marshall plane crash victims list

No one prepared her for what was next. briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. The subsequent negotiations resulted in a reduction of the weight of passengers and baggage and the charter flight was scheduled. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing. Does FSU or any ACC power actually have options? Sketch is matted and framed. "Nobody did anything. Marshall decided to continue the football program. Joe Hood, Larry Sanders, Robert Van Horn and Freddy Wilson had come from Druid High School. > "I was wondering when somebody is going to come up and say, 'You can't do that,' " Dawson said. 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. 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. All 75 people on board died. 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. That was the era before the color barrier had been broken in the SEC. 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. 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. 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. "The teammates liked the Tuscaloosa boys unbelievably," Dawson said, "especially when Reggie got there.". "My mom got on the phone, and then she just passed out, said Carolyn Harris, the youngest daughter. "It wasn't losing faith," she said. This event taught me how to celebrate someones life. He was a linebacker. White roses were laid by the fountain as each victims name was read at the ceremony. Frank Loria was one of Beamer's best friends. [21], November 14, 2013, marked the first time that Marshall had played a road game on an anniversary of the disaster. That was an overwhelming responsibility.". She graduated from Marshall in 1971. But that begs the very human question of why God spared him and not those on the plane? We Are Marshall starred Matthew McConaughey as Jack Lengyel, the head coach who took over the program in 1971. Across the nation, many expressed their condolences. Among those who were not on the Marshall plane were Red Dawson, an assistant coach who was driving on a recruiting trip and was heading home when he learned about the crash. [10], The crash of Flight 932 so devastated the local community that it almost led to the discontinuation of Marshall's football program. Marshall coach Doc Holliday invited him to speak to the team. One of Dawson's greatest contributions may have been the recruiting of four African-American athletes out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. "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. One year later, the unthinkable happened. A number of the victims are buried in a grave site in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Huntington; 20th Street between Joan C. Edwards Stadium, Marshall's current on-campus football stadium, and Spring Hill Cemetery was renamed Marshall Memorial Boulevard in honor of the crash victims. The Tolleys loved their German Shepherd. Plymale said his mother was a professor at Marshall. Two-and-a-half months ago, Dawson remarried. Her life had become unhinged. The team originally planned to cancel the flight, but changed plans and chartered the Southern Airways DC-9. For Slezak, a retired banker/computer engineer, Saturday's 50th anniversary of the crash is an emotional occasion. "You have to realize he had to tell several, several players' families, all the ones that he recruited. Plymales mother attended a funeral in North Carolina, and her family became close friends with the victims family. William Alfred "Red" Dawson was one of the best players Bobby Bowden ever saw. Dawson was not on the plane when it crashed. Marshall won just two games, and the first winning season didnt come for another 13 years. 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 | [20], On December 11, 2006, a memorial plaque was dedicated at the plane crash site. All were qualified for the flight. He became acting head coach in 1971, and formed the "Young Thundering Herd". [24], Marshall was scheduled to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the air disaster in their football season opener on August 29, 2020. New Bern National Cemetery. The college town agreed with him. The victims included 36 Marshall University football players, 9 coaches and administrators, 25 fans and crew of 5. 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. Of course, she misses her husband. 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. 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. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. "For years, it was just a total devastating thing," Call said. Among the losses were nearly the entire Marshall University football team, coaches, flight crew, numerous fans, and supporters. Trademarked and copyrighted images and insignia are the exclusive property of Marshall University. No one will ever know exactly how Harris Sr. ended up on the plane. Shannon died in the plane crash. Harris Jr. was named to The Bergen Records All-Century team for Passaic County. Memorial Fountain on the Marshall University campus, dedicated in 1972. "My wonder was, 'Why? The following offseason, Dawson went to a national coaching convention. Not only that, she happened to be on a flight during 9/11. Its an inspiring tribute to those fallen lives and the devoted men who led Marshall back to glory. At the time of the crash, Harris Jr. led Marshall in rushing and kick returns. Hamrick's future wife, Soletta, was in Mary Jane's sixth-grade home room back then. 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. "As I listened to the scriptures," Carter said, "the Lord has purpose for each one of our lives.". Marshall football plane crash was 50 years ago, but victim's friend can't forget that day. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Defensive back. Tri-State airport installed a glide slope using federal funds in 1972. "Al" Saylor, #88,1970 MU Football team, b&w. Carter can't recall how a Marshall assistant found his film in the late 1960s. "He said: 'Your husband is in the plane, too.' The dog's name was Sturmisch. That game did not occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 00:00 / 00:00. Scott would call up and say, 'Any time you want to call, you call me night or day. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. About 10 years ago at a reunion, Mary Jane glanced across the room. In the following weeks, Lengyel was aided in his attempts by receivers' coach Red Dawson. Marshall coach Rick Tolley demonstrating a move to team captain Dave Griffith, Mike Blake and Dave DeBord (left to right) in 1970. Frank got the whole team out and they went up and placed that Hokie Stone on the memorial. Lengyel, who came from a coaching job at the College of Wooster, was hired by the recently hired athletic director Joe McMullen, under whom he had previously worked at the University of Akron in the 1950s. (aka "The Marshall University Football Team Crash") November 14th, 1970. As part of an annual rite, the fountain was turned off at the end of the service and will be turned back on in the spring. FAQ "[7]:36 At least one source says that water that had seeped into the plane's altimeter could have thrown off its height readings, leading the pilots to believe the plane was higher than was actually the case. "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. (East Carolina is located nearby in Greenville.) 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. longitude." This time, they decided if all couldn't go, none of them could go. God's providence? 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 Universitys football team. 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. Accessibility Statement, Privacy Banners will be raised across the Marshall campus bearing their images. ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 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. These are some of their stories, 50 years later. 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. This plaza and this fountain are the heart of Marshall University, university President Jerome Gilbert said. The Thundering Herd upset Xavier, 15-13, in an emotional victory for the ages. 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. Allen Gene Skeens, #59, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. Skeens was killed in the plane crash. White roses are placed along the edge of the Memorial Fountain to honor the 75 lives lost in the 1970 plane crash during the 50th Annual Memorial Fountain Service Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, at the Memorial Student Center in Huntington, W.Va. Marshall commemorated the 50th anniversary of the worst disaster in U.S. sports history, when 75 people, including most of the football team, were killed in a Nov. 14, 1970, plane crash. There were injured players who stayed behind. Those were diplomas they never had a chance to receive. Mary Jane eventually moved to Richmond, Virginia. The NCAA repealed that prohibition at its annual convention in January 1972. But for the university and the entire community, it left a huge void. The 6500 lb, 13 ft-high (2900 kg, 4 m-high) sculpture was completed within a year and a half. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. It's called survivor's guilt, the feeling of unfairly surviving an incident when others did not. Varsity Aces Live: Marshall Football Plane Crash 50th Anniversary. DAntoni is now Marshalls basketball coach. Following its plane crash, Wichita State was granted similar permission to use freshmen on the varsity to resume its 1970 season. On a rainy hill side in Wayne County, West Virginia, the lives of 75 people were lost in the worst single air tragedy in NCAA sports history. College Football Player, Plane Crash Victim. Ferrum won the national junior college championship his first year there in 1965. It was a funeral that never stopped. . Charles Kautz is third from right, with tie. MU plane crash historical marker, Wayne County, W.Va., col. (low-res digital image only). So were the religious types who were too numerous for their messages to get through. They couldn't see. Virginia Tech's coach had a plan for the pregame. But I already knew. Insurance agents were annoying. [4], The NTSB investigated the accident and its final report was issued on April 14, 1972. [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. Hewlett gave Carter a pamphlet titled, "Steps To Peace With God." _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-16729709-1']); Eventually, Rick won over their hearts and minds. 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. Once again, on Saturday, Dawson will speak at the fountain ceremony. To be honest, when she told me, I didn't believe her because we had never had a plane trip.". It is based upon ideas by John and Ann Krieger of Huntington. Yes, we grieve. This goes deep, Plymale said. Two weeks before the release of the movie, Call was diagnosed with colon cancer. Marshall Thundering Herd cheerleaders react as a video saluting the 1970 team that was killed in a plane crash is shown on the scoreboard prior to. [4] 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. An unfathomable 37 families were forced to mourn the death of their sons that fateful day. He has followed Marshall football all his lifeand makes a video tribute for his friend every year. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); "All of them were fighting and arguing over each other about whose fault it was. I couldn't go to all of them. I dont know what to call it.. We didn't have children, so she was like a child. Marshall coach Rick Tolley demonstrating a move to team captain Dave Griffith, Mike Blake and Dave DeBord (left to right) in 1970. Dawson noticed him wiping his eyes. On November 14, 1970, the team was flying back from a game against East Carolina. "He definitely had pro potential, no question," formerPassaiccoach John Federici, told The Record in 2001. The inspiring story even made it to the big screen in 2006. He went recruiting. When he passed, Loria's wife was pregnant with Frank Loria Jr. Beamer guided the buses to the memorial. Marshall University, Dawson and Parker were buying boiled peanuts at a country store in rural Virginia when they heard the news over the radio. She feared for his safety. I don't think I believed it.. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. 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?". var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; Caption on back reads: "Saturday Nov. 14, 1970. "It was just a little school in the hills," Mary Jane said. Gone were sons, fathers, mothers, classmates and fraternity brothers. Without any particular reason, Carter stayed. "I kept thinking he [Arthur Sr.] would drive up in the car," said Maja Harris, Art Jr.s mother and Art Sr.s wife. | "Lord, the first time they asked me to speak at the anniversary, I was a mess," Dawson said. Six weeks before the Marshall tragedy, a plane carrying members of the Wichita State football team crashed in Colorado, killing 31 people. This is believed to be a duplicate of the plane that crashed Nov. 14, 1970 carrying MU football team. 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. Carter hardly knew anyone on the team who carried on. At that time, I thought I was a pretty bad-ass man.". [4][9], The effects of the crash on Huntington went far beyond the Marshall campus. Rick Tolley is behind him. "I could hear the speeches and see what was going on [from behind the tree]," he said. Frank Hall Abbott Jr. 18 Mar 1923 - 14 Nov 1970. "Shoulda, coulda, woulda.". On the way down, he realized -- only by the light of a fire -- that the log was actually a body. Charlie had given his wife a manifest before he left. On the 50th anniversary, they're both still around. He was well-liked by his teammates not a rah-rah kid, but one who led by example.". Photos: 48th Annual Memorial Fountain Service 2018. In 2006, Hollywood turned that inspiring slogan into one of the greatest sports movies ever made. Mary Jane was the perfect coach's wife. 16 and undefeated at 6-0. There is already a plot there for one more. People would come to the house and say this was meant to happen. In 2000, at age 50, Call became a flight attendant with USAir Express. | He said, 'What the hell is going on with Virginia Tech?' [4], At the time, Marshall's athletic teams rarely traveled by plane, since most away games were within easy driving distance of the campus. Aircraft and crew. We Are Marshall.. Dawson hopes it goes as well as last year. The tragedy was depicted in the movie We Are Marshall (2006) and the documentary film Marshall University: Ashes to Glory (2000). "When the 14th of November comes around every year, all the worms and stuff start getting in your head," Dawson said. I made a promise to Mrs. Harris that he would never be forgotten.. His close friend and neighbor, Art Harris Jr., was one of the Marshall players who died. They stayed in Marshall for a fundraising event. Dennis Foley was not on the plane, Bob Harris was killed in the plane crash. [12] Lengyel led the Thundering Herd to a 933 record during his tenure, which ended after the 1974 season. 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. 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. [1] The team played its home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. Marshall University honors the 75 lives lost in the 1970 plane crash tragedy during the 48th Annual Memorial Service on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018 . briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. He was 37. He never did try to preach to me. 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. 1. The plane descended below the Minimum Descent Altitude, striking trees on a hillside about one mile from the runway. The solemn ceremony was held around a fountain dedicated to the crash victims on Marshall's Huntington campus. That bitterness lingered. Marshall University. They told the police they want to go to Spring Hill Cemetery. Marshall's defensive coordinator did not return home with the team. The aircraft "dipped to the right, almost inverted, and had crashed into a hollow 'nose-first'". 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. 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. Beamer had brought a special Hokie Stone inscribed with Loria's name. 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.