Another plaque memorializing the 1970 Marshall football team was unveiled at East Carolina University on the same day and can be seen at the guest team entrance of DowdyFicklen Stadium. The event marked a boundary by which an entire community would forever . "He said: 'Your husband is in the plane, too.' (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive), "'We Are Marshall' just stuck," Smith said. Because of the intensity of the crash, officials were unable to identify six of the players remains. Roy Slezak refuses to call it an anniversary. Dawson eventually became a successful construction company owner. A memorial bell tower is being planned for a location on WV 75 near exit 1 along Interstate 64. 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. (Associated Press). Hewlett gave Carter a pamphlet titled, "Steps To Peace With God." One year later, the unthinkable happened. 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. The pair were listening to country music when the bulletin came across that a plane had crashed in Huntington. [4][9], The effects of the crash on Huntington went far beyond the Marshall campus. While Wichita State ended its football program in 1986, Marshall carried on. It really sort of shapes the fiber in you, of what you are.. Head coach Rick Tolley was among the crash victims. It was a rainy night. It was impossible for the remaining Marshall players to forget about their fallen teammates, but they had to when the 1971 season approached. They did care a lot about him. 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. "I got a call from our operations guy. Special Collections Near Huntington, West Virginia. That bitterness lingered. He was well-liked by his teammates not a rah-rah kid, but one who led by example.". 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." Not only that, she happened to be on a flight during 9/11. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. In the following weeks, Lengyel was aided in his attempts by receivers' coach Red Dawson. MU plane crash historical marker, Wayne County, W.Va., col. (low-res digital image only). Football made sense to him.". Charlie Kautz was Marshall's athletic director in 1970. It is the center of activity of the campus. Beamer was at his wife-to-be's home that November night. This is not what you wanted to hear. After the plane crash, she became the only thing that I had.". When he passed, Loria's wife was pregnant with Frank Loria Jr. Beamer guided the buses to the memorial. Marshall University honors the 75 lives lost in the 1970 plane crash tragedy during the 48th Annual Memorial Service on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018 . [5] The accident is the deadliest tragedy to have affected any sports team in U.S. Im glad that were going to honor them for each year in this way from here on out.. It's called survivor's guilt, the feeling of unfairly surviving an incident when others did not. (JACK BURNETT/AP) 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. The dog's name was Sturmisch. There are so many stories of folks who either got a spot on the plane at the last minute or were bumped off. "The town immediately went into mourning. The actual damage was incalculable. The tragedy was depicted in the movie We Are Marshall (2006) and the documentary film Marshall University: Ashes to Glory (2000). One day, the wife of the head coach was in class. Frank got the whole team out and they went up and placed that Hokie Stone on the memorial. Former WSAZ-TV reporter Bob Brunner shared with CBS Sports, in disturbing detail, the sights and smells he experienced that night trudging up the hill and witnessing the wreckage. Marshall Plane Crash: Remembering the Tragedy 52 Years Ago - FanBuzz The weather conditions were poor, mist and light rain with broken clouds at 500 feet. Artwork by Eugene Payne, Staff Artist, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, N.C. 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. All were on the travel squad list before the plane crash. [21] The ceremony featured guest speakers Dawson and Hardin. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. 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. So were the religious types who were too numerous for their messages to get through. Marshall Plane Crash Site Marker. "It was something the Lord gave her to tell me," Carter said. William Alfred "Red" Dawson, Acting Head Coach, 1971 Young Thundering Herd MU Football team, 1st spring practice, April 1971, b&w. He became acting head coach in 1971, and formed the "Young Thundering Herd". "Oh sure, you ask yourself, 'Why did I miss it and all my friends and coaches were killed?' The return became the subject of the film, "We Are Marshall". The Real Story Behind We Are Marshall - HowStuffWorks "In my case, it became clear four years later. Charles Kautz, MU A/D and coaches, 1970 MU football team, b&w. The rebuilding was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starring Matthew McConaughey as Lengyel. The Harris family detailed thatevening in a 1995 article in The Record. Every one of the 75 people on board died in the crash. 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." Yolanda Shoebridge, the mother ofTed Shoebridge, called the Harris home on Linden Street. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); [24], Marshall was scheduled to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the air disaster in their football season opener on August 29, 2020. "I asked her many, many times [why she urged him to stay] before she passed," Carter said. On the way down, he realized -- only by the light of a fire -- that the log was actually a body. Carter hardly knew anyone on the team who carried on. "Lord, the first time they asked me to speak at the anniversary, I was a mess," Dawson said. 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. God's providence? On November 14, Southern Airways Flight 932, which was chartered by the school to fly the Thundering Herd football team, coaches, and fans to Kinston, North Carolina for a game against the East Carolina Pirates and back to Huntington, crashed on approach to Tri-State Airport after clipping trees just west of the runway and impacting nose-first into a hollow. Accessibility Statement, Privacy Charles A. My Account ". > 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 the worst single air tragedy in NCAA sports history. 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. They all had said great things about him. Just before 8 pm, the plane crashed into a hill two miles from the Tri-State Airport in Kenova, W.V., where everyone on aboard were killed on impact. > The controller gave them clearance to land. Caption on back reads: "Saturday Nov. 14, 1970. "Apparently, it was time God saw fit to call them.". "They were all crying, all these huge linemen," Mary Jane said. After a year as Wake Forest's defensive line coach, Tolley was hired at Marshall in 1969. Private. A memorial fountain will be turned off the same time it is every year only to be turned back on in the spring. > 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. When Lengyel was hired as Tolley's replacement, Dawson stayed but only for a while. The Tolleys were ingrained in the community. "I believe I want to be buried up there with my boys," Dawson said. He went to work one day and didn't come home.". | Lucianne Call hasn't lost much of her cheerleading enthusiasm. Roy Slezak refuses to call it an anniversary. 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. 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. "I didn't do anything except for fishing, hunting and construction work," he said. That game did not occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All were on the travel squad list before the plane crash. On November 14, 1970, the team was flying back from a game against East Carolina. Fr. Sketch titled "America Weeps, Saturday Nov. 14, 1970." The decision had been made long before the East Carolina game that Dawson would be out recruiting after the game. It slipped out from underneath him, according to Dawson, and Oliver hit his head. There were injured players who stayed behind. 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. 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. The aircraft was a 95-seat, twin-jet engine Douglas DC-9-30 with tail registration N97S. "Straightforward, old time" is how Dawson described him. I'll be right over.' On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The airliner's crew was Captain Frank Abbot (47), First Officer Jerry Smith (28), plus two flight attendants. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); 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. During that ceremony, Gilbert spoke eloquently about the 75 souls again. "God has a time for each one of us," Carter said. When police needed a list of those on the plane, they came to the Kautzes' home. Among the losses were nearly the entire Marshall University football team, coaches, flight crew, numerous fans, and supporters. Center Dennis Foley (#55) centers ball to Bob Harris (#12) in a scrimmage,1970 MU Football team, b&w. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. "People still talk about that," Hamrick said. Marshall football plane crash was 50 years ago, but victim's friend can't forget that day. 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. [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]. Carter read his own obituary the next day in the local newspaper. Normally in that situation, the cheerleaders would draw straws to see who went. The rest were pilots, crew, coaches, administrators, boosters and business leaders. The plane descended below the Minimum Descent Altitude, striking trees on a hillside about one mile from the runway. The airport was not properly equipped. 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. Spring Hill Cemetery, site of the Marshall Memorial for the 75 plane crash victims. 50 Years After: Remembering Marshall University's 1970 Plane Crash He was like a sounding board.". 1970 Crash Victims. The victims included 36 football players and 39 school administrators, coaches, fans, spouses and flight crew. Art was All-State, he was sought out by every major college on the East Coast, Slezak remembered. 10:00 am ET. We Are Marshall starred Matthew McConaughey as Jack Lengyel, the head coach who took over the program in 1971. 1. We'll look at what happened to the Marshall University football program as a . The tragedy shocked the town of Huntington in the worst way imaginable. [16] The sculpture's designer, Harry Bertoia, created the $25,000 memorial that incorporated bronze, copper tubing, and welding rods. The next day, Mary Jane was gone. I never wanted to miss a chance to see Art play.. Page of 4. Marshall University: a Virtual Cemetery - Find a Grave Gallery: Victims of the 1970 Marshall Plane Crash Hokie Stone is the native Virginia limestone that makes up many of the buildings on the Virginia Tech campus. Body unidentified and buried with five other unidentified players in Spring Hill Cemetery. 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. He has traveled internationally and led huge congregations. Call is giddy talking about Marshall president Jerome Gilbert's initiative to award all 36 players their diplomas at a Friday afternoon ceremony. Huntington, WV 25755. A bunch of her husband's former linemen were lining the walls of her living room. The victims included 36 Marshall University football players, 9 coaches and administrators, 25 fans and air crew of 5. . "Bobby got this corona[virus] thing and beat it.". Art Shannon, #34, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. An unfathomable 37 families were forced to mourn the death of their sons that fateful day. Insurance agents were annoying. She would just listen to the game on the radio. (East Carolina is located nearby in Greenville.) Loria became Marshall's defensive backs coach in 1970. 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. "'The phrase is about respect, and it makes you realize you can't take anything for granted. "I took the phone, but Mrs. Shoebridge was crying hysterically. In fact, it was stronger than that. Inscription. In 2006, Hollywood turned that inspiring slogan into one of the greatest sports movies ever made. There are gravesites at Spring Hill Cemetery bearing the remains of six Marshall players from the crash who could never be identified. Forty years from the time they had last seen each other -- the day before the crash -- the teacher saw the student and asked, "Soletta, is that you?". Featured speakers were Chancellor Steve Ballard, Athletic Director Terry Holland, Pirates' broadcaster Jeff Charles, and Marshall president, Stephen Kopp. She went to the premiere in a wheelchair prior to her first chemotherapy treatment. The team originally planned to cancel the flight, but changed plans and chartered the Southern Airways DC-9. The two played in the same defensive backfield for Virginia Tech in the late 1960s. The Unexpected Death of University of Connecticut Football Player Jasper Howard. Bear Bryant called Dawson, recommending them. Al Carelli, Jr., Assistant coach, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. After suffering the loss to East Carolina on Nov. 14, 1970, a majority of the Marshall team boarded Southern Airlines Flight 932. [1][2], The plane was carrying 37 members of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team, eight members of the coaching staff, 25 boosters, two pilots, two flight attendants, and a charter coordinator. 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. I made a promise to Mrs. Harris that he would never be forgotten.. Shannon died in the plane crash. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. We Are Marshall.. 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. 50 years, McConaughey said Saturday on Twitter. (aka "The Marshall University Football Team Crash") November 14th, 1970. Marshall plane crash was 50 years ago; victim's friend can't forget "God is your pilot. Eventually, Rick won over their hearts and minds. Just like winter leads to spring, these bad memories now lead us to, I think, a day of celebration, Woelfel said. "He was a tremendous athlete who could do it all. They became friends and fished together. In the days before instant news, the fog of tragedy took time to lift. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 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. "It made you wretch," Brunner said, "and I did several times.". ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? I try to think about all the good times and the memories we made, Slezak said. [3] The team was returning home after a 1714 loss to the East Carolina Pirates at Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina. About 10 years ago at a reunion, Mary Jane glanced across the room. 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 | ", "This was a city, the largest in the state, that literally went into a four-day state of shock," Brunner said. . 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. No one prepared her for what was next. In the report, the NTSB concluded, "[] the probable cause of this accident was the descent below Minimum Descent Altitude during a nonprecision approach under adverse operating conditions, without visual contact with the runway environment". It was donated to the university by Marshall fans and is attached to Joan C. Edwards Stadium on the west faade. Offering Aviation History & Adventure First-Hand! [4], At the time, Marshall's athletic teams rarely traveled by plane, since most away games were within easy driving distance of the campus. Thats what we are doing today.. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing. Reggie Oliver was an outgoing quarterback who eventually made his way into the Marshall hall of fame. After an 0-9-1 season and investigation that ended with Marshall being kicked out of the MAC, Moss was gone. "My wonder was, 'Why? They arrived shortly before sunrise. Charles Kautz, 1970 MU Athletic Director, b&w. That's German for "stormy." Its still considered the worst air disaster in American sports history. Among them were Dr. Ray Hagley, who was a Marshall team physician, and his wife. | Memorial newspaper page from The Herald-Advertiser. Harris died in the 1970 plane crash. They turned around, headed back home and immediately got lost. The official cause for the crash was either altimeter malfunction or pilot error. history.[6]. "He definitely had pro potential, no question," formerPassaiccoach John Federici, told The Record in 2001. Memorial Fountain on the Marshall University campus, dedicated in 1972. But as a freshman in 1970, Oliver didn't travel. Shortly thereafter, he surrendered his life to Christ. Dawson hopes it goes as well as last year. Plymale said 64 children lost one or both of their parents in the crash. 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. It was an impression he put in her heart. She feared for his safety. Scott would call up and say, 'Any time you want to call, you call me night or day. He was the center. "The Young Herd" that carried on in 1971 had a new coach, Jack Lengyel. "It was not a premonition. Digitized University Archives Collections. There was room for only a few of them on the plane to Kinston, North Carolina. At age 78, there's a part of Dawson that questions whether fate is the lone reason he is not among those being memorialized rather than those observing it. Marshall Crash & History Photos | herald-dispatch.com I don't think I believed it.. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "Red," Call said recently, "where you going to be buried?". "That was the biggest farce you've ever seen," she said.