marshall plane crash victims list

All six players would later be put to rest underground at the Spring Hill Cemetery just near Marshall University. The decision had already been made regarding cheerleaders for that trip. [19], On November 11, 2000, the We Are Marshall Memorial Bronze was dedicated. The five Southern Airlines employees also died in the crash. Hokie Stone is the native Virginia limestone that makes up many of the buildings on the Virginia Tech campus. A memorial fountain will be turned off the same time it is every year only to be turned back on in the spring. "He had a great future in front of him. One day, the wife of the head coach was in class. He has followed Marshall football all his lifeand makes a video tribute for his friend every year. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; "The Lord has been good to me," he concluded. "It made you wretch," Brunner said, "and I did several times.". Insurance agents were annoying. He never did try to preach to me. 6-keys: media/spln/collegefootball/reg/free/stories, at This flight was the only flight that year for the Marshall University football team. This time, they decided if all couldn't go, none of them could go. Charles Kautz, MU A/D and coaches, 1970 MU football team, b&w. It was real big-time negligence. "At 21, you haven't been familiar with death. The rebuilding was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starring Matthew McConaughey as Lengyel. (AP Photo/John Raby, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news, left behind six children who were being babysat. On the 50th anniversary, they're both still around. When police needed a list of those on the plane, they came to the Kautzes' home. 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. 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. Mary Jane eventually moved to Richmond, Virginia. [4], At the time, Marshall's athletic teams rarely traveled by plane, since most away games were within easy driving distance of the campus. In 2011, Frank Beamer directed the Virginia Tech team buses to detour on their way to Marshall's Joan C. Edwards Stadium. " Carter said. My Account MU plane crash historical marker, Wayne County, W.Va., col. (low-res digital image only). W.Va. State historical marker 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Marshall coach Rick Tolley demonstrating a move to team captain Dave Griffith, Mike Blake and Dave DeBord (left to right) in 1970. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. The trip took 20 hours. The pair were listening to country music when the bulletin came across that a plane had crashed in Huntington. The flight shouldve been nothing more than a formality, but the team would never reach their destination back in Huntington. 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. Two-and-a-half months ago, Dawson remarried. Thats what we are doing today.. Featured speakers were Chancellor Steve Ballard, Athletic Director Terry Holland, Pirates' broadcaster Jeff Charles, and Marshall president, Stephen Kopp. I knew as soon as I saw the police car. It slipped out from underneath him, according to Dawson, and Oliver hit his head. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. His body could not be identified, and with five other players, they were all buried. [10], The crash of Flight 932 so devastated the local community that it almost led to the discontinuation of Marshall's football program. Southern Airways Flight 932. 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. Marshall decided to continue the football program. Sturmisch lived to be 13. 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 . Nash died in the 1970 plane crash. history". Harris Sr. told Slezak he had to keep his promises. Photos: 48th Annual Memorial Fountain Service 2018. "Anniversaries are supposed to be happy," Slezak said . Accessibility Statement, Privacy 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. They couldn't take the tough routine. Coach, 1971 Young Thundering Herd, Al Carelli, Jr., Assistant coach, 1970 MU Football team, Allen Gene Skeens, #59,1970 MU Football team, Barry W. Nash, #35, 1970 MU Football team, Bobby Joe Hill, #41, 1970 MU Football team, Center Dennis Foley (#55) centers ball to Bob Harris (#12),1970 MU Football team, Charles A. [21], November 14, 2013, marked the first time that Marshall had played a road game on an anniversary of the disaster. Frank Loria was one of Beamer's best friends. Holliday wants to make a date to come out and hunt turkeys on Dawson's 400 acres outside of town. "We'd always rode buses.". (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. Suddenly, then-Lucianne Kautz was without a father. That day nine years ago, "Frank Beamer became a very special person in my mind," Hamrick said. Those were diplomas they never had a chance to receive. 16 and undefeated at 6-0. One John Marshall Drive, "At 1 o'clock in the morning, a detective came to the door. Call is giddy talking about Marshall president Jerome Gilbert's initiative to award all 36 players their diplomas at a Friday afternoon ceremony. Never defeated. He was the center. I try to think about all the good times and the memories we made, Slezak said. The Harris family detailed thatevening in a 1995 article in The Record. It went beyond physical damage. We Are Marshall starred Matthew McConaughey as Jack Lengyel, the head coach who took over the program in 1971. Among those in the fountain audience were four football players from East Carolina who played in that 1970 game. [4] The following Saturday, another memorial service was held at the outdoor, 18,000-seat Fairfield Stadium. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Huntington, West Virginia: The four remaining starters from the 1970 first string team of Marshall University take time out to pause at flower arrangement placed at Marshall Field following the devastating plane crash that killed all 75 aboard. [4] The controllers advised the crew that "rain, fog, smoke and a ragged ceiling" were at the airport, making landing more difficult, but possible. Tolley's grave was moved up there a few years ago. [25], The events of the crash are documented in an episode of Aircrash Confidential titled "Disastrous Descents".[27]. But football quickly drained from him after the crash. The rebuilding of the football program was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starting Matthew McConaughey. 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. In 2006, Hollywood turned that inspiring slogan into one of the greatest sports movies ever made. [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]. Mom and her intuition won. Her recollections of the crash's aftermath are split. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Rick Tolley had helped him with the plane ticket to get back home. 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. In the teams first home game since the plane crash, Marshall put together one of the most inspiring performances in sports history. On Friday, the 36 players who died in the crash received degrees from Marshall in their fields of study. One of Dawson's greatest contributions may have been the recruiting of four African-American athletes out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. [23] The tribute was repeated for the rest of the season, including when Marshall met Rice in the 2013 Conference USA Football Championship game. DAntoni is now Marshalls basketball coach. He said, No, you keep your commitment, that is what you do, there will be other games, Slezak said. Does FSU or any ACC power actually have options? The Marshall football team tragedy remains one of the saddest sports stories of all time. "I always loved to fly," she said. We Are Marshall was the rallying cry for the Thundering Herds football program in 1970. 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, 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. 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. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. He was also the offensive line coach. Most of his teammates were gone, forever. All except team chaplain Robert Scott. Marshall is ranked No. People would come to the house and say this was meant to happen. The inspiring story even made it to the big screen in 2006. "That was the biggest farce you've ever seen," she said. He was the center. "Couldn't keep the tears out of my eyes. Normally in that situation, the cheerleaders would draw straws to see who went. Joe Hood, Larry Sanders, Robert Van Horn and Freddy Wilson had come from Druid High School. "We stayed friends forever," Dawson said proudly. Marshall coach Rick Tolley demonstrating a move to team captain Dave Griffith, Mike Blake and Dave DeBord (left to right) in 1970. Art was All-State, he was sought out by every major college on the East Coast, Slezak remembered. The rest were pilots, crew, coaches, administrators, boosters and business leaders. Without an official designation, she has become the best historian of the events of 50 years ago. Rescue teams search for victims at the site of the Yeti Airlines plane crash, in Pokhara on January 17, 2023. Southern Airways DC-9, similiar to plane that crashed with MU footballt team, col. (low-res digital image only). Or would he have gotten on the plane himself? - The Yeti Airlines flight with 68. Officials sift through wreckage at the Marshall plane crash site, 1970. "As I listened to the scriptures," Carter said, "the Lord has purpose for each one of our lives.". Two weeks before the release of the movie, Call was diagnosed with colon cancer. The bronze 1723 ft (57 m) statue was created by artist Burl Jones of Sissonville, West Virginia, and cost $150,000. "Straightforward, old time" is how Dawson described him. Six weeks before the Marshall tragedy, a plane carrying members of the Wichita State football team crashed in Colorado, killing 31 people. Jack Lengyel was hired as the new coach in 1971. Former Marshall cheerleader Lucianne Kautz Call lost her father, Charlie E. Kautz, who was the universitys athletic director. 00:00 / 00:00. That included 37 Marshall football players, 25 team boosters, multiple coaches and team doctors, and Marshalls athletic director. "I asked her many, many times [why she urged him to stay] before she passed," Carter said. David Debord, #76, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. Plymale said his mother was a professor at Marshall. I told him, 'I'm afraid those guys are going to hate you because you're so hard on them.' Allen Gene Skeens, #59, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. Special Collections Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. She would just listen to the game on the radio. 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. Prior to the state Senate's unanimous vote Wednesday, the chamber held a moment of silence for the crash victims at . I never wanted to miss a chance to see Art play.. "The teammates liked the Tuscaloosa boys unbelievably," Dawson said, "especially when Reggie got there.". 1. > 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. 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. I'll be right over.' "It was losing faith in these ministers. The House of Delegates passed the bill last month. Not surprisingly, Call will be the keynote speaker at Saturday's memorial. In the days before instant news, the fog of tragedy took time to lift. Before the noon ET game, a crowd will gather at Spring Hill Cemetery once again to observe the past but also celebrate what they and the university have become. Offering Aviation History & Adventure First-Hand! Things were going swimmingly two weeks before the East Carolina game. They even won a couple of games. From there, he could see them talk, cry, even reminisce about the largest air disaster in United States sports history. He was well-liked by his teammates not a rah-rah kid, but one who led by example.". 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). (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive), "'We Are Marshall' just stuck," Smith said. There is already a plot there for one more. But the town came back.. This college football 1970s season article is a stub. history.[6]. "This was the first time dad was so proud that we were going [to fly] first class," Call said. var _gaq = _gaq || []; All Rights Reserved. Dawson was retained by Tolley. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. December 10, 2006 Herald-Dispatch [Huntington]. One year later, the unthinkable happened. [12] Lengyel was named to take Tolley's place on March 12, 1971, after Dick Bestwick, the first choice for the job, backed out after just one week and returned to Georgia Tech. They arrived shortly before sunrise. In fact, it was stronger than that. "I believe I want to be buried up there with my boys," Dawson said. According to the official National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, the accident was "unsurvivable". | She went to the premiere in a wheelchair prior to her first chemotherapy treatment. It's more than that, of course. A bunch of her husband's former linemen were lining the walls of her living room. They told the police they want to go to Spring Hill Cemetery. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He recalled talking at length with some of his counterparts at Wichita State, and how they leaned on each other for support. The ceremony was held by invitation-only due to the coronavirus pandemic and was made available online. He said,'Mrs. That is certainly what was going to happen.". 1970 Crash Victims. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-16729709-1']); 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. It really sort of shapes the fiber in you, of what you are.. There is still a hint of that strapping tight end's body. Among them were Dr. Ray Hagley, who was a Marshall team physician, and his wife.