By Saxon Daugherty Staff Writer
The family of a child who died of cancer in December was highlighted this week in an ESPN feature produced by an Oil City High School graduate.
The 15-minute piece first aired Sunday, which would have marked the sixth birthday for Andrew O’Neil of North Huntingdon.
Andrew, whose mother, the former Jaime Hagerty, grew up in Franklin, died in December after battling neuroblastoma for more than a year.
Conner, who was a standout at McDowell High School in Erie before going to Pitt, was drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft last weekend by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We had done James’ story about coming back from cancer before the Penn State game for College Gameday,” Webber said, noting that he had kept in touch with Conner’s friend, Mike Gallagher.
“He (Gallagher) reached out to me about Andrew, and Jamie and I had a bunch of friends in common, but we had never actually met before … We were looking for a way to tell James’ story differently for the draft,” Webber said.
The first portion of the piece, which is part of ESPN’S SC Featured series, details Conner’s journey at Pitt leading up to an MCL injury and his Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis.
After showing Conner’s recovery, the focus switches to Conner reaching out to the O’Neil family, as well as the Malesiewski family in Erie, whose son, Ian, is paralyzed from the neck down.
Conner spent time with both young people, even inviting Andrew and his family to be on the field for the Pitt game against Duke in November.
In the video, Jaime O’Neil said she saw a similarity between her son and Conner, referencing their perseverance.
“Andrew would have chemo, be in the ICU and then play in a baseball game within 24 hours,” she said in the video. “(Andrew) felt a connection to him and he was able to watch him get strong and recover and get back on the field. I feel like for him, that was hope.”
Jamie said Andrew enjoyed every minute of his visit with Conner, and when she asked her son what his favorite part was, he responded with, “(Conner) told me he loved me.”
Andrew’s condition worsened not long after going to the game in November, and he was eventually brought home before he passed away on Dec. 12.
Webber said one of his biggest takeaways in following the story was how real Conner was with Andrew and Malesiewski.
“He never really went away,” Webber said. “He was always checking up on Andrew. Even after he passed away, he was checking up on the family, inviting them to charity events…I haven’t met anybody who has said anything negative about him.”
Jamie addresses her family’s appreciation for Conner in the video, saying, “I have never wanted somebody to do so well in my life. I’m a fan, but I hope he succeeds in life, regardless of what he does. He will always hold a special place in our heart for what he has done for our family and so many others.”
The feeling appears to be mutual, as Conner said in the feature that Andrew had just as much of an effect on him.
Andrew has several relatives who still live in Franklin. They include his paternal grandparents, James and Linda Hagerty; and an aunt, Jill Shull and her husband, Christopher, and their children, Abbey and Evan, who are Andrew’s cousins.
Abbey Shull devoted her senior project at Franklin High School in 2015 to raising awareness about childhood cancer, and she garnered about $10,000 in donations from her Go Gold for Knights fundraiser at an Oil City-Franklin football game.
Webber, who was a standout swimmer at Oil City, has had a successful career at ESPN since he went to work there shortly after graduating from Westminster College in 2000 with a communications degree.
He is the son of Doug and Rosanna “Mike” Webber, who still live in Oil City.
Webber says he travels to Oil City a few times a year and particularly enjoys getting together here with his friends every year for the first weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament.
A link to the Conner feature is available at https://vimeo.com/215375670
