Born Aug. 29, 1960, on the Onondaga Nation, Travis, like most Onondaga boys, started playing lacrosse at a young age and was given his first set of goalie pads at age 10.

Travis was known for his devotion to improving his skills as a netminder. A regular at summer camps in the Syracuse area, he’d surround himself with Iroquois greats who were several years older, including Travis Cook and Freeman Bucktooth, and they would bombard him with shots.

As a ritual when shooting on aspiring goalies, points were awarded to shooters who hit the keeper in various places — the head, knee, chest, even the groin — just to let a young player know what he was in for.

“That was part of the game we played,” says Bucktooth, an Orangeman in the early ‘70s and close friend of Travis in later years. “Travis was tough as nails. He was a great student of the game and a great person.”

Travis earned the starting varsity spot as a sophomore and guided the LaFayette High Lancers to two rare victories over West Genesee, one in the regular season and one in the playoffs in 1978.

“Travis is the greatest goalie to come out of LaFayette,” says Jim Booth, a lifelong friend who started out as a modified manager with Travis, going on to play through high school with him, then at SUNY Cobleskill and later at Syracuse. “He was a quiet guy, not for many words. But when he stepped on the field, he turned into a different person. He became boisterous and a commander on defense.”

Travis received honorable mention All-America recognition in 1983; his 259 saves are still good for the fifth-most in a season at Syracuse as he tended goal for the 1983 Syracuse University Championship team. 

Travis passed away after battling ALS in 2010.