Scott Carter and Wayman Tisdale fought a common enemy: osteosarcoma.

Although each eventually lost his life to the rare form of bone cancer, both remain part of the ongoing war against the disease, thanks to their families and friends here in Tulsa.

Their memories were brought together Oct. 29 at Holland Hall for the red-carpet premiere of a documentary film on the life of Tisdale, who enjoyed professional careers in both basketball and jazz music before his death in 2009.

Carter died in 1993. He was 13 years old. He is the son of ORU Athletics Director Mike Carter. During his three-year battle with osteosarcoma, Scott met many famous figures in the sports world, including Michael Jordan and Barry Sanders.

In meeting all these famous people, Scott accrued a large collection of sports memorabilia. When the Make-A-Wish organization offered to take him to Disneyland and meet famous people, Scott had a different idea.

“He said, “Take my sports memorabilia, put it in the truck and take it around the country and take up donations and give the money to cancer research to find a cure for cancer,”” Carter said.

Carter started the Scott Carter Foundation because Make-A-Wish did not have the resources to make this happen.

After Scott died, the foundation had enough money to get the truck for all of Scott’s memorabilia. They toured it around local banks until someone special noticed and wanted to get involved.

“Disney found out about it and came in, picked up the collection and it’s at the Wide World of Sports in Disney World,” Carter said.

Sports became a common tool both Carter and Tisdale use in their battles with osteosarcoma.

The Scott Carter Foundation decided to team up with the Wayman Tisdale Foundation and film director Brian Schodorf to debut “The Wayman Tisdale Story” at Holland Hall, not far from ORU.

Throughout the movie, several famous Hollywood stars attest to the joyful spirit of Tisdale in all situations. Even after losing a leg and being diagnosed with osteosarcoma, Tisdale kept his spirits up.

This is precisely why Schodorf was inspired to make a documentary in Tisdale’s memory.

”With such optimism, courage and faith, I think that’s a story that should be told,” said Schodorf.

The Scott Carter Foundation decided to be a part of this special night to bring awareness to osteosarcoma and raise funds for research.

The Scott Carter Foundation began 19 years ago in Tulsa, and has collected $1.7 million for cancer research. The principal fundraiser is the annual Scott Carter Eagles Golf Classic. No cure, however, has been found yet.

“I think it’s basically the same as it’s been,” Carter explained about research efforts. “They are using the same treatments today as they were back when Scott was fighting it back in ‘92 and ‘93.”

That’s why the friends and families of Scott and Tisdale fight on. For more information on the Scott Carter Foundation and how to donate, go to www.scottcarterfoundation.org.

Related story: Tisdale leaves legacy

Life - Campus