backed off, he would easily pick out an open man,” Briggs says about Eamon’s playing style.

On and off the field, Eamon was admired by many. He was a poet and held literature, specifically that tied to his Irish heritage, in very high regard.

“He was a bright and sensitive guy. He was a poet, and a beautiful and brilliant writer. One of his closest associates on campus was an English professor, he loved learning about poetry and Irish history,” Briggs says.

His death was one that was hard for people to wrap their heads around, and still is. Having a home in Ithaca, Briggs will host the incoming Cornell men’s lacrosse team freshman and will be sure to familiarize them with number ten’s name and legacy.

“It was almost inconceivable, the best way I can compare is to when Kobe Bryant died. It was like, ‘how could this be?’ It felt like a cold pan of water to the face. It made those moments that he gave us that much more special, because you realized how pure and important they were. Eamon was the hardest worker, but he always had that twinkle in his eye, he had that smile that always made you wonder what he was thinking,” Briggs recalls. “I say ‘You won’t ever be Eamon, but keeping his spirit alive in the program is what Cornell lacrosse strives for.’ I’m a big believer in keeping history alive. For the newer guys, Eamon’s career and death are history, but for me, I lived it. I want to continue to honor him and who he was,” Briggs states.

Group photo from the Cornell lacrosse 25th championship reunion in 2001. Courtesy of Buck Briggs, pictured holding the championship trophy, with Eamon standing to the right in a blue shirt and striped tie. This photo may be the last one taken of Eamon in Ithaca before his passing.

Former opponent turned friend Jeff Long (Navy ’77) echoes much of the same sentiment about Eamon and the impact he had on people.

“We started out more as adversaries than as friends, but when we were on the national team together we realized we had much more in common than we thought. He was the best attackman to ever play in my opinion. He was the kind of guy you wanted on your side on the field, in the locker room, and in a bar fight, all three of which we did together,” Long says.

Getting to know him both as a rival and a teammate, Long shares that Eamon was certainly one of a kind.

“He was an energizer; he was full steam ahead at all times. His name always comes up, he impacted everybody that got to know him. I haven’t seen one like him since. I’m sure that he wasn’t thinking of himself when he was in the tower. It’s sad there are people who didn’t get the opportunity to get to know him. My hope is that people keep his name now and in the future and continue to acknowledge his impact not only on the game of lacrosse, but on anyone who crossed paths with him,” says Long about Eamon’s legacy.

A three-time All-American, an All-Ivy first team selection as an attackman, and a twice named Ivy Lacrosse Player of the Year according to Cornell’s athletic department, Eamon boasted stats that earned him the number two spot on Cornell’s all-time career scoring list. Off the field, his selflessness, drive, and hunger for life lives on through those who continue to speak his name and tell the stories that so many remember fondly.