Never defeated. The decision had already been made regarding cheerleaders for that trip. Rick Tolley is behind him. 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. history.[6]. Marshall decided to continue the football program. [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. "I'm still wondering why.". Barry W. Nash, #35,1970 MU Football team, b&w. Im glad that were going to honor them for each year in this way from here on out.. He recalled talking at length with some of his counterparts at Wichita State, and how they leaned on each other for support. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Although the airport runway has since been lengthened past its original threshold, making historical measurements more difficult, the NTSB official report provides, "the accident occurred during hours of darkness at 38 22' 27" N. latitude and 82 34' 42" W. The aircraft "dipped to the right, almost inverted, and had crashed into a hollow 'nose-first'". 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. Harris, I have bad news.' Allen Gene Skeens, #59, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. Skeens was killed in the plane crash. He returned to find a city, a university and a program in despair. They further stated, "The Board has been unable to determine the reason for this [greater] descent, although the two most likely explanations are (a) improper use of cockpit instrumentation data, or (b) an altimetry system error. [2], The original proposal to charter the flight was refused because it would exceed "the takeoff limitations of their aircraft". Among the losses were nearly the entire Marshall University football team, coaches, flight crew, numerous fans, and supporters. "Bobby got this corona[virus] thing and beat it.". Marshall coach Rick Tolley demonstrating a move to team captain Dave Griffith, Mike Blake and Dave DeBord (left to right) in 1970. Scott would call up and say, 'Any time you want to call, you call me night or day. Slezak originally agreedbut said it would mean breaking a date. [1] The team played its home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. He and the sycamore have aged well. I don't think I believed it.. She traveled to Washington, D.C. for the hearings that were supposed to explain the crash. The rebuilding was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starring Matthew McConaughey as Lengyel. Dawson goes to games again. [4] The following Saturday, another memorial service was held at the outdoor, 18,000-seat Fairfield Stadium. He was the Athletic Director for MU. "All these guys, about 50 of them, came out for football. "Red," Call said recently, "where you going to be buried?". On Friday, the 36 players who died in the crash received degrees from Marshall in their fields of study. "I can remember the hurt in my stomach like it was yesterday," Beamer said. Artwork by Eugene Payne, Staff Artist, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, N.C.". That bitterness lingered. Suddenly, then-Lucianne Kautz was without a father. After a year as Wake Forest's defensive line coach, Tolley was hired at Marshall in 1969. Sometimes Gilbert -- Marshall's president -- comes over for a couple of beers. [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]. Nobody went anywhere.". 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Every one of the 75 people on board died in the crash. Rick, he ran them off. Slezak believes Harris Sr. flew to the wrong city Greenville, South Carolina, instead of Greenville, North Carolina, where East Carolina is located. Harris' father, Art Sr., was one of the fans on the plane. Roy Slezak refuses to call it an anniversary. 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. Charlie Kautz had lived long enough to give away Lucianne at her wedding only five months earlier. A memorial fountain will be turned off the same time it is every year only to be turned back on in the spring. "It was just a little school in the hills," Mary Jane said. ", "This was a city, the largest in the state, that literally went into a four-day state of shock," Brunner said. Just like winter leads to spring, these bad memories now lead us to, I think, a day of celebration, Woelfel said. "I was wondering when somebody is going to come up and say, 'You can't do that,' " Dawson said. briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive), "'We Are Marshall' just stuck," Smith said. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. The event marked a boundary by which an entire community would forever . 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. "'The phrase is about respect, and it makes you realize you can't take anything for granted. No one prepared her for what was next. Trademarked and copyrighted images and insignia are the exclusive property of Marshall University. Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. There is already a plot there for one more. Among the 75 who perished were 36 players. And then, after the game, if Slezak had been there, would that have deterred Art Sr. from getting on the plane? But I already knew. Varsity Aces Live: Marshall Football Plane Crash 50th Anniversary. They became friends and fished together. Fr. Dedication of Memorial Fountain to MU plane crash victims, Nov. 12, 1972. Beamer was at his wife-to-be's home that November night. Holliday wants to make a date to come out and hunt turkeys on Dawson's 400 acres outside of town. Reggie Oliver was an outgoing quarterback who eventually made his way into the Marshall hall of fame. He was 37. "He wasn't a real big guy, but I don't know how many ballcarriers he hit and knocked them back in the direction they came from," Beamer said. [7]:37, On November 15, 1970, a memorial service was held at the indoor, 8,500-seat Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse with moments of silence, remembrances, and prayers. All Rights Reserved. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. On Saturday, it will be Middle Tennessee State. We'll look at what happened to the Marshall University football program as a . 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. 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. Four of the crash victims were students in her class, and Marshall faculty were sent to attend the funerals. We Are Marshall.. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. An unfathomable 37 families were forced to mourn the death of their sons that fateful day. Mary Jane was the perfect coach's wife. 1. There was room for only a few of them on the plane to Kinston, North Carolina. [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. Dawson was retained by Tolley. He was also the offensive line coach. Her life had become unhinged. 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. - The Yeti Airlines flight with 68. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images). Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. It was raining hard, and he remembered seeing ambulances speeding past the group. 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]. The return became the subject of the film, "We Are Marshall". Allen Gene Skeens, #59, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. 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. "[7] The remains of six passengers were never identified. briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. 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. The crew established radio contact with air traffic controllers at 7:23 pm with instructions to descend to 5,000ft (1,500m). 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. "It was not a premonition. Rescue teams search for victims at the site of the Yeti Airlines plane crash, in Pokhara on January 17, 2023. Sturmisch lived to be 13. That game did not occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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. 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. Kautz died in the 1970 plane crash. In 2011, Frank Beamer directed the Virginia Tech team buses to detour on their way to Marshall's Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Home We didn't have children, so she was like a child. "She was wonderful," Mary Jane Tolley said of Sturmisch. Plymales mother attended a funeral in North Carolina, and her family became close friends with the victims family. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. One John Marshall Drive, "Anniversaries are supposed to be happy," Slezak said . On the way down, he realized -- only by the light of a fire -- that the log was actually a body. The inspiring story even made it to the big screen in 2006. Private. But for the university and the entire community, it left a huge void. Yolanda Shoebridge, the mother ofTed Shoebridge, called the Harris home on Linden Street. Charles A. They left behind six children who were being babysat by Dan DAntoni, a 23-year-old assistant with the Marshall basketball program in 1970. 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?". Call is giddy talking about Marshall president Jerome Gilbert's initiative to award all 36 players their diplomas at a Friday afternoon ceremony. Art could have played professional baseball or professional football.. "It wasn't losing faith," she said. That begins to describe some of that enduring guilt. 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. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. [3] The team was returning home after a 1714 loss to the East Carolina Pirates at Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina. I told him, 'I'm afraid those guys are going to hate you because you're so hard on them.' 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. The victims included 36 Marshall University football players, 9 coaches and administrators, 25 fans and air crew of 5. . "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. It signified the teams unity as not just a football team, but one family. (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. "Just a very smart guy. Mary Jane Tolley didn't go because the local veterinarian recommended she stay because the couple's dog was sick. At the time, freshmen couldnt play varsity sports in college. Parker flew to the game, but did not fly back, having switched places with Deke Brackett, another coach. Copyright. They all had said great things about him. 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). Inscription. Charges dropped against Georgia WR Rara Thomas, UCLA, Kelly agree to extension through 2027, Four Pac-12 programs renew contact with Big 12, NCAA committee approves new college football rules, Saban sounds off on proposed permanent opponents. The official cause for the crash was either altimeter malfunction or pilot error. 37 of them were members of the football team. "It was horrible because it was a non-ending funeral. Hill died in the 1970 plane crash. The five Southern Airlines employees also died in the crash. When police needed a list of those on the plane, they came to the Kautzes' home. [4][9], The effects of the crash on Huntington went far beyond the Marshall campus. (JACK BURNETT/AP) Once again, on Saturday, Dawson will speak at the fountain ceremony. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Tolley gladly gave Carter time off -- even bought him the plane ticket -- to travel back to bury his father. [19], On November 11, 2000, the We Are Marshall Memorial Bronze was dedicated. Its an inspiring tribute to those fallen lives and the devoted men who led Marshall back to glory. 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. The Mid-American Conference also expelled the team for similar offenses. A bunch of her husband's former linemen were lining the walls of her living room. "He definitely had pro potential, no question," formerPassaiccoach John Federici, told The Record in 2001. A mass funeral was held at the field house and many of the dead were buried at the Spring Hill Cemetery, some together because bodies were not identifiable. "At 21, you haven't been familiar with death. 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. They couldn't see. [20], On December 11, 2006, a memorial plaque was dedicated at the plane crash site. The NCAA made an exception for the Thundering Herd. "Al" Saylor, #88,1970 MU Football team, b&w. 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. Loria became Marshall's defensive backs coach in 1970. He went to work one day and didn't come home.". He makes sure the Herd have a home game. "He had a great future in front of him. 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 | She spoke of her husband's early days as an assistant at Ferrum Junior College in Virginia. [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. During that ceremony, Gilbert spoke eloquently about the 75 souls again. [2][7] The plane burst into flames and created a swath of charred ground 95ft (29m) wide and 279ft (85m) long. As a memorial to the 75 victims, the Marshall players wore the number 75 on their helmets. [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. Tolley's grave was moved up there a few years ago. Most of his teammates were gone, forever. 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. 1970 Crash Victims. 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. What good is it going to do anybody?' White roses were laid by the fountain as each victims name was read at the ceremony. "Al" Saylor, #88,1970 MU Football team, Charles Kautz, MU A/D and coaches, 1970 MU football team, Dave Griffith, #81, 1970 MU Football team. Following its plane crash, Wichita State was granted similar permission to use freshmen on the varsity to resume its 1970 season. Anniversaries are supposed to be happy, Slezak said from his home in New Mexico. "I always loved to fly," she said. The 6500 lb, 13 ft-high (2900 kg, 4 m-high) sculpture was completed within a year and a half. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Carelli was killed in the Mu plane crash. 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. It was real big-time negligence. "God is your pilot. By JOHN RABY February 15, 2023. He was the center. Dawson eventually became a successful construction company owner. 16 and undefeated at 6-0. "We got her when she was 6 weeks old. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. A memorial bell tower is being planned for a location on WV 75 near exit 1 along Interstate 64. While Wichita State ended its football program in 1986, Marshall carried on. No one could have imagined how deep a downward spiral Marshall University's football program would face in the late 1960's. Defensive back. Among the losses were nearly the entire Marshall University football team, coaches, flight crew, numerous fans, and supporters. The opponent was scheduled to be East Carolinathe same team that defeated Marshall before the disaster took place. "I kept thinking he [Arthur Sr.] would drive up in the car," said Maja Harris, Art Jr.s mother and Art Sr.s wife. The rebuilding of the football program was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starting Matthew McConaughey. Marshall decided to continue the football program. I dont know what to call it.. At age 69, the former Marshall defender calls himself a "traveling preacher." That was an overwhelming responsibility.". The Tolleys were ingrained in the community. > [16] The sculpture's designer, Harry Bertoia, created the $25,000 memorial that incorporated bronze, copper tubing, and welding rods. 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 bill establishes that Nov. 14 will become a special memorial day in remembrance of the crash. Druid High School football players sign grants-in-aid with Marshall in the spring of 1969. Carter read his own obituary the next day in the local newspaper. After an 0-9-1 season and investigation that ended with Marshall being kicked out of the MAC, Moss was gone. 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. Skeens was killed in the plane crash. His jersey hangs in Passaic High School. New Bern National Cemetery. "Kenova to dedicate crash memorial Monday." 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. His close friend and neighbor, Art Harris Jr., was one of the Marshall players who died. Members of the current team also visited a nearby cemetery, where six players from the 1970 team whose bodies were never identified were buried. "He said: 'Your husband is in the plane, too.' The Tolleys loved their German Shepherd. [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]. Normally in that situation, the cheerleaders would draw straws to see who went. He hid because they met once a year at the Spring Hill Cemetery memorial that honors the 75 souls who perished in the crash of the Marshall University football team plane 50 years ago this Saturday. An Equal Opportunity University. "I didn't do anything except for fishing, hunting and construction work," he said. Rick played football at nearby Virginia Tech. 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 subsequent negotiations resulted in a reduction of the weight of passengers and baggage and the charter flight was scheduled. He has traveled internationally and led huge congregations. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- 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 . "This was the first time dad was so proud that we were going [to fly] first class," Call said. No one will ever know exactly how Harris Sr. ended up on the plane. "When the 14th of November comes around every year, all the worms and stuff start getting in your head," Dawson said. 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). "It made you wretch," Brunner said, "and I did several times.". Across the nation, many expressed their condolences. 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. When Lengyel was hired as Tolley's replacement, Dawson stayed but only for a while. Charles Kautz, MU A/D and coaches, 1970 MU football team, b&w. 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.