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75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. [4][9], The effects of the crash on Huntington went far beyond the Marshall campus. The airport was not properly equipped. On Nov. 14, 1970, the chartered jet crashed in fog and . 1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football team, 1970 NCAA University Division independents football records, 1970 NCAA University Division football season, "Memories of Marshall; ex-player says shock of crash never ends", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1970_Marshall_Thundering_Herd_football_team&oldid=1109112752, 1970 NCAA University Division independents football season, Marshall Thundering Herd football seasons, Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using CFB schedule with named parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 8 September 2022, at 01:19. On Saturday, it will be Middle Tennessee State. 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. Bobby Joe Hill, #41,1970 MU Football team, b&w. No one could have imagined how deep a downward spiral Marshall University's football program would face in the late 1960's. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. After suffering the loss to East Carolina on Nov. 14, 1970, a majority of the Marshall team boarded Southern Airlines Flight 932. "I didn't want anybody to see me crying. [1] The team played its home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. "Shoulda, coulda, woulda.". Shannon died in the plane crash. One day, the wife of the head coach was in class. Its still considered the worst air disaster in American sports history. 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. That day nine years ago, "Frank Beamer became a very special person in my mind," Hamrick said. 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. Wichita Falls is 1,100 miles from Huntington. The rebuilding was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starring Matthew McConaughey as Lengyel. "She was wonderful," Mary Jane Tolley said of Sturmisch. "Just a very smart guy. The bronze 1723 ft (57 m) statue was created by artist Burl Jones of Sissonville, West Virginia, and cost $150,000. He has traveled internationally and led huge congregations. There is already a plot there for one more. 50 years, McConaughey said Saturday on Twitter. 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. New Bern National Cemetery. 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. At the time of the crash, Harris Jr. led Marshall in rushing and kick returns. "The reason it's survivor's guilt is because so many people changed their mind at the last minute," Call said. Then success occurred in streaks. The crew established radio contact with air traffic controllers at 7:23 pm with instructions to descend to 5,000ft (1,500m). To be honest, when she told me, I didn't believe her because we had never had a plane trip.". Marshall decided to continue the football program. 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. "All these guys, about 50 of them, came out for football. [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). MU plane crash historical marker, Wayne County, W.Va. Southern Airways DC-9, similiar to plane that crashed with MU football team, Dedication of Memorial Fountain to MU plane crash victims, Nov. 12, 1972, William Alfred "Red" Dawson, Asst. [16], Every year, on the anniversary of the crash, the fountain is shut off during a commemorative ceremony and not activated again until the following spring. The NCAA granted Marshall permission to use freshmen on the varsity squad, something which was not allowed at the time. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. His body was not identified and he is buried with five other unidentified players in the Springhill Cemetery. To this day, she isn't satisfied. While Wichita State ended its football program in 1986, Marshall carried on. He was the Athletic Director for MU. If her husband was too hard-nosed or too tough, those notions were dispelled in the days after her world was turned upside down. But when the town got together, they decided to continue the team's tradition in remembrance of the loved ones lost on that 1970 night. Marshall coach Rick Tolley demonstrating a move to team captain Dave Griffith, Mike Blake and Dave DeBord (left to right) in 1970. [3] The team was returning home after a 1714 loss to the East Carolina Pirates at Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina. David Debord, #76, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. Red Dawson was admittedly bitter. Plymale said his mother was a professor at Marshall. Inscription. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. I dont know what to call it.. Huntington, WV 25755. Tragedy struck Marshall University more than a half-century ago, when most of the school's football program was involved in a plane crash . All were on the travel squad list before the plane crash. [19], On November 11, 2000, the We Are Marshall Memorial Bronze was dedicated. Fifty-two years ago, Huntington, West Virginia, was home to what has been called the worst disaster in United States sports history. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. When it came time to return, Carter's mother Sarah urged him to stay at home. "We stayed friends forever," Dawson said proudly. Two weeks before the release of the movie, Call was diagnosed with colon cancer. Libraries [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 had a great future in front of him. All were qualified for the flight. The plane descended below the Minimum Descent Altitude, striking trees on a hillside about one mile from the runway. They arrived shortly before sunrise. It has taken her more than a year. . 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. "The Young Herd" that carried on in 1971 had a new coach, Jack Lengyel. Marshall Crash & History Photos | herald-dispatch.com I just hung up the phone. That was an overwhelming responsibility.". December 11, 2006, Huntington Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field, Marshall University Thundering Herd football team, 38 22' 27" N. latitude and 82 34' 42" W. longitude, 2013 Conference USA Football Championship game, 1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football team, List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft, Wichita State University football team plane crash, "Marshall crash still looms after 36 years", "Plane crash devastates Marshall University", "The story of the 1970 Marshall Plane Crash", "Tragedy litters the sports landscape: Marshall remains the worst sports-related air disaster", "Reporter recalls memories from worst sports- related air tragedy in US history", "NTSB Aircraft Accident Report Southern Airways Inc. DC-9, N97S, Tri-State Airport, Huntington, West Virginia, November 14, 1970", "People have not forgotten Marshall Crash 30 years ago", "Emotions of tragedy drew Lengyel to Marshall", "Marshall football, 50 years after plane crash, carries on, and remembers", "Akron Alum Jack Lengyel to Receive AFCA's McLaughry Award", "Memorial Fountain designed to represent 'upward growth, immortality, eternality', "Marshall Memorial Bronze unveiled to mix of emotions", "Marker placed at site of crash, Dec. 11, 2006", "43 years later, Marshall still honors memory of fallen players", "Marshall Football to Don '75' Helmets for Remainder of Season", "ECU, Marshall game postponed due to pandemic", Aviation history synopsis of Southern Airways Flight 932 (with photographs), List of victims of Southern Airways Flight 932, PlaneCrashInfo.Com Southern Airways Flight 932 entry, Marshall University Forensic Science Graduate Program, Marshall University South Charleston Campus, Arthur Weisberg Family Engineering Laboratories, Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center, Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17, 1990 Wayne County Airport runway collision, Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southern_Airways_Flight_932&oldid=1142434206, Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1970, Airliner accidents and incidents in West Virginia, Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain, Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-9, November 1970 events in the United States, Aviation accidents and incidents involving sports teams, Articles with dead external links from May 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 10:15. Marshall football plane crash was 50 years ago, but victim's friend can't forget that day. As a memorial to the 75 victims, the Marshall players wore the number 75 on their helmets. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images). He was the center. Slezak has realized how fickle life can be. His body could not be identified, and with five other players, they were all buried. 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. Marshall decided to continue the football program. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: collegefootball | pageType: stories | "I got a call from our operations guy. > 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Carter wants everyone to know God chose him to survive for that purpose. My Account Hill died in the 1970 plane crash. This college football 1970s season article is a stub. (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. It was an impression he put in her heart. "He said: 'Your husband is in the plane, too.' "The teammates liked the Tuscaloosa boys unbelievably," Dawson said, "especially when Reggie got there.". Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing. 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 weather conditions were poor, mist and light rain with broken clouds at 500 feet. He was well-liked by his teammates not a rah-rah kid, but one who led by example.". Her flight made it safely back to that same Tri-State Airport the Marshall plane never reached. The Druid Four did and were all killed in the crash. 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. Some who were left off the flight and did not make the trip or lost loved ones spent the next five decades with crippling questions that had no answers. [12] Lengyel led the Thundering Herd to a 933 record during his tenure, which ended after the 1974 season. Slezak went to visit Marshall in 2011, saying it was on his bucket list. Dedication of Memorial Fountain to MU plane crash victims, Nov. 12, 1972. 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. })(); (aka "The Marshall University Football Team Crash"). Im glad that were going to honor them for each year in this way from here on out.. "Anniversaries are supposed to be happy," Slezak said . All six players would later be put to rest underground at the Spring Hill Cemetery just near Marshall University. It's more than that, of course. 10:00 am ET. For Slezak, a retired banker/computer engineer, Saturday's 50th anniversary of the crash is an emotional occasion. 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. > 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. They became friends and fished together. "People still talk about that," Hamrick said. "That had taken a toll on my football coaching, a lot of bad things. It all began with a three-year long losing streak from season 1966-69. That's why, when a vet recommended Mary Jane stay home that weekend of Nov. 14 because a tumor had developed in Sturmisch's toe, there was no hesitation. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. "It was not a premonition. A week later, he died at age 66 as a result of the injury. "I asked her many, many times [why she urged him to stay] before she passed," Carter said. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. The dog's name was Sturmisch. DeBord died in the 1970 plane crash. 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 sign of renewed life. "Where nobody could see me," Dawson said of his hiding spot. Sometimes Gilbert -- Marshall's president -- comes over for a couple of beers. - The Yeti Airlines flight with 68. Rick played football at nearby Virginia Tech. Back then, Bowden was the wide receivers coach. [21], November 14, 2013, marked the first time that Marshall had played a road game on an anniversary of the disaster. Center Dennis Foley (#55) centers ball to Bob Harris (#12) in a scrimmage,1970 MU Football team, b&w. We Are Marshall was the rallying cry for the Thundering Herds football program in 1970. "I can remember the hurt in my stomach like it was yesterday," Beamer said. Sturmisch lived to be 13. "My mom got on the phone, and then she just passed out, said Carolyn Harris, the youngest daughter. The college town agreed with him. After an 0-9-1 season and investigation that ended with Marshall being kicked out of the MAC, Moss was gone. 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. The co-pilot, monitoring the altimeter, called out, "It's beginning to lighten up a little bit on the ground here at seven hundred feet We're two hundred above [the descent vector]," and the charter coordinator replied, "Bet it'll be a missed approach." The rebuilding of the football program was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starting Matthew McConaughey. The airliner's crew was Captain Frank Abbot (47), First Officer Jerry Smith (28), plus two flight attendants. In 2011, Frank Beamer directed the Virginia Tech team buses to detour on their way to Marshall's Joan C. Edwards Stadium. He recalled talking at length with some of his counterparts at Wichita State, and how they leaned on each other for support. Later in the season, Marshall also upset Bowling Green State, 12-10. In 2000, at age 50, Call became a flight attendant with USAir Express. [20], On December 11, 2006, a memorial plaque was dedicated at the plane crash site. "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. It was a rainy night. Or would he have gotten on the plane himself? Scott would call up and say, 'Any time you want to call, you call me night or day. Frank Hall Abbott Jr. 18 Mar 1923 - 14 Nov 1970. Aircraft and crew. I'll be right over.' There were injured players who stayed behind. ", "This was a city, the largest in the state, that literally went into a four-day state of shock," Brunner said. One John Marshall Drive, A memorial bell tower is being planned for a location on WV 75 near exit 1 along Interstate 64. "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. There was no playbook, and nobody had been in that position before.". White roses were laid by the fountain as each victims name was read at the ceremony. 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 the hillside nearby. 1. The 1970 Marshall University Football Team Plane Crash That bitterness lingered. The team finished the 1971 season with a 2-8 record, but just winning a single game was a miracle after what Marshall went through a season prior. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Shops and government offices closed; businesses on the town's main street draped their windows in black bunting," History.com reported. briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. (JACK BURNETT/AP) Roy Slezak refuses to call it an anniversary. "It wasn't losing faith," she said. [25], The events of the crash are documented in an episode of Aircrash Confidential titled "Disastrous Descents".[27]. Every one of the 75 people on board died in the crash. "He didn't tell anyone what he was going to do until the last minute," Hamrick said. 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. Digital Collections 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. A travesty.". 1970 aviation accident in West Virginia, United States, A Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 similar to the aircraft involved in the accident, Pinkston, Antwon. College Football Player, Plane Crash Victim. This event taught me how to celebrate someones life. "The town immediately went into mourning. "We'd always rode buses.". Holliday wants to make a date to come out and hunt turkeys on Dawson's 400 acres outside of town. Sort By. The victims included 36 Marshall University football players, 9 coaches and administrators, 25 fans and crew of 5. Beamer had brought a special Hokie Stone inscribed with Loria's name. The next day, Mary Jane was gone. "Al" Saylor, #88,1970 MU Football team, b&w. Southern Airways Flight 932 - Wikipedia 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. It was the worst single air tragedy in NCAA sports history. Special Collections Featured speakers were Chancellor Steve Ballard, Athletic Director Terry Holland, Pirates' broadcaster Jeff Charles, and Marshall president, Stephen Kopp. Dawson came out of the shadows long ago to embrace Nov. 14. It's called survivor's guilt, the feeling of unfairly surviving an incident when others did not. Six weeks before the Marshall tragedy, a plane carrying members of the Wichita State football team crashed in Colorado, killing 31 people. "It was something the Lord gave her to tell me," Carter said. Marshall Plane Crash Site Marker. Its an inspiring tribute to those fallen lives and the devoted men who led Marshall back to glory. "That's something I've never been able to get over because it was so wrong.". Classes at Marshall, along with numerous events and shows by the Marshall Artists Series (and the football team's game against the Ohio Bobcats), were cancelled and government offices were closed. The Flight Crew of Southern Airways Flight 932: Captain Frank H. Abbott, Jr. , aged 47, was employed by Southern Airways, Inc., on July 21, 1949. 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. The tragedy shocked the town of Huntington in the worst way imaginable. Gone were sons, fathers, mothers, classmates and fraternity brothers. Marshall coach Doc Holliday invited him to speak to the team. Members of the current team also visited a nearby cemetery, where six players from the 1970 team whose bodies were never identified were buried. One year later, the unthinkable happened. This is believed to be a duplicate of the plane that crashed Nov. 14, 1970 carrying MU football team. Charles A. Pure chance, some cases. Loria had been a two-time All-American at Virginia Tech. 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, People would come to the house and say this was meant to happen. [16] The sculpture's designer, Harry Bertoia, created the $25,000 memorial that incorporated bronze, copper tubing, and welding rods. I didn't know what to do. 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. He has accomplished that goal. FAQ The town died. [4] The following Saturday, another memorial service was held at the outdoor, 18,000-seat Fairfield Stadium. The two played in the same defensive backfield for Virginia Tech in the late 1960s. This site is a memorial to the lives that were lost on that evening; to honor those men and women who made a mark in the hearts of a school, a community and a nation. 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. "I took the phone, but Mrs. Shoebridge was crying hysterically. She spoke of her husband's early days as an assistant at Ferrum Junior College in Virginia. Bear Bryant called Dawson, recommending them. 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.