By Enduring an Unimaginable Loss with Dignity and Grace, the Rangers' Star Reminds us What's Right in Sports
Eric Cagan, February 29, 2000

There are too many Rae Carruths, Ray Lewises, and John Rockers and not enough Adam Graveses, not just in sports but in the world at large. It's that simple. Too often when the media describes a professional athlete's heart it doesn't extend beyond the arena in which he plays.

Not so with Adam Graves. In fact, rather than visiting Oz, the Tin Man may have been better served visiting Graves's stall in the Rangers Madison Square Garden locker room. Adam Graves makes his living in the trenches of the NHL, camped out in front of the net. As brutal a place to hang out as you will find in sport.

Success there depends as much on determination and desire as skill. And at six feet tall and 200 pounds, Gravy (as he is known to his teammates and those of us who bleed Broadway Blue) is undersized when compared to opposing defensemen and forwards, the other denizens of his realm. Still, in the Rangers 1994 Stanley Cup season, he set the team record with 52 goals and added 10 more in the playoffs. No one questions Adam Graves heart on the ice. But what makes Adam Graves so special is that no one questions it off the ice either. Almost annually he wins at least one of the Rangers or the NHL's "Good Guy" awards for his "contributions to his community," for going "above and beyond the call of duty," or for simply being the most popular with his fans, teammates and the media. So one can only imagine how heavy a heart that size must get when it endures what Graves went through earlier this month.

His infant son Jaxon, born prematurely January 14th, died three weeks ago (February 7th) having lived just 24 days. Graves had missed three games to be with his family when Jaxon and his twin brother Logan were born. He missed two more last week to grieve. When he returned to the team, a somber group of reporters gathered silently around his locker following the morning skate. If ever an athlete had a reason to refuse to talk to the media, it was Adam Graves on that day. Instead of hiding in the training room though, Graves faced the assembled reporters and asked unselfishly "Why don't you guys smile?" Then he offered one of his own. That night he skated with two hospital bracelets on his right wrist. Through it all Adam Graves cancelled not one of his charitable appearances. In fact, not two weeks after the death of his son, he spent two hours on a Saturday afternoon signing autographs to help raise money for a seven-year-old New York girl fighting for her life. The money will help her family pay medical and other expenses not covered by insurance. It may be too easy to say, but the ratio of Gravese's to Carruths, Lewises, and Rockers is far too low. But there is a flicker of hope for the future. Logan Graves is reported to be getting stronger every day.

Side note to this story.
Two weeks after Jaxon passed away,I went to that autograph signing that Gravy did for Julianne. I also passed out flyers and sent out mailings because I wanted the word out that Adam was doing this for her family. We know the family. My daughter played hockey with her sister on a local hockey team. I wanted to help. We stood on line for 2 hours and I heard from the owner of the store that Adam stayed there way past the time he was supposed to. When we got in there he was eating a sandwich, poor guy. Adam actually stayed there for 5 hours signing autographs.

Many things have not been published about what Adam has done. He does not like the fanfare. Julianne has since passed away. From what I heard he also attended the wake. Nobody knew that, nobody except the people 's lives that he has touched in so many ways. The world does need more people like Adam Graves. The world would be a better place if there were.