Description Purple T-shirt created in memory of Robert Speisman. The front of the shirt depicts a drawing of the Grateful Dead bear playing basketball. "Speis | 1 | Ball" is printed on the back.
Historical Notes Queens native Robert Speisman lived in Irvington, New York. He and his wife, Rena, had three daughters. On Sundays for more than a decade, he rose early to play basketball in a league. Robert was an executive vice president at the Lazare Kaplan diamond firm. On September 11, after visiting his daughter at college in Washington, D.C., he boarded Flight 77 to Los Angeles on business. He was 48 years old.
Curator's Comment Robert Speisman helped found the Sunday Morning Adult Basketball Program in Irvington, New York. He so valued the weekly games that he planned weekend activities and international travel around them. After Robert’s death aboard hijacked Flight 77, his family worked with the Samuel Field Y in Queens to create the Speisman Youth Athletic program, which sponsors a basketball league for teens. This league shirt, designed by one of Robert’s daughters, features a symbol of one of his favorite bands, the Grateful Dead. HIDE