marshall plane crash victims list

That day nine years ago, "Frank Beamer became a very special person in my mind," Hamrick said. The Thundering Herd upset Xavier, 15-13, in an emotional victory for the ages. He said, No, you keep your commitment, that is what you do, there will be other games, Slezak said. Memorial Fountain on the Marshall University campus, dedicated in 1972. He became acting head coach in 1971, and formed the "Young Thundering Herd". Sometimes Gilbert -- Marshall's president -- comes over for a couple of beers. A plaque was placed on the base on August 10, 1973, reading: They shall live on in the hearts of their families and friends forever and this memorial records their loss to the university and the community. [10], The crash of Flight 932 so devastated the local community that it almost led to the discontinuation of Marshall's football program. "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. She would just listen to the game on the radio. Things were going swimmingly two weeks before the East Carolina game. Gone were sons, fathers, mothers, classmates and fraternity brothers. Kautz died in the 1970 plane crash. Among the losses were nearly the entire Marshall University football team, coaches, flight crew, numerous fans, and supporters. Scott would call up and say, 'Any time you want to call, you call me night or day. He said, 'What the hell is going on with Virginia Tech?' DeBord died in the 1970 plane crash. Body unidentified and buried with five other unidentified players in Spring Hill Cemetery. I just hung up the phone. 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. We didn't have children, so she was like a child. 1970 aviation accident in West Virginia, United States, A Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 similar to the aircraft involved in the accident, Pinkston, Antwon. (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The decision had been made long before the East Carolina game that Dawson would be out recruiting after the game. Marshall University. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. While Wichita State ended its football program in 1986, Marshall carried on. We Are Marshall.. That was an overwhelming responsibility.". "[7] The airliner left Stallings Field at Kinston, North Carolina, and the flight proceeded to Huntington without incident. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. 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. What good is it going to do anybody?' Dawson came out of the shadows long ago to embrace Nov. 14. In the teams first home game since the plane crash, Marshall put together one of the most inspiring performances in sports history. Six weeks before the Marshall tragedy, a plane carrying members of the Wichita State football team crashed in Colorado, killing 31 people. He was 37. Harris, I have bad news.' "The teammates liked the Tuscaloosa boys unbelievably," Dawson said, "especially when Reggie got there.". To make matters worse, Marshall was placed on probation by the NCAA because of recruiting violations and alleged payments to its players, the Daily News reported at the time. briefly mourned after the 17-14 defeat, but what happened after the game shook the school and the town to its core. The rebuilding of the football program was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starting Matthew McConaughey. (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. Does FSU or any ACC power actually have options? He was like a sounding board.". On Saturday, 75 candles surrounded the fountain. The ceremony was held by invitation-only due to the coronavirus pandemic and was made available online. 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. It was a funeral that never stopped. W.Va. State historical marker 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. I knew as soon as I saw the police car. Without an official designation, she has become the best historian of the events of 50 years ago. Head coach Rick Tolley was among the crash victims. I didn't know what to do. Officials sift through wreckage at the Marshall plane crash site, 1970. With 37 players gone due to the horrific tragedy, the NCAA allowed Marshalls freshmen players to suit up the next season. All three were killed in the plane crash. The NCAA granted Marshall permission to use freshmen on the varsity squad, something which was not allowed at the time. Its not an anniversary, but its a day to remember. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); The return became the subject of the film, "We Are Marshall". There was no reason to be around. 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). But for the university and the entire community, it left a huge void. 37 of them were members of the football team. That game did not occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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, Among the 75 who perished were 36 players. They did care a lot about him. I try to think about all the good times and the memories we made, Slezak said. Call is giddy talking about Marshall president Jerome Gilbert's initiative to award all 36 players their diplomas at a Friday afternoon ceremony. Page of 4. He was taken away way too soon.". If her husband was too hard-nosed or too tough, those notions were dispelled in the days after her world was turned upside down. Later in the season, Marshall also upset Bowling Green State, 12-10. "All of them were fighting and arguing over each other about whose fault it was. "That had taken a toll on my football coaching, a lot of bad things. He was an incredible all-around athlete. | [4], At the time, Marshall's athletic teams rarely traveled by plane, since most away games were within easy driving distance of the campus. Fifty-two years ago, Huntington, West Virginia, was home to what has been called the worst disaster in United States sports history. Near Huntington, West Virginia. It was real big-time negligence. The bill establishes that Nov. 14 will become a special memorial day in remembrance of the crash. They arrived shortly before sunrise. 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. | 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. 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. Slezak believes Harris Sr. flew to the wrong city Greenville, South Carolina, instead of Greenville, North Carolina, where East Carolina is located. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive), "'We Are Marshall' just stuck," Smith said. Marshall captured Division I-AA national championships in 1992 and 1996 and amassed the most wins of any team in the nation in the 1990s, many of them during a step up to Division I-A, now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision. No one could have imagined how deep a downward spiral Marshall University's football program would face in the late 1960's. From that moment, we became one family.. All were on the travel squad list before the plane crash. > The inspiring story even made it to the big screen in 2006. Lives were shattered. 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. There were injured players who stayed behind. Insurance agents were annoying. ", "I just generally felt we lost a great Hokie that day," Beamer said. He will speak at the annual memorial on Saturday like he has now for years. The solemn ceremony was held around a fountain dedicated to the crash victims on Marshall's Huntington campus. His body could not be identified, and with five other players, they were all buried. > "We stayed friends forever," Dawson said proudly. Dawson hopes it goes as well as last year. His body was not identified and he is buried with five other unidentified players in the Springhill Cemetery. Carter can't recall how a Marshall assistant found his film in the late 1960s. "It was not a premonition. [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. Normally in that situation, the cheerleaders would draw straws to see who went. No one prepared her for what was next. That's the unseen damage left a half century later after a Southern Airways DC- 9 carrying the Thundering Herd back from a game at East Carolina crashed into a hill a mile short of the Tri-State Airport in Huntington, West Virginia. In 2011, Frank Beamer directed the Virginia Tech team buses to detour on their way to Marshall's Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Eventually, Rick won over their hearts and minds. These are some of their stories, 50 years later. Dennis Foley was not on the plane, Bob Harris was killed in the plane crash. [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. Prior to the state Senate's unanimous vote Wednesday, the chamber held a moment of silence for the crash victims at . The rest were pilots, crew, coaches, administrators, boosters and business leaders. Plymales mother attended a funeral in North Carolina, and her family became close friends with the victims family. In 2006, Hollywood turned that inspiring slogan into one of the greatest sports movies ever made. "When the 14th of November comes around every year, all the worms and stuff start getting in your head," Dawson said. All 75 people on board died. "Where nobody could see me," Dawson said of his hiding spot. "I kept thinking he [Arthur Sr.] would drive up in the car," said Maja Harris, Art Jr.s mother and Art Sr.s wife. Anniversaries are supposed to be happy, Slezak said from his home in New Mexico. 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 I listened to the scriptures," Carter said, "the Lord has purpose for each one of our lives.". Its an inspiring tribute to those fallen lives and the devoted men who led Marshall back to glory. Beamer was at his wife-to-be's home that November night. Dawson played tight end for Bill Peterson in the early 1960s at Florida State. This time, they decided if all couldn't go, none of them could go. After an 0-9-1 season and investigation that ended with Marshall being kicked out of the MAC, Moss was gone. [4] The controllers advised the crew that "rain, fog, smoke and a ragged ceiling" were at the airport, making landing more difficult, but possible. 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. Special Collections Charlie Kautz had lived long enough to give away Lucianne at her wedding only five months earlier. Yolanda Shoebridge, the mother ofTed Shoebridge, called the Harris home on Linden Street. The House of Delegates passed the bill last month. Aircraft and crew. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Varsity Aces Live: Marshall Football Plane Crash 50th Anniversary. Another plaque memorializing the 1970 Marshall football team was unveiled at East Carolina University on the same day and can be seen at the guest team entrance of DowdyFicklen Stadium. Rick Tolley had helped him with the plane ticket to get back home. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. The next day, Mary Jane was gone. It slipped out from underneath him, according to Dawson, and Oliver hit his head. Skeens was killed in the plane crash. A travesty.". 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. His life was spared that night a half century ago. MU plane crash historical marker, Wayne County, W.Va., col. (low-res digital image only). When he passed, Loria's wife was pregnant with Frank Loria Jr. Beamer guided the buses to the memorial. "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. Featured speakers were Chancellor Steve Ballard, Athletic Director Terry Holland, Pirates' broadcaster Jeff Charles, and Marshall president, Stephen Kopp. "Al" Saylor, #88,1970 MU Football team, b&w. 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. ". Marshall decided to continue the football program. There was no playbook, and nobody had been in that position before.". "I believe I want to be buried up there with my boys," Dawson said. When it came time to return, Carter's mother Sarah urged him to stay at home. A bunch of her husband's former linemen were lining the walls of her living room. I don't think I believed it.. There is already a plot there for one more. 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.

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