Gerry Bertier (/ˈɡɛri/ GHERR-ee; August 20, 1953 – March 20, 1981) was a high school American football player and Paralympian.
[1] He became known for his participation on the 1971 Virginia State Champion football T. C. Williams High School team, and their portrayal in the Disney film Remember the Titans.
Despite this injury, Bertier attended Northern Virginia Community College and remained an active athlete, participating in the Paralympics.
Bertier's parents divorced when he was around age eight and he was raised primarily by his mother until she remarried Robert Agnew.
[4] He was named National Prep School Football Player of the Year and received First Team All-Region, All-State, and All-American honors.
As he prepared to move to the next level, Bertier received many football scholarship offers from prominent colleges like Notre Dame and University of Alabama.
Bertier coordinated with junior colleges in Alexandria to set up a "Walk for Mankind," and he encouraged students, adults, and company executives to donate.
[2] On March 20, 1981, Bertier was critically injured in a car crash while returning home from a business trip.
Driving alone, his southbound 1980 Oldsmobile collided with a northbound car that crossed over the center line on Route 20 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
A man from Schuyler, Virginia, was charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol in connection with the accident.
Although heralded as an exceptional leader on and off the football field, Bertier's duties never included cutting fellow players from the team as he was shown doing in the film.
[3] The foundation is dedicated to raising money for the research of spinal cord injuries and works with Virginia Commonwealth University to host annual fundraising golf tournaments.
[9] Proceeds were donated to the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation and Research Center of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (VCUHS).