That was an overwhelming responsibility.". briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. NFL player and Marshall alum Joseph "Lee" Smith, told buffalobills.com that at one point, there would "never be another football team" at Marshall following the devastation the town faced. Digital Collections The town died. She feared for his safety. [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. All except team chaplain Robert Scott. Former Marshall cheerleader Lucianne Kautz Call lost her father, Charlie E. Kautz, who was the universitys athletic director. The Hokies were in town to play the Herd. 1970 Crash Victims. 16 and undefeated at 6-0. He and the sycamore have aged well. The Lord watched over me so that he could save me and put me in the ministry to serve him.". Mary Jane Tolley didn't go because the local veterinarian recommended she stay because the couple's dog was sick. "We'd always rode buses.". Charlie had given his wife a manifest before he left. MU_PLANE_CRASH. 77 memorials. "He didn't tell anyone what he was going to do until the last minute," Hamrick said. [4], The NTSB investigated the accident and its final report was issued on April 14, 1972. The solemn ceremony was held around a fountain dedicated to the crash victims on Marshalls Huntington campus. In the following weeks, Lengyel was aided in his attempts by receivers' coach Red Dawson. For Slezak, a retired banker/computer engineer, Saturday's 50th anniversary of the crash is an emotional occasion. They couldn't take the tough routine. There is already a plot there for one more. "Lord, the first time they asked me to speak at the anniversary, I was a mess," Dawson said. Without an official designation, she has become the best historian of the events of 50 years ago. About 10 years ago at a reunion, Mary Jane glanced across the room. 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. Its still considered the worst air disaster in American sports history. The subsequent negotiations resulted in a reduction of the weight of passengers and baggage and the charter flight was scheduled. 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. The tragedy was depicted in the movie We Are Marshall (2006) and the documentary film Marshall University: Ashes to Glory (2000). Marshall's defensive coordinator did not return home with the team. He was the Athletic Director for MU. She went to the premiere in a wheelchair prior to her first chemotherapy treatment. 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. At the time of the crash, Harris Jr. led Marshall in rushing and kick returns. On Saturday, 75 candles surrounded the fountain. But for the university and the entire community, it left a huge void. 1970 aviation accident in West Virginia, United States, A Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 similar to the aircraft involved in the accident, Pinkston, Antwon. Marshall decided to continue the football program. 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 Young Herd" that carried on in 1971 had a new coach, Jack Lengyel. Huntington, WV 25755. Charlie Kautz was Marshall's athletic director in 1970. })(); (aka "The Marshall University Football Team Crash"). "The teammates liked the Tuscaloosa boys unbelievably," Dawson said, "especially when Reggie got there.". Kautz died in the 1970 plane crash. Beamer had brought a special Hokie Stone inscribed with Loria's name. Of course, she misses her husband. David Debord, #76, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. "'The phrase is about respect, and it makes you realize you can't take anything for granted. He said,'Mrs. briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. They became friends and fished together. "The town immediately went into mourning. "I could hear the speeches and see what was going on [from behind the tree]," he said. 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. Barry W. Nash, #35,1970 MU Football team, b&w. So why would anyone living with all that baggage intentionally go up in the air? Southern Airways Flight 932. "He had a great future in front of him. Page of 4. "This was the first time dad was so proud that we were going [to fly] first class," Call said. His life was spared that night a half century ago. Officials sift through wreckage at the Marshall plane crash site, 1970. Marshall University. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. When he passed, Loria's wife was pregnant with Frank Loria Jr. Beamer guided the buses to the memorial. Accessibility Statement, Privacy I knew as soon as I saw the police car. 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. [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. "I got a call from our operations guy. 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. "[7] The remains of six passengers were never identified. He played Defensive end. "I asked her many, many times [why she urged him to stay] before she passed," Carter said. His body was not identified and he is buried with five other unidentified players in the Springhill Cemetery. 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. "All these guys, about 50 of them, came out for football. Lucianne Call hasn't lost much of her cheerleading enthusiasm. (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Rick played football at nearby Virginia Tech. Lives were shattered. We each lost one or more family members, said Call, the ceremonys keynote speaker. 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. Report: Big 12 in recent contact with Pac-12 schools, Rules committee proposes change to speed up games, Saban unhappy over proposed permanent rivals, USC coach Lincoln Riley builds the perfect QB. The Druid Four did and were all killed in the crash. [21] The ceremony featured guest speakers Dawson and Hardin. 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." > Sometimes Gilbert -- Marshall's president -- comes over for a couple of beers. We didn't have children, so she was like a child. Harris Sr. told Slezak he had to keep his promises. They even won a couple of games. About I didn't know what to do. > 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]. Special Collections "Nobody did anything. His jersey hangs in Passaic High School. W.Va. State historical marker 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. 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). This college football 1970s season article is a stub. longitude." Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. It was the worst single air tragedy in NCAA sports history. 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. 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. All three were killed in the plane crash. Marshall coach Rick Tolley demonstrating a move to team captain Dave Griffith, Mike Blake and Dave DeBord (left to right) in 1970. [15], Marshall University President John G. Barker and Vice President Dedmon appointed a memorial committee soon after the crash. Memorial at Spring Hill Cemetery in Huntington, West Virginia to the victims of the 1970 plane crash. [4] The following Saturday, another memorial service was held at the outdoor, 18,000-seat Fairfield Stadium. Dawson eventually became a successful construction company owner. New coach Jack Lengyel, Marshall University students, and Thundering Herd football fans convinced acting Marshall president, Donald N. Dedmon, to reconsider cancelling the program in late 1970. He was a defensive end for Marshall in 1970, and was on the chartered plane when it crashed at Tri-State Airport on November 14, 1970. Banners will be raised across the Marshall campus bearing their images. "Just a very smart guy. The Thundering Herd upset Xavier, 15-13, in an emotional victory for the ages. The weather conditions were poor, mist and light rain with broken clouds at 500 feet. His body could not be identified, and with five other players, they were all buried. 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?". Does FSU or any ACC power actually have options? 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. [23] The tribute was repeated for the rest of the season, including when Marshall met Rice in the 2013 Conference USA Football Championship game. One of Dawson's greatest contributions may have been the recruiting of four African-American athletes out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. ". 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. Instead, the descent continued for another 300ft (91m) for unknown reasons, apparently without either crew member actually seeing the airport lights or runway. He was like a sounding board.". Libraries Middle guard Ed Carter was back in Wichita Falls, Texas, that terrible day to bury his father. - The Yeti Airlines flight with 68. If you play football at Marshall University, you have a role to make sure that's never forgotten.". The Tolleys loved their German Shepherd. Memorial Fountain on the Marshall University campus, dedicated in 1972. Dave Griffith, #81, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. Because it was the Herd's only charter flight of the season, boosters and prominent citizens were on the plane, including a city councilman, a state legislator, and four physicians. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive), "'We Are Marshall' just stuck," Smith said. "You have to realize he had to tell several, several players' families, all the ones that he recruited. 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. She has made it her responsibility to track down pictures of all 75 victims for Saturday's memorial. Red Dawson was admittedly bitter. Artwork by Eugene Payne, Staff Artist, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, N.C.". Officials at the site of the Nov. 14, 1970, Marshall University plane crash at Tri-State Airport in Kenova, W.Va., secure a charred engine for removal to an airport hangar. The 6500 lb, 13 ft-high (2900 kg, 4 m-high) sculpture was completed within a year and a half. | [10], The crash of Flight 932 so devastated the local community that it almost led to the discontinuation of Marshall's football program. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); "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. Joe Hood, Larry Sanders, Robert Van Horn and Freddy Wilson had come from Druid High School. Hamrick's future wife, Soletta, was in Mary Jane's sixth-grade home room back then. Carelli was killed in the Mu plane crash. Following a 17-14 loss, he was driving down with a graduate assistant to recruit a linebacker -- out of Ferrum of all places -- Billy Joe Mantooth. Defensive back. "That was the biggest farce you've ever seen," she said. Seventy children had at least one parent die in the crash, with 18 of them left orphaned. During that ceremony, Gilbert spoke eloquently about the 75 souls again. Dawson and Parker were buying boiled peanuts at a country store in rural Virginia when they heard the news over the radio. Her life had become unhinged. Among those in the fountain audience were four football players from East Carolina who played in that 1970 game. history". 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 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. I dont know what to call it.. In 2011, Frank Beamer directed the Virginia Tech team buses to detour on their way to Marshall's Joan C. Edwards Stadium. He was also the offensive line coach. The return became the subject of the film, "We Are Marshall". They told the police they want to go to Spring Hill Cemetery. The solemn ceremony was held around a fountain dedicated to the crash victims on Marshall's Huntington campus. It all began with a three-year long losing streak from season 1966-69. Aircraft and crew. It slipped out from underneath him, according to Dawson, and Oliver hit his head. I try to think about all the good times and the memories we made, Slezak said. FAQ We Are Marshall.. Among them were Dr. Ray Hagley, who was a Marshall team physician, and his wife. Cemetery Visibility: Public. "Kenova to dedicate crash memorial Monday." Marshall coach Rick Tolley demonstrating a move to team captain Dave Griffith, Mike Blake and Dave DeBord (left to right) in 1970. Scott Jenkins. (East Carolina is located nearby in Greenville.) 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. Marshall football plane crash was 50 years ago, but victim's friend can't forget that day. Ferrum won the national junior college championship his first year there in 1965. Then success occurred in streaks. 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). 10:00 am ET. Dawson was retained by Tolley. Eventually, Rick won over their hearts and minds. 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. All 75 people on board died. At that time, I thought I was a pretty bad-ass man.". All were qualified for the flight. Reggie Oliver was an outgoing quarterback who eventually made his way into the Marshall hall of fame. The two played in the same defensive backfield for Virginia Tech in the late 1960s. 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. 00:00 / 00:00. At 7:34pm, the airliner's crew reported passing Tri-State Airport's outer marker. "They were all crying, all these huge linemen," Mary Jane said. Dawson noticed him wiping his eyes. At 7:36pm on November 14, 1970, the aircraft crashed into a hill just short of the Tri-State Airport, killing all 75 people on board in what has been recognized as "the worst sports-related air tragedy in U.S. This plaza and this fountain are the heart of Marshall University, university President Jerome Gilbert said. > One John Marshall Drive, The actual damage was incalculable. A week later, he died at age 66 as a result of the injury. 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. Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Dawson's brother had been recruited by Bryant, so there was a relationship. 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. 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. Nash died in the 1970 plane crash. Once again, on Saturday, Dawson will speak at the fountain ceremony. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. 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. Rick, he ran them off. "Oh sure, you ask yourself, 'Why did I miss it and all my friends and coaches were killed?' "People still talk about that," Hamrick said. [24], Marshall was scheduled to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the air disaster in their football season opener on August 29, 2020. They turned around, headed back home and immediately got lost. Artwork by Eugene Payne, Staff Artist, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, N.C. Before the trip, they were scheduled to go on a recruiting mission to Ferrum College after the ECUMarshall game, in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to recruit junior college linebacker Billy Joe Mantooth. [4][9], The effects of the crash on Huntington went far beyond the Marshall campus. After suffering the loss to East Carolina on Nov. 14, 1970, a majority of the Marshall team boarded Southern Airlines Flight 932. On November 14, 1970, the team was flying back from a game against East Carolina. 37 of them were members of the football team. Mary Jane was the perfect coach's wife. Carter maintains he was spared because of God's providence. 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. Not only that, she happened to be on a flight during 9/11. On the way down, he realized -- only by the light of a fire -- that the log was actually a body. He makes sure the Herd have a home game. No one will ever know exactly how Harris Sr. ended up on the plane. 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, [1] The team played its home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. "Al" Saylor, #88,1970 MU Football team, b&w. Marshall won just two games, and the first winning season didnt come for another 13 years. "[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. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. That's why, when a vet recommended Mary Jane stay home that weekend of Nov. 14 because a tumor had developed in Sturmisch's toe, there was no hesitation. 1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football team, 1970 NCAA University Division independents football records, 1970 NCAA University Division football season, "Memories of Marshall; ex-player says shock of crash never ends", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1970_Marshall_Thundering_Herd_football_team&oldid=1109112752, 1970 NCAA University Division independents football season, Marshall Thundering Herd football seasons, Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using CFB schedule with named parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 8 September 2022, at 01:19. On 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. Sketch is matted and framed. 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. 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. Because of the intensity of the crash, officials were unable to identify six of the players remains. After the plane crash, she became the only thing that I had.". 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. Two years ago, Oliver, the personable quarterback, leaned back in a chair. Center Dennis Foley (#55) centers ball to Bob Harris (#12) in a scrimmage,1970 MU Football team, b&w. Private. 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. 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. Mom and her intuition won. But as a freshman in 1970, Oliver didn't travel. 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. 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.