The plane descended below the Minimum Descent Altitude, striking trees on a hillside about one mile from the runway. They had met in Roanoke, Virginia, where she taught. "I was wondering when somebody is going to come up and say, 'You can't do that,' " Dawson said. Football made sense to him.". We Are Marshall starred Matthew McConaughey as Jack Lengyel, the head coach who took over the program in 1971. 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. He said, No, you keep your commitment, that is what you do, there will be other games, Slezak said. He was 37. He was taken away way too soon.". MU_PLANE_CRASH. Her recollections of the crash's aftermath are split. 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 event marked a boundary by which an entire community would forever . In the report, the NTSB concluded, "[] the probable cause of this accident was the descent below Minimum Descent Altitude during a nonprecision approach under adverse operating conditions, without visual contact with the runway environment". All were on the travel squad list before the plane crash. [4], At the time, Marshall's athletic teams rarely traveled by plane, since most away games were within easy driving distance of the campus. The return became the subject of the film, "We Are Marshall". "I kept thinking he [Arthur Sr.] would drive up in the car," said Maja Harris, Art Jr.s mother and Art Sr.s wife. 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. [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. These are some of their stories, 50 years later. "Just a very smart guy. Dawson eventually became a successful construction company owner. 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?". He had to rent a car to get to the game,then asked if there were seats on the plane to get back to Marshall. 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. 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 tragedy shocked the town of Huntington in the worst way imaginable. In the next second, though, the co-pilot quickly calls out new readings, "hundred and twenty-six hundred", and the sounds of impact immediately follow. Druid High School football players sign grants-in-aid with Marshall in the spring of 1969. | 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. They became friends and fished together. On November 14, Southern Airways Flight 932, which was chartered by the school to fly the Thundering Herd football team, coaches, and fans to Kinston, North Carolina for a game against the East Carolina Pirates and back to Huntington, crashed on approach to Tri-State Airport after clipping trees just west of the runway and impacting nose-first into a hollow. "Where nobody could see me," Dawson said of his hiding spot. Among them were Dr. Ray Hagley, who was a Marshall team physician, and his wife. "I didn't do anything except for fishing, hunting and construction work," he said. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. It went beyond physical damage. Seventy children had at least one parent die in the crash, with 18 of them left orphaned. While in the air, the plane struck a tree on a tall hill and crashed to the ground. We didn't have children, so she was like a child. The 6500 lb, 13 ft-high (2900 kg, 4 m-high) sculpture was completed within a year and a half. The rest were pilots, crew, coaches, administrators, boosters and business leaders. "It wasn't losing faith," she said. Marshall coach Doc Holliday invited him to speak to the team. > 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. This time, they decided if all couldn't go, none of them could go. This college football 1970s season article is a stub. He never did try to preach to me. That was the era before the color barrier had been broken in the SEC. The victims included 36 football players and 39 school administrators, coaches, fans, spouses and flight crew. [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. The five Southern Airlines employees also died in the crash. 2023 Marshall University. It was a funeral that never stopped. Ferrum won the national junior college championship his first year there in 1965. He was the Athletic Director for MU. Beamer had brought a special Hokie Stone inscribed with Loria's name. All three were killed in the plane crash. That is certainly what was going to happen.". "It was just a little school in the hills," Mary Jane said. The trip took 20 hours. Among the losses were nearly the entire Marshall University football team, coaches, flight crew, numerous fans, and supporters. Mary Jane Tolley didn't go because the local veterinarian recommended she stay because the couple's dog was sick. They left behind six children who were being babysat by Dan DAntoni, a 23-year-old assistant with the Marshall basketball program in 1970. 37 of them were members of the football team. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. Art could have played professional baseball or professional football.. 1. They did care a lot about him. We each lost one or more family members, said Call, the ceremonys keynote speaker. [5] The accident is the deadliest tragedy to have affected any sports team in U.S. [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. And then, after the game, if Slezak had been there, would that have deterred Art Sr. from getting on the plane? They even won a couple of games. HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) Marshall University commemorated the 50th anniversary of one of the worst sports disasters in U.S. history Saturday, a plane crash that killed most of the football team. 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 . [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. He makes sure the Herd have a home game. Later in the season, Marshall also upset Bowling Green State, 12-10. Across the nation, many expressed their condolences. Huntington, WV 25755. They arrived shortly before sunrise. The Mid-American Conference also expelled the team for similar offenses. It slipped out from underneath him, according to Dawson, and Oliver hit his head. He returned to find a city, a university and a program in despair. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Plymales mother attended a funeral in North Carolina, and her family became close friends with the victims family. Loria had been a two-time All-American at Virginia Tech. Yes, we grieve. "For a long time, he couldn't handle it," Call said. All were on the travel squad list before the plane crash. Marshall fans and residents of Huntington, W.V. But for the university and the entire community, it left a huge void. Patricia Smith was adopted and eventually, after exhaustive research, tracked down the identity of her father at age 30. Red Dawson was admittedly bitter. > 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. 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. Without any particular reason, Carter stayed. Digitized University Archives Collections Its an inspiring tribute to those fallen lives and the devoted men who led Marshall back to glory. Accessibility Statement, Privacy "He was a tremendous athlete who could do it all. HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) Marshall University commemorated the 50th anniversary of one of the worst sports disasters in U.S. history Saturday, a plane crash that killed most of the football team. Couldn't keep my voice straight. | Tragedy struck Marshall University more than a half-century ago, when most of the school's football program was involved in a plane crash . The controller gave them clearance to land. Dawson hopes it goes as well as last year. Marshall decided to continue the football program. Head coach Rick Tolley was among the crash victims. 50 years, McConaughey said Saturday on Twitter. The victims included 36 Marshall University football players, 9 coaches and administrators, 25 fans and crew of 5. No one will ever know exactly how Harris Sr. ended up on the plane. And on Saturday, the 16th-ranked football team won, defeating Middle Tennessee 42-14. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive), "'We Are Marshall' just stuck," Smith said. Roy Slezak refuses to call it an anniversary. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Sometimes Gilbert -- Marshall's president -- comes over for a couple of beers. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Kautz died in the 1970 plane crash. 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. [2], The original proposal to charter the flight was refused because it would exceed "the takeoff limitations of their aircraft". Thats what we are doing today.. We Are Marshall was the rallying cry for the Thundering Herds football program in 1970. 6-keys: media/spln/collegefootball/reg/free/stories, at This event taught me how to celebrate someones life. 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. 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. 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. 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. When police needed a list of those on the plane, they came to the Kautzes' home. Former Marshall cheerleader Lucianne Kautz Call lost her father, Charlie E. Kautz, who was the universitys athletic director. Al Carelli, Jr., Assistant coach, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. As a memorial to the 75 victims, the Marshall players wore the number 75 on their helmets. Libraries 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. I don't think I believed it.. He was a linebacker. All were qualified for the flight. Slezak originally agreedbut said it would mean breaking a date. On Nov. 14, 1970, the chartered jet crashed in fog and . Inscription. An Equal Opportunity University. Frank got the whole team out and they went up and placed that Hokie Stone on the memorial. Lives were shattered. Harris, I have bad news.' Once again, on Saturday, Dawson will speak at the fountain ceremony. Southern Airways DC-9, similiar to plane that crashed with MU footballt team, col. (low-res digital image only). A week later, he died at age 66 as a result of the injury. Charlie had given his wife a manifest before he left. But I already knew. 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. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. 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). It is the center of activity of the campus. "God is your pilot. Lucianne Call hasn't lost much of her cheerleading enthusiasm. Frank Loria was one of Beamer's best friends.