Two teams in the National Lacrosse League switched up their usual looks for a good cause over the weekend.
On Saturday, January 4, the Albany FireWolves and Las Vegas Desert Dogs donned special jerseys for Tucker Out Lymphoma and Box Out Cancer Night at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York.
The night honoured the life of Tucker Williams, the younger brother of FireWolves rookie forward Dyson Williams and son of Desert Dogs coach/general manager Shawn Williams, who passed away from Burkitt’s Lymphoma in 2014.
The special jerseys worn on Saturday were both designed by Dyson Williams. Both featured neon green shoulder yokes, striping and numbers because that’s the color of lymphoma awareness ribbons. Both jerseys also had neon green ribbons around the collars, “TUCKER OUT LYMPHOMA” repeated tonally in the side panels and a badge on the left chest with “TUCKER” in the middle and “BRAVER THAN BRAVE” around the outside. They also had a neon green ribbon on the back, under the player’s number, with “BRAVER THAN BRAVE” written overtop.
The Desert Dogs’ jerseys had a white base with “LAS VEGAS” diagonally across the front in a black block font with neon green and white outlines. Under the lettering was a silhouette of a lacrosse-playing superhero from the logo of the Braver Than Brave Foundation, which the Williams family set up in Tucker’s memory. The Desert Dogs’ primary logo appeared on each shoulder.
The FireWolves’ jerseys, meanwhile, were predominantly grey with “FIREWOLVES” spelled out diagonally across the front in white with outlines in neon green and burgundy, the latter being one of Albany’s primary colours. The silhouette under the lettering was altered to have the head of a wolf. Like Las Vegas’s jerseys, the FireWolves’ primary logo appeared on each shoulder.
Both jerseys also featured a photo of Tucker Williams playing lacrosse on the back collar.
Saturday’s game was the first in the inaugural Tucker Out Lymphoma Cup, which will be contested throughout the NLL regular season between the FireWolves, the Desert Dogs and the Buffalo Bandits, the team that held the first Tucker Out Lymphoma Night. In games between those teams (plus one between Las Vegas and the Georgia Swarm), they can earn two points for a win, one point for an overtime loss and zero points for a regulation loss toward the Cup. If teams are tied on points, standard NLL tiebreakers apply.
The Desert Dogs won Saturday’s game 12-11 in overtime. Following an emotional pre-game ceremony, Dyson Williams scored his first career hat trick in a losing effort for Albany.
Game-worn jerseys from both teams were auctioned off online with proceeds benefiting the Sick Kids Hospital of Toronto, the Melodies Center at Albany Medical Center and the Braver Than Brave Foundation.
The next games in the Tucker Out Lymphoma Cup take place on Saturday, February 1, when Las Vegas takes on Georgia and Buffalo hosts Albany.