David Debord, #76, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. 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. After the crash, Carter took a bus back to West Virginia. I dont know what to call it.. "People still talk about that," Hamrick said. He hid behind that sycamore each Nov. 14 for 20 years or so afterward because it hid him from the speeches, the families, the orphans, maybe his own remorse. "I got a call from our operations guy. Defensive back. A bunch of her husband's former linemen were lining the walls of her living room. He was a defensive end for Marshall in 1970, and was on the chartered plane when it crashed at Tri-State Airport on November 14, 1970. The college town agreed with him. In fact, it was stronger than that. "I didn't want anybody to see me crying. The Druid Four did and were all killed in the crash. In its second season under head coach Rick Tolley, the team compiled a 36 record and was outscored by a total of 202 to 138. Marshall coach Doc Holliday invited him to speak to the team. . The late Jack Hardin, then a Huntington Herald-Dispatch reporter, once recalled stepping over a log on his way up the hill to cover the story. "We stayed friends forever," Dawson said proudly. There was room for only a few of them on the plane to Kinston, North Carolina. Marshall coach Rick Tolley demonstrating a move to team captain Dave Griffith, Mike Blake and Dave DeBord (left to right) in 1970. Carter maintains he was spared because of God's providence. The corresponding flight recorder shows that the craft descended another 220ft (67m) in elevation within these 12 seconds, and the co-pilot calls out "four hundred" and agrees with the pilot they are on the correct "approach." So why would anyone living with all that baggage intentionally go up in the air? Patricia Smith was adopted and eventually, after exhaustive research, tracked down the identity of her father at age 30. "Oh sure, you ask yourself, 'Why did I miss it and all my friends and coaches were killed?' That game did not occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He recalled talking at length with some of his counterparts at Wichita State, and how they leaned on each other for support. Officials at the site of the Nov. 14, 1970, Marshall University plane crash at Tri-State Airport in Kenova, W.Va., secure a charred engine for removal to an airport hangar. The rebuilding was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starring Matthew McConaughey as Lengyel. Eventually, Rick won over their hearts and minds. Art could have played professional baseball or professional football.. 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. That is certainly what was going to happen.". According to the official National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, the accident was "unsurvivable". On the flight, were 37 members of the football team, several coaches, fans and crew members totaling 75. Dawson and Parker were buying boiled peanuts at a country store in rural Virginia when they heard the news over the radio. "He didn't tell anyone what he was going to do until the last minute," Hamrick said. It was real big-time negligence. "I didn't do anything except for fishing, hunting and construction work," he said. All six players would later be put to rest underground at the Spring Hill Cemetery just near Marshall University. Things were going swimmingly two weeks before the East Carolina game. Mary Jane eventually moved to Richmond, Virginia. Art Harris, #22, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. The pair were listening to country music when the bulletin came across that a plane had crashed in Huntington. Harris Jr. was named to The Bergen Records All-Century team for Passaic County. An unfathomable 37 families were forced to mourn the death of their sons that fateful day. I didn't know what to do. [16] The sculpture's designer, Harry Bertoia, created the $25,000 memorial that incorporated bronze, copper tubing, and welding rods. His body could not be identified, and with five other players, they were all buried. 1970 Crash Victims. "He definitely had pro potential, no question," formerPassaiccoach John Federici, told The Record in 2001. Then success occurred in streaks. Vast amounts of funerals took place in the weeks and months following the tragedy, which had to be planned in accordance with each other so services wouldn't overlap. "Nobody did anything. "He was a tremendous athlete who could do it all. No one could have imagined how deep a downward spiral Marshall University's football program would face in the late 1960's. The two played in the same defensive backfield for Virginia Tech in the late 1960s. Sort By. It's called survivor's guilt, the feeling of unfairly surviving an incident when others did not. | Offering Aviation History & Adventure First-Hand! About As a memorial to the 75 victims, the Marshall players wore the number 75 on their helmets. history". Art Shannon, #34, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. Inscription. Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. [11] Dawson was a coach from the previous staff who had driven back from the East Carolina game along with Gail Parker, a freshman coach. All 75 people on board died. history.[6]. Mom and her intuition won. But for the university and the entire community, it left a huge void. Reggie Oliver was an outgoing quarterback who eventually made his way into the Marshall hall of fame. [21] The ceremony featured guest speakers Dawson and Hardin. The dog's name was Sturmisch. Copyright. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. The plane descended below the Minimum Descent Altitude, striking trees on a hillside about one mile from the runway. Call is giddy talking about Marshall president Jerome Gilbert's initiative to award all 36 players their diplomas at a Friday afternoon ceremony. Thats what we are doing today.. Yolanda Shoebridge, the mother ofTed Shoebridge, called the Harris home on Linden Street. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. He returned to find a city, a university and a program in despair. "All these guys, about 50 of them, came out for football. Sturmisch lived to be 13. College Football Player, Plane Crash Victim. Back in 1970, he had already attended a pair of Marshall games with Harris Sr. (Huntington, W.Va. is about a nine-hour drive from Passaic) and was approached to go down to see the Thundering Herd play East Carolina. "They were just so wonderful. February 15, 2023, 10:43 AM. That was an overwhelming responsibility.". Officials at the site of the Nov. 14, 1970, Marshall University plane crash at Tri-State Airport in Kenova, W.Va., secure a charred engine for removal to an airport hangar. After an uneventful flight, the crew contacted Huntington Airport tower at 7:23 p.m. and were cleared for a localizer approach on runway 11. Slezak, who lived in Passaic, New Jersey,at the time,could have been on the plane that, on Nov. 14, 1970, crashed and took the lives of 75 passengers including 44 Marshall University football players and coaches, 26 fans and a crew of five. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); - The Yeti Airlines flight with 68. There were 64 children who became orphans after losing one or both parents on the flight. [16] The committee decided upon one major memorial within the campus, a plaque and memorial garden at Fairfield Stadium, and a granite cenotaph at the Spring Hill Cemetery; the Memorial Student Center was designated a memorial as well.[17]. Skeens was killed in the plane crash. [22], On Nov. 14, 1970, 75 people died in the worst sports-related air tragedy in U.S. history, when a Southern Airways DC-9 crashed into a hillside nearby.The victims included 36 Marshall University football players, 9 coaches and administrators, 25 fans and air crew of 5.No one survived this horrific disaster.[1]. It's more than that, of course. [2][7] The plane burst into flames and created a swath of charred ground 95ft (29m) wide and 279ft (85m) long. Southern Airways Flight 932. The solemn ceremony was held around a fountain dedicated to the crash victims on Marshalls Huntington campus. To this day, she isn't satisfied. [12] Lengyel led the Thundering Herd to a 933 record during his tenure, which ended after the 1974 season. He said, No, you keep your commitment, that is what you do, there will be other games, Slezak said. They turned around, headed back home and immediately got lost. Bear Bryant called Dawson, recommending them. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; He was like a sounding board.". On Nov. 14, 1970, the chartered jet crashed in fog and . "I was wondering when somebody is going to come up and say, 'You can't do that,' " Dawson said. "You have to realize he had to tell several, several players' families, all the ones that he recruited. Memorial newspaper page from The Herald-Advertiser. That day nine years ago, "Frank Beamer became a very special person in my mind," Hamrick said. Harris' father, Art Sr., was one of the fans on the plane. Marshall football plane crash was 50 years ago, but victim's friend can't forget that day. Normally in that situation, the cheerleaders would draw straws to see who went. The victims included 36 football players and 39 school administrators, coaches, fans, spouses and flight crew. Once again, on Saturday, Dawson will speak at the fountain ceremony. Mary Jane was the perfect coach's wife. "It wasn't losing faith," she said. "It was just a little school in the hills," Mary Jane said. 00:00 / 00:00. He wanted them to learn about the Frank Loria he admired so much. Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 domestic United States commercial jet flight from Stallings Field (ISO) in Kinston, North Carolina, to Huntington Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field (HTS) near Kenova and Ceredo, West Virginia. Woelfel, who had a speaking part in the movie, said it brought a lot of people back together to deal with the loss and they did it collectively. Her flight made it safely back to that same Tri-State Airport the Marshall plane never reached. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. "As I listened to the scriptures," Carter said, "the Lord has purpose for each one of our lives.". After the game, 37 members of the Marshall football team, its coaching staff, team doctors, University Athletic Director Charles E. Kautz, and some 25 team fans and boosters boarded Southern Airway Flight 932 and departed from Kinston, North Carolina at 6:38 p.m. en route to the Tri-State Airport outside Kenova, West Virginia. 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. 2023 Marshall University. The five Southern Airlines employees also died in the crash. It forever changed my life, Smith said. He met with former Marshall coach Red Dawson, who gave away his seat on the plane that night. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Digital Collections "It was something the Lord gave her to tell me," Carter said. [23] The tribute was repeated for the rest of the season, including when Marshall met Rice in the 2013 Conference USA Football Championship game. Memorial at Spring Hill Cemetery in Huntington, West Virginia to the victims of the 1970 plane crash. After an 0-9-1 season and investigation that ended with Marshall being kicked out of the MAC, Moss was gone. "That was the biggest farce you've ever seen," she said. Unprepared, Dawson was named acting coach. [4] The controllers advised the crew that "rain, fog, smoke and a ragged ceiling" were at the airport, making landing more difficult, but possible. Among them were Dr. Ray Hagley, who was a Marshall team physician, and his wife. Plymale said his mother was a professor at Marshall. I had 75 angels there.". Jack Lengyel was hired as the new coach in 1971. The Lord watched over me so that he could save me and put me in the ministry to serve him.". The team originally planned to cancel the flight, but changed plans and chartered the Southern Airways DC-9. Tolley gladly gave Carter time off -- even bought him the plane ticket -- to travel back to bury his father. I couldn't go to all of them. "At 1 o'clock in the morning, a detective came to the door. That's the unseen damage left a half century later after a Southern Airways DC- 9 carrying the Thundering Herd back from a game at East Carolina crashed into a hill a mile short of the Tri-State Airport in Huntington, West Virginia. That was the era before the color barrier had been broken in the SEC. The crash was the worst in American sports history. 16 and undefeated at 6-0. His life was spared that night a half century ago. "I took the phone, but Mrs. Shoebridge was crying hysterically. To make matters worse, Marshall was placed on probation by the NCAA because of recruiting violations and alleged payments to its players, the Daily News reported at the time. While Wichita State ended its football program in 1986, Marshall carried on. "You couldn't count on it," Dawson said. Dennis Foley was not on the plane, Bob Harris was killed in the plane crash. "Straightforward, old time" is how Dawson described him. Wayne County Democratic Sen. Robert Plymale was 15 at the time and was with friends in Kenova, near the airport. And then, after the game, if Slezak had been there, would that have deterred Art Sr. from getting on the plane? " Carter said. Private. (East Carolina is located nearby in Greenville.) (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images). var _gaq = _gaq || []; "She was wonderful," Mary Jane Tolley said of Sturmisch. There are gravesites at Spring Hill Cemetery bearing the remains of six Marshall players from the crash who could never be identified. After the crash, Red Dawson helped bring together a group of players who were on the junior varsity football team during the 1970 season, as well as students and athletes from other sports, to form a 1971 football team.[12]. Middle guard Ed Carter was back in Wichita Falls, Texas, that terrible day to bury his father. [4], At the time, Marshall's athletic teams rarely traveled by plane, since most away games were within easy driving distance of the campus. _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-16729709-1']); Bobby Joe Hill, #41,1970 MU Football team, b&w. Marshall University honors the 75 lives lost in the 1970 plane crash tragedy during the 48th Annual Memorial Service on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018 . A sign of renewed life. In 2006, Hollywood turned that inspiring slogan into one of the greatest sports movies ever made. The actual damage was incalculable. When police needed a list of those on the plane, they came to the Kautzes' home. "He had a great future in front of him. Those were diplomas they never had a chance to receive. Roy Slezak refuses to call it an anniversary. Harris died in the 1970 plane crash. "There are a ton of people out there still hurting and still in pain and still every day of their lives, as soon as their eyes open in the morning, that's the first thing they think about because their 18 year-old son was killed," Smith said. The aircraft began its normal descent after passing the outer marker, but did not arrest its descent and hold altitude at 1,240ft (380m), as required by the assigned instrument approach procedure. God's providence? Among those who were not on the Marshall plane were Red Dawson, an assistant coach who was driving on a recruiting trip and was heading home when he learned about the crash. I realized I had been wrong about that.". The subsequent negotiations resulted in a reduction of the weight of passengers and baggage and the charter flight was scheduled. [2], The original proposal to charter the flight was refused because it would exceed "the takeoff limitations of their aircraft". 50 years, McConaughey said Saturday on Twitter. Members of the current team also visited a nearby cemetery, where six players from the 1970 team whose bodies were never identified were buried. Varsity Aces Live: Marshall Football Plane Crash 50th Anniversary. > DeBord died in the 1970 plane crash. He has traveled internationally and led huge congregations. In its second season under head coach Rick Tolley . It was the worst single air tragedy in NCAA sports history. An Equal Opportunity University. The trip took 20 hours. That included 37 Marshall football players, 25 team boosters, multiple coaches and team doctors, and Marshalls athletic director. Ferrum won the national junior college championship his first year there in 1965. Carter will be thinking about "thanking the Lord for his grace and mercy, watching over me and sparing my life." New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, USA . Artwork by Eugene Payne, Staff Artist, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, N.C. NFL player and Marshall alum Joseph "Lee" Smith, told buffalobills.com that at one point, there would "never be another football team" at Marshall following the devastation the town faced. Marshall University. Two weeks before the release of the movie, Call was diagnosed with colon cancer. 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). Marshall University, Dawson's brother had been recruited by Bryant, so there was a relationship. A memorial fountain will be turned off the same time it is every year only to be turned back on in the spring. People would come to the house and say this was meant to happen. Dawson came out of the shadows long ago to embrace Nov. 14. > By JOHN RABY February 15, 2023. So were the religious types who were too numerous for their messages to get through. [13][14], The Marshall University football team only won two games during the 1971 season, against Xavier and Bowling Green. But I already knew. She has made it her responsibility to track down pictures of all 75 victims for Saturday's memorial. Marshall decided to continue the football program. "In my case, it became clear four years later. They became friends and fished together. The opponent was scheduled to be East Carolinathe same team that defeated Marshall before the disaster took place. All 75 passengers on the team plane were killed in the crash, including 37 members of the Marshall University football team, eight football coaches, including head coach Rick Tolley, athletic director Charlie Kautz, 25 boosters and five flight crew members. 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. On a rainy hill side in Wayne County, West Virginia, the lives of 75 people were lost in the worst single air tragedy in NCAA sports history. I never wanted to miss a chance to see Art play.. All were on the travel squad list before the plane crash. DAntoni is now Marshalls basketball coach. Hokie Stone is the native Virginia limestone that makes up many of the buildings on the Virginia Tech campus. [7], The airliner continued on final approach to Tri-State Airport when it collided with the tops of trees on a hillside 5,543ft (1,690m) west of runway 11 (now runway 12). The event marked a boundary by which an entire community would forever measure time before or after The Crash. "Happy" Heath, of Huntington, West Virginia, Elaine Lois Heath, of Huntington, West Virginia, James Jarrell, of Huntington, West Virginia, Cynthia Scott Leslie Jarrell, of Huntington, West Virginia, Kenneth Jones, of Huntington, West Virginia - WHTN-TV sports director, Charles E. Kautz - Athletic director of Marshall University, Eugene J. Morehouse - sports information director, Jeffrey P. Nathan, of Parksburg, West Virginia - sports editor of MU's student newspaper, Dr. Brian R. O'Connor, of Huntington, West Virginia - admissions director of Marshall University, Michael R. Prestera, delegate-elect to the West Virginia Legislature, Dr. Glenn Preston, of Huntington, West Virginia - Local dentist, Phyllis Jean Charles Preston, of Huntington, West Virginia, Dr. Herbert D. Proctor, of Huntington, West Virginia, Courtney Phillips Proctor, of Huntington, West Virginia, Murrill Ralsten, of Huntington, West Virginia - City councilman, Helen Ralsten, of Huntington, West Virginia, Parker Ward, of Huntington, West Virginia, Danny Deese, of Atlanta, Georgia - Charter coordinator, Copyright 2002 Check SixThis page last updated Saturday, August 25, 2018. with questions or comments about this web site. As part of an annual rite, the fountain was turned off at the end of the service and will be turned back on in the spring. In the next second, though, the co-pilot quickly calls out new readings, "hundred and twenty-six hundred", and the sounds of impact immediately follow. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. A memorial bell tower is being planned for a location on WV 75 near exit 1 along Interstate 64. Her life had become unhinged. Parker flew to the game, but did not fly back, having switched places with Deke Brackett, another coach. It's categorized as a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Rosanna Blake Library of Confederate History, Jim "Shorty" Moss (Offensive Coordinator), Ed Starling (Assistant Director of Athletics), Mark J. Smaha (Assistant Athletic Trainer), Louis A. Peake (Assistant Athletic Trainer), James H. Wilson (Assistant Athletic Trainer), Mervin G. Black (Assistant Equipment Manager), Eugene Jones (Assistant Football Manager), Gerald Sieber (Assistant Football Manager), David W. Byrd (Student Equipment Manager), Special Collections, Morrow Library, It was impossible for the remaining Marshall players to forget about their fallen teammates, but they had to when the 1971 season approached. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Among the losses were nearly the entire Marshall University football team, coaches, flight crew, numerous fans, and supporters. > The Tolleys loved their German Shepherd. Holliday wants to make a date to come out and hunt turkeys on Dawson's 400 acres outside of town. 77 memorials. I don't think I believed it.. The tragedy shocked the town of Huntington in the worst way imaginable. He was the Athletic Director for MU. Virginia Tech's coach had a plan for the pregame. [1] The team played its home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. But the town came back.. Memorial Fountain on the Marshall University campus, dedicated in 1972. They arrived shortly before sunrise. It was raining hard, and he remembered seeing ambulances speeding past the group. He will speak at the annual memorial on Saturday like he has now for years. Later in the season, Marshall also upset Bowling Green State, 12-10. "They were all crying, all these huge linemen," Mary Jane said. A plaque was placed on the base on August 10, 1973, reading: They shall live on in the hearts of their families and friends forever and this memorial records their loss to the university and the community. It was an impression he put in her heart. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. She traveled to Washington, D.C. for the hearings that were supposed to explain the crash. There is already a plot there for one more. Im glad that were going to honor them for each year in this way from here on out.. Without an official designation, she has become the best historian of the events of 50 years ago. Aircraft and crew. briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. Charlie had given his wife a manifest before he left. It signified the teams unity as not just a football team, but one family. We each lost one or more family members, said Call, the ceremonys keynote speaker. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. 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. "I always loved to fly," she said. section: | slug: they-are-marshall-50-years-after-the-plane-crash-those-closest-to-the-tragedy-are-still-healing | sport: collegefootball | route: article_single.us | (function() { Following its plane crash, Wichita State was granted similar permission to use freshmen on the varsity to resume its 1970 season. The Unexpected Death of University of Connecticut Football Player Jasper Howard. "You sissy," Dawson said. There are so many stories of folks who either got a spot on the plane at the last minute or were bumped off. Patient as an elementary school teacher but also unrelenting. December 10, 2006 Herald-Dispatch [Huntington]. His body was not identified and he is buried with five other unidentified players in the Springhill Cemetery. longitude." It was a rainy night. "He said: 'Your husband is in the plane, too.' (AP Photo/John Raby, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news, left behind six children who were being babysat. "God is your pilot. Marshall won just two games, and the first winning season didnt come for another 13 years. The town died. He has followed Marshall football all his lifeand makes a video tribute for his friend every year. He said,'Mrs. To be honest, when she told me, I didn't believe her because we had never had a plane trip.". "That's something I've never been able to get over because it was so wrong.". Nobody went anywhere.". She would just listen to the game on the radio. 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. Dawson noticed him wiping his eyes. 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. [4] The following Saturday, another memorial service was held at the outdoor, 18,000-seat Fairfield Stadium. He went to work one day and didn't come home.". White roses are placed along the edge of the Memorial Fountain to honor the 75 lives lost in the 1970 plane crash during the 50th Annual Memorial Fountain Service Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, at the Memorial Student Center in Huntington, W.Va. Marshall commemorated the 50th anniversary of the worst disaster in U.S. sports history, when 75 people, including most of the football team, were killed in a Nov. 14, 1970, plane crash. | They told the police they want to go to Spring Hill Cemetery. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Beamer had brought a special Hokie Stone inscribed with Loria's name. Two-and-a-half months ago, Dawson remarried. He was well-liked by his teammates not a rah-rah kid, but one who led by example.". "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. The NCAA made an exception for the Thundering Herd. The House of Delegates passed the bill last month. Roy Slezak refuses to call it an anniversary. The return became the subject of the film, "We Are Marshall". "Anniversaries are supposed to be happy," Slezak said . Slezak bought a wreath and some rose petals for the crash site and remembers how the store didnt want to let him pay for the items when he said what they were for. The two had breakfast together and talked for hours. Football made sense to him.". [10], The crash of Flight 932 so devastated the local community that it almost led to the discontinuation of Marshall's football program. ", "I just generally felt we lost a great Hokie that day," Beamer said. "It was losing faith in these ministers. Tri-State airport installed a glide slope using federal funds in 1972. Football seeped out of his life. On Saturday, 75 candles surrounded the fountain. | She spoke of her husband's early days as an assistant at Ferrum Junior College in Virginia. It has been so long that the tragedy has been memorialized that Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick has calculated that the date falls on a Saturday every seven years.
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