W.Va. State historical marker 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. He has traveled internationally and led huge congregations. That was an overwhelming responsibility.". The victims included 36 Marshall University football players, 9 coaches and administrators, 25 fans and crew of 5. One of Dawson's greatest contributions may have been the recruiting of four African-American athletes out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. [13][14], The Marshall University football team only won two games during the 1971 season, against Xavier and Bowling Green. Loria had been a two-time All-American at Virginia Tech. "You have to realize he had to tell several, several players' families, all the ones that he recruited. Nepal's army and volunteers carry the body of a victim who died in a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara on January 17, 2023. Holliday wants to make a date to come out and hunt turkeys on Dawson's 400 acres outside of town. "I believe I want to be buried up there with my boys," Dawson said. It was a funeral that never stopped. Memorial Fountain on the Marshall University campus, dedicated in 1972. Lyndhurst's Tom Shoebridge, brother of crash victim Ted Shoebridge, and Elmwood Park's Keith Karl, a freshman on the 1970 Marshall team, join the show. It really sort of shapes the fiber in you, of what you are.. But football quickly drained from him after the crash. Rescue teams search for victims at the site of the Yeti Airlines plane crash, in Pokhara on January 17, 2023. He was a linebacker. It signified the teams unity as not just a football team, but one family. The 1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football team was an American football team that represented Marshall University as an independent during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. Mary Jane eventually moved to Richmond, Virginia. "Apparently, it was time God saw fit to call them.". (JACK BURNETT/AP), "We carry on the legacy for them, but even after all those who were personally connected are gone, those guys still deserve to be remembered because it's just a travesty, what happened. "He was a tremendous athlete who could do it all. The town died. But for the university and the entire community, it left a huge void. history". Digitized University Archives Collections The five Southern Airlines employees also died in the crash. The Druid Four did and were all killed in the crash. The actual damage was incalculable. At the time of the crash, Harris Jr. led Marshall in rushing and kick returns. Back then, Bowden was the wide receivers coach. The subsequent negotiations resulted in a reduction of the weight of passengers and baggage and the charter flight was scheduled. Special Collections On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Ferrum won the national junior college championship his first year there in 1965. "I'm sure you can pretty much figure that one out," said Mary Jane Tolley, wife of head coach Rick Tolley, who died in the crash. Captain Frank H. Abbott, Jr. , aged 47, was employed by Southern Airways, Inc.. Marshall University Football Team Players: James Michael Adams, of Mansfield, Ohio - Guard, Mark Raeburn Andrews, of Cincinnati, Ohio - Offensive Guard, Mike Francis Blake, of Huntington, West Virginia - Linebacker, Dennis Michael Blevins, of Bluefield, West Virginia - Wide Receiver, Willie Bluford Jr., of Greenwood, South Carolina - Wide receiver, Larry Brown, of Atlanta, Georgia - Defensive Guard, Thomas Wayne Brown, of Richmond, Virginia - Defensive Guard, Roger Keith Childers, of St. Albana, West Virginia, Stuart Spence Cottrell, of Eustis, Florida - Defensive Back, Richard Lee Dardinger, of Mount Vernon, Ohio - Center, David Grant DeBord, of Quincy, Florida - Offensive Tackle, Kevin Francis Gilmore, of Harrison, New Jersey - Halfback, David Dearing Griffith, Jr, of Clarksville, Virginia - Defensive End, Arthur W. Harris, of Passaic, New Jersey - Halfback, Robert Anthony Harris, of Cincinnati, Ohio - Quarterback, Bob Wayne Hill, of Dallas, Texas - Defensive Back, Joe Lee Hood, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Halfback, James Thomas Howard Jr., of Milton, West Virginia - Offensive Guard, Marcelo H. Lajterman, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey - Kicking Specialist, Richard Adam Lech, of Columbus, Ohio - Defensive Back, Barry Winston Nash, of Accoville, West Virginia - Tight End, Patrick Jay Norrell, of Hartsdale, New York - Offensive Guard, James Robert Patterson, of Louisburg, North Carolina - Offensive Tackle, Scottie Lee Reese, of Waco, Texas - Defensive End, John Anton Repasy Jr., of Cincinnati, Ohio - Wide Reciever, Larry Sanders, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Defensive Back, Charles Alan "Al" Saylor, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio - Defensive End, Arthur Kirk Shannon, of Greensboro, North Carolina - Linebacker, Lionel Ted Shoebridge, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey - Quarterback, Allen Gene Skeens, of Ravenswood, West Virginia - Center, Jerry Dodson Stainback, of Newport News, Virginia - Linebacker, Donald Tackett, Jr., of Paden City, West Virginia, Robert James Van Horn, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Tackle, Roger Arnie Vanover, of Russell, Kentucky - Defensive End, Freddie Clay Wilson, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Tackle, John Patton Young, of Buckhannon, West Virginia - Tight End, Thomas Jonathan Zborill, of Richmond, Virginia - Defensive End, Charles Arnold, of Huntington, West Virginia, Rachel Lynette Arnold, of Huntington, West Virginia, Dr. Joseph Chambers, of Huntington, West Virginia - Local physician, Margaret Chambers, of Huntington, West Virginia, Dr. Ray Hagley, of Huntington, West Virginia - Local physician, Shirley Ann Hagley, of Huntington, West Virginia, Arthur L. Harris, of Passaic, New Jersey - Father of player Art Harris, E.O. Before the noon ET game, a crowd will gather at Spring Hill Cemetery once again to observe the past but also celebrate what they and the university have become. During the 1970 college football season, Marshall suffered a devastating loss to East Carolina in week 9 to drop the Thundering Herd to 3-6 on the year. So I think this is another step along in that healing process., FILE - A memorial plaque is displayed at the site of a 1970 plane crash that killed 75 people, including 36 Marshall football players, on Oct. 24, 2020, near Huntington, W.Va. A bill has won final legislative approval Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, in West Virginia, that would establish an annual day of recognition for the worst sports disaster in U.S. history. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. All were on the travel squad list before the plane crash. [8], The board made three recommendations as a result of this accident, including recommendations for heads-up displays, ground proximity warning devices, and surveillance and inspection of flight operations. "He definitely had pro potential, no question," formerPassaiccoach John Federici, told The Record in 2001. | The solemn ceremony was held around a fountain dedicated to the crash victims on Marshall's Huntington campus. The movie details the tragic deaths of nearly the entire football program in 1970 and the rebuilding of a school and town all at once. Harris Jr. was named to The Bergen Records All-Century team for Passaic County. [4] By the time the plane came to a stop, it was 4,219ft (1,286m) short of the runway and 275ft (84m) south of the middle marker. At the time, freshmen couldnt play varsity sports in college. Huntington, West Virginia: The four remaining starters from the 1970 first string team of Marshall University take time out to pause at flower arrangement placed at Marshall Field following the devastating plane crash that killed all 75 aboard. You see, out of the tragedy has come not a celebration but an annual realization that some good has been made out of the worst thing imaginable. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. It was a rainy night. Harris' father, Art Sr., was one of the fans on the plane. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; "All these guys, about 50 of them, came out for football. HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) Marshall University commemorated the 50th anniversary of one of the worst sports disasters in U.S. history Saturday, a plane crash that killed most of the football team. 1. Authorities continually brought "old charred things" to her hoping to gain the identity of victims. . This goes deep, Plymale said. Dawson was retained by Tolley. The crash took the lives of everyone on board -- the pilot, the first officer, two flight attendants, the charter coordinator, 24 Marshall University football fans, nine coaches and 37 players. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) A bill has won final legislative approval in West Virginia that would establish an annual day of recognition for the worst sports disaster in U.S. history, a plane crash that killed most of Marshall University's football team. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Art was All-State, he was sought out by every major college on the East Coast, Slezak remembered. Her flight made it safely back to that same Tri-State Airport the Marshall plane never reached. There's no evidence any of those left behind were ever formally diagnosed with survivor's guilt, but you can hear it directly or indirectly when the incident is spoken about. Four of the crash victims were students in her class, and Marshall faculty were sent to attend the funerals. Tolley's grave was moved up there a few years ago. Kenova native and Grammy-award winner Michael W. Smith opened the ceremony by singing Amazing Grace. He told the audience that he was 13 when the plane crashed eight minutes from his house. On November 14, 1970 a DC-9 airliner carrying the Marshall University football team, coaches, and supporters crashed on final approach to Tri-State Airport n. "It was not a premonition. 16 and undefeated at 6-0. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. The team and residents of the town still gather together every year in memorial of the fallen fellows. That begins to describe some of that enduring guilt. He was 37. The plane descended below the Minimum Descent Altitude, striking trees on a hillside about one mile from the runway. His body could not be identified, and with five other players, they were all buried. We Are Marshall starred Matthew McConaughey as Jack Lengyel, the head coach who took over the program in 1971. Most of his teammates were gone, forever. Marshall fans and residents of Huntington, W.V. The following offseason, Dawson went to a national coaching convention. Caption on back reads: "Saturday Nov. 14, 1970. 1970 aviation accident in West Virginia, United States, A Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 similar to the aircraft involved in the accident, Pinkston, Antwon. "The reason it's survivor's guilt is because so many people changed their mind at the last minute," Call said. The NCAA repealed that prohibition at its annual convention in January 1972. These are some of their stories, 50 years later. It was impossible for the remaining Marshall players to forget about their fallen teammates, but they had to when the 1971 season approached. At 7:36 p.m. Nov. 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed into a hill just short of the Tri-State Airport, killing all 75 people on board. I couldn't go to all of them. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Nobody went anywhere.". At 7:36pm on November 14, 1970, the aircraft crashed into a hill just short of the Tri-State Airport, killing all 75 people on board in what has been recognized as "the worst sports-related air tragedy in U.S. A week later, he died at age 66 as a result of the injury. Art Harris, #22, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. Dawson and Parker were buying boiled peanuts at a country store in rural Virginia when they heard the news over the radio. He said, No, you keep your commitment, that is what you do, there will be other games, Slezak said. Marshall Thundering Herd cheerleaders react as a video saluting the 1970 team that was killed in a plane crash is shown on the scoreboard prior to. Page of 4. The return became the subject of the film, "We Are Marshall". Or would he have gotten on the plane himself? It was real big-time negligence. Joe Hood, Larry Sanders, Robert Van Horn and Freddy Wilson had come from Druid High School. Not surprisingly, Call will be the keynote speaker at Saturday's memorial. Smith became the football team's spokesperson at the annual ceremony, where he delivers an annual message to parents, siblings, friends and coworkers of the victims who are still heartbroken by the tragedy that takes them back in time. Unprepared, Dawson was named acting coach. Dawson was not on the plane when it crashed. Shannon died in the plane crash. He wanted them to learn about the Frank Loria he admired so much. Defensive back. At age 69, the former Marshall defender calls himself a "traveling preacher." Thats what we are doing today.. They met once a year, Red Dawson and the sycamore tree he picked out that was large enough to hide behind. It all began with a three-year long losing streak from season 1966-69. [5] The accident is the deadliest tragedy to have affected any sports team in U.S. Roy Slezak refuses to call it an anniversary. I dont know what to call it.. Carelli was killed in the Mu plane crash. I just hung up the phone. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Huntington, West Virginia: The four remaining starters from the 1970 first string team of Marshall University take time out to pause at flower arrangement placed at Marshall Field following the devastating plane crash that killed all 75 aboard. "This was the first time dad was so proud that we were going [to fly] first class," Call said. Former Marshall cheerleader Lucianne Kautz Call lost her father, Charlie E. Kautz, who was the universitys athletic director. But as a freshman in 1970, Oliver didn't travel. Accessibility Statement, Privacy It was the second college football team plane crash in a little over a month, after the October 2 crash that killed 31 (head coach, 14 Wichita State players, and 16 others). No one will ever know exactly how Harris Sr. ended up on the plane. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. "We stayed friends forever," Dawson said proudly. A memorial fountain will be turned off the same time it is every year only to be turned back on in the spring. Body unidentified and buried with five other unidentified players in Spring Hill Cemetery. The 6500 lb, 13 ft-high (2900 kg, 4 m-high) sculpture was completed within a year and a half. Harris died in the 1970 plane crash. [23] The tribute was repeated for the rest of the season, including when Marshall met Rice in the 2013 Conference USA Football Championship game. A fireman on Nov. 15, 1970, looks over the wreckage of a DC-9 jet that crashed the day before on approach near a mountaintop airport a few miles from Huntington, W.Va. Bobby East, driver of the #21 Ford during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, died Wednesday, July 13, 2022, after being fatally stabbed at a gas station in Westminster, Calif. [2][7] The plane burst into flames and created a swath of charred ground 95ft (29m) wide and 279ft (85m) long. [20], On December 11, 2006, a memorial plaque was dedicated at the plane crash site. Because it was the Herd's only charter flight of the season, boosters and prominent citizens were on the plane, including a city councilman, a state legislator, and four physicians. Marshall coach Doc Holliday invited him to speak to the team. For Slezak, a retired banker/computer engineer, Saturday's 50th anniversary of the crash is an emotional occasion. We didn't have children, so she was like a child. One John Marshall Drive, Mary Jane Tolley didn't go because the local veterinarian recommended she stay because the couple's dog was sick. "At 21, you haven't been familiar with death. "'The phrase is about respect, and it makes you realize you can't take anything for granted. On Nov. 14, 1970, the chartered jet crashed in fog and rain into a hillside upon approach to an airport near Huntington as the team was returning from a game at East Carolina, killing all 75 on board. Libraries "Anniversaries are supposed to be happy," Slezak said . Sort By. Then success occurred in streaks. Hill died in the 1970 plane crash. The Tolleys were ingrained in the community. His body was not identified and he is buried with five other unidentified players in the Springhill Cemetery. There was room for only a few of them on the plane to Kinston, North Carolina. Never forget. Two years ago, Oliver, the personable quarterback, leaned back in a chair. "All of them were fighting and arguing over each other about whose fault it was. That was the era before the color barrier had been broken in the SEC. Marshall University. Bear Bryant called Dawson, recommending them. Photos: 48th Annual Memorial Fountain Service 2018. "I can remember the hurt in my stomach like it was yesterday," Beamer said. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing. Varsity Aces Live: Marshall Football Plane Crash 50th Anniversary. [18], Each year on the anniversary of the crash, those who died are mourned in a ceremony on the Marshall University campus in Huntington, West Virginia. "My wonder was, 'Why? "It was just a little school in the hills," Mary Jane said. The opponent was scheduled to be East Carolinathe same team that defeated Marshall before the disaster took place. All Rights Reserved. On Saturday, 75 candles surrounded the fountain. 77 memorials. Largemouth bass were Tolley's favorite. Charlie Kautz was Marshall's athletic director in 1970. If you play football at Marshall University, you have a role to make sure that's never forgotten.". My Account It still stands as the most fatal sports-related accident in history. An unfathomable 37 families were forced to mourn the death of their sons that fateful day. Hamrick's future wife, Soletta, was in Mary Jane's sixth-grade home room back then. [21] The ceremony featured guest speakers Dawson and Hardin. longitude." The Marshall football team tragedy remains one of the saddest sports stories of all time. The report additionally notes, "Most of the fuselage was melted or reduced to a powder-like substance; however, several large pieces were scattered throughout the burned area. Slezak went to visit Marshall in 2011, saying it was on his bucket list. Tri-State airport installed a glide slope using federal funds in 1972. They became friends and fished together. briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. On November 12, 1972, the Memorial Fountain was dedicated at the entrance of the Memorial Student Center. history.[6]. Artwork by Eugene Payne, Staff Artist, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, N.C.". There were 64 children who became orphans after losing one or both parents on the flight. There was no playbook, and nobody had been in that position before.". So why would anyone living with all that baggage intentionally go up in the air? I never wanted to miss a chance to see Art play.. "He said: 'Your husband is in the plane, too.' "I got a call from our operations guy. Marshall decided to continue the football program. It's categorized as a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Carter will be thinking about "thanking the Lord for his grace and mercy, watching over me and sparing my life." Home Rick Tolley had helped him with the plane ticket to get back home. In the days before instant news, the fog of tragedy took time to lift. "I always loved to fly," she said. She has all of them, including an image of offensive guard John "Jimo" Adams, whose daughter Patricia was born the day her father was buried. After the crash, Carter took a bus back to West Virginia. The flight shouldve been nothing more than a formality, but the team would never reach their destination back in Huntington. briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. Does FSU or any ACC power actually have options? We each lost one or more family members, said Call, the ceremonys keynote speaker. As a 21-year-old newlywed senior cheerleader at Marshall, she read the news of the crash on the crawl at the bottom of a television screen. Carter maintains he was spared because of God's providence. 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