marshall plane crash victims list

Beamer had brought a special Hokie Stone inscribed with Loria's name. "As I listened to the scriptures," Carter said, "the Lord has purpose for each one of our lives.". Charles Kautz is third from right, with tie. One day, she rounded a corner in her house. "Lord, the first time they asked me to speak at the anniversary, I was a mess," Dawson said. Couldn't keep my voice straight. Cemetery Visibility: Public. As part of an annual rite, the . "The Young Herd" that carried on in 1971 had a new coach, Jack Lengyel. After the crash, Carter took a bus back to West Virginia. There was no playbook, and nobody had been in that position before.". 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. Without any particular reason, Carter stayed. "'The phrase is about respect, and it makes you realize you can't take anything for granted. She graduated from Marshall in 1971. The team originally planned to cancel the flight, but changed plans and chartered the Southern Airways DC-9. "[7] The remains of six passengers were never identified. Sketch is matted and framed. Marshall's defensive coordinator did not return home with the team. I realized I had been wrong about that.". This college football 1970s season article is a stub. Eventually, Rick won over their hearts and minds. The decision had already been made regarding cheerleaders for that trip. February 15, 2023, 10:43 AM. All were on the travel squad list before the plane crash. I didn't know what to do. > 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. 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. There were injured players who stayed behind. 77 memorials. DAntoni is now Marshalls basketball coach. Although the airport runway has since been lengthened past its original threshold, making historical measurements more difficult, the NTSB official report provides, "the accident occurred during hours of darkness at 38 22' 27" N. latitude and 82 34' 42" W. 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. 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. The report also noted that the craft approached the Catlettsburg Refinery in the final 30 seconds before impact, which "could haveaffecteda visual illusion produced by the difference in the elevation of the refinery and the airport," which was nearly 300ft (91m) higher than the refinery, with hills in between. She spoke of her husband's early days as an assistant at Ferrum Junior College in Virginia. Patricia Smith was adopted and eventually, after exhaustive research, tracked down the identity of her father at age 30. They had met in Roanoke, Virginia, where she taught. | - The Yeti Airlines flight with 68. The House of Delegates passed the bill last month. Football made sense to him.". In fact, it was stronger than that. All except team chaplain Robert Scott. All Rights Reserved. The pair were listening to country music when the bulletin came across that a plane had crashed in Huntington. The aircraft was a 95-seat, twin-jet engine Douglas DC-9-30 with tail registration N97S. The team and residents of the town still gather together every year in memorial of the fallen fellows. 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. Prior to the state Senate's unanimous vote Wednesday, the chamber held a moment of silence for the crash victims at . "We got her when she was 6 weeks old. But that begs the very human question of why God spared him and not those on the plane? We'll look at what happened to the Marshall University football program as a . I just hung up the phone. Harris Sr. told Slezak he had to keep his promises. Southern Airways DC-9, similiar to plane that crashed with MU footballt team, col. (low-res digital image only). "Kenova to dedicate crash memorial Monday." Some who were left off the flight, did not make the trip or lost loved ones spent the next five decades with crippling questions that had no answers. Druid High School football players sign grants-in-aid with Marshall in the spring of 1969. An Equal Opportunity University. Al Carelli, Jr., Assistant coach, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. In 2011, Frank Beamer directed the Virginia Tech team buses to detour on their way to Marshall's Joan C. Edwards Stadium. His jersey hangs in Passaic High School. Across the nation, many expressed their condolences. 37 of them were members of the football team. It's more than that, of course. "Couldn't keep the tears out of my eyes. Lyndhurst's Tom Shoebridge, brother of crash victim Ted Shoebridge, and Elmwood Park's Keith Karl, a freshman on the 1970 Marshall team, join the show. Plymale said 64 children lost one or both of their parents in the crash. "I could hear the speeches and see what was going on [from behind the tree]," he said. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Dennis Foley was not on the plane, Bob Harris was killed in the 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. 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. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive), "'We Are Marshall' just stuck," Smith said. Home [5] The accident is the deadliest tragedy to have affected any sports team in U.S. Southern Airways Flight 932. They arrived shortly before sunrise. "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. "It was horrible because it was a non-ending funeral. There was no reason to be around. (AP Photo/John Raby, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news, left behind six children who were being babysat. Scott would call up and say, 'Any time you want to call, you call me night or day. The inspiring story even made it to the big screen in 2006. [25], The events of the crash are documented in an episode of Aircrash Confidential titled "Disastrous Descents".[27]. Following its plane crash, Wichita State was granted similar permission to use freshmen on the varsity to resume its 1970 season. We Are Marshall was the rallying cry for the Thundering Herds football program in 1970. On Friday, the 36 players who died in the crash received degrees from Marshall in their fields of study. It was unveiled to thousands 90 minutes before the game with the Miami University RedHawks. We didn't have children, so she was like a child. 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). Cabell County Democratic Sen. Mike Woelfel said he was 17 years old driving in his car in Huntington when news of the crash came on the radio. The event marked a boundary by which an entire community would forever . "It was just a little school in the hills," Mary Jane said. "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. It was real big-time negligence. "Apparently, it was time God saw fit to call them.". W.Va. State historical marker 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. "I didn't want anybody to see me crying. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The dog's name was Sturmisch. The actual damage was incalculable. Patient as an elementary school teacher but also unrelenting. 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 official cause for the crash was either altimeter malfunction or pilot error. Among those in the fountain audience were four football players from East Carolina who played in that 1970 game. Red Dawson was admittedly bitter. Memorial newspaper page from The Herald-Advertiser. 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 | The 6500 lb, 13 ft-high (2900 kg, 4 m-high) sculpture was completed within a year and a half. 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. 1970 Crash Victims. "That's something I've never been able to get over because it was so wrong.". They met once a year, Red Dawson and the sycamore tree he picked out that was large enough to hide behind. ". The victims included 36 football players and 39 school administrators, coaches, fans, spouses and flight crew. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing. Hewlett gave Carter a pamphlet titled, "Steps To Peace With God." It is based upon ideas by John and Ann Krieger of Huntington. In the teams first home game since the plane crash, Marshall put together one of the most inspiring performances in sports history. "He was a tremendous athlete who could do it all. On the 50th anniversary, they're both still around. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. 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. MU plane crash historical marker, Wayne County, W.Va., col. (low-res digital image only). "When the 14th of November comes around every year, all the worms and stuff start getting in your head," Dawson said. I'll be right over.' Mary Jane was the perfect coach's wife. 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. 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. It was impossible for the remaining Marshall players to forget about their fallen teammates, but they had to when the 1971 season approached. [16] The sculpture's designer, Harry Bertoia, created the $25,000 memorial that incorporated bronze, copper tubing, and welding rods. Sort By. Back rfeads: 1st MU practice Spring 1971, Coach Red Dawson. I couldn't go to all of them. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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. (East Carolina is located nearby in Greenville.) A memorial bell tower is being planned for a location on WV 75 near exit 1 along Interstate 64. Officials sift through wreckage at the Marshall plane crash site, 1970. DeBord died in the 1970 plane crash. Dawson and Parker were buying boiled peanuts at a country store in rural Virginia when they heard the news over the radio. Dawson was retained by Tolley. From that moment, we became one family.. "You couldn't count on it," Dawson said. Among them were Dr. Ray Hagley, who was a Marshall team physician, and his wife. On Nov. 14, 1970, the chartered jet crashed in fog and . Marshall is ranked No. "For a long time, he couldn't handle it," Call said. Loria had been a two-time All-American at Virginia Tech. Photos: 48th Annual Memorial Fountain Service 2018. 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 . (JACK BURNETT/AP) Pure chance, some cases. Aircraft and crew. I don't think I believed it.. Dawson played tight end for Bill Peterson in the early 1960s at Florida State. The Druid Four did and were all killed in the crash. During that ceremony, Gilbert spoke eloquently about the 75 souls again. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. This is believed to be a duplicate of the plane that crashed Nov. 14, 1970 carrying MU football team. Mary Jane eventually moved to Richmond, Virginia. "You have to realize he had to tell several, several players' families, all the ones that he recruited. On Saturday, it will be Middle Tennessee State. Roy Slezak refuses to call it an anniversary. After the plane crash, she became the only thing that I had.". Near Huntington, West Virginia. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. "I can remember the hurt in my stomach like it was yesterday," Beamer said. It was raining hard, and he remembered seeing ambulances speeding past the group. College Football Player, Plane Crash Victim. "We stayed friends forever," Dawson said proudly. Four of the crash victims were students in her class, and Marshall faculty were sent to attend the funerals. Page of 4. According to the official National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, the accident was "unsurvivable". If her husband was too hard-nosed or too tough, those notions were dispelled in the days after her world was turned upside down. It was a funeral that never stopped. Suddenly, then-Lucianne Kautz was without a father. Charlie Kautz had lived long enough to give away Lucianne at her wedding only five months earlier. William Alfred "Red" Dawson was one of the best players Bobby Bowden ever saw. She traveled to Washington, D.C. for the hearings that were supposed to explain the crash. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. [2], The original proposal to charter the flight was refused because it would exceed "the takeoff limitations of their aircraft". In 2000, at age 50, Call became a flight attendant with USAir Express. Accessibility Statement, Privacy Three-and-a-half years after the crash in 1974, Carter was working with Carl Hewlett, a former Marshall pitcher. 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. Wichita Falls is 1,100 miles from Huntington. I made a promise to Mrs. Harris that he would never be forgotten.. 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. The solemn ceremony was held around a fountain dedicated to the crash victims on Marshall's Huntington campus. 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, "I got a call from our operations guy. They stayed in Marshall for a fundraising event. 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 the hillside nearby. Libraries He was 37. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); 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 victims included 36 football players and 39 school administrators, coaches, fans, spouses and flight crew. Yes, we hurt, Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick said. The subsequent negotiations resulted in a reduction of the weight of passengers and baggage and the charter flight was scheduled. It has taken her more than a year. Harris died in the 1970 plane crash. 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. His body was not identified and he is buried with five other unidentified players in the Springhill Cemetery. They couldn't take the tough routine. There was room for only a few of them on the plane to Kinston, North Carolina. The late Jack Hardin, then a Huntington Herald-Dispatch reporter, once recalled stepping over a log on his way up the hill to cover the story. Among the losses were nearly the entire Marshall University football team, coaches, flight crew, numerous fans, and supporters. Plymale said his mother was a professor at Marshall. In 2006, Hollywood turned that inspiring slogan into one of the greatest sports movies ever made. 00:00 / 00:00. "The reason it's survivor's guilt is because so many people changed their mind at the last minute," Call said. "Just a very smart guy. MU_PLANE_CRASH. Marshall University, Frank Loria is third from left. 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. Frank got the whole team out and they went up and placed that Hokie Stone on the memorial. New Bern National Cemetery. 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. 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. Seventy children had at least one parent die in the crash, with 18 of them left orphaned. There is already a plot there for one more. Artwork by Eugene Payne, Staff Artist, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, N.C.". The college town agreed with him. Normally in that situation, the cheerleaders would draw straws to see who went. 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?". They left behind six children who were being babysat by Dan DAntoni, a 23-year-old assistant with the Marshall basketball program in 1970. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Banners will be raised across the Marshall campus bearing their images. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; Marshall University. The opponent was scheduled to be East Carolinathe same team that defeated Marshall before the disaster took place. "Oh sure, you ask yourself, 'Why did I miss it and all my friends and coaches were killed?' 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. 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. I had 75 angels there.". Later in the season, Marshall also upset Bowling Green State, 12-10. Allen Gene Skeens, #59, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. Skeens was killed in the plane crash. ". A week later, he died at age 66 as a result of the injury. Memorial at Spring Hill Cemetery in Huntington, West Virginia to the victims of the 1970 plane crash. The two didn't get along, according to Dawson. [4] The following Saturday, another memorial service was held at the outdoor, 18,000-seat Fairfield Stadium. 1970 aviation accident in West Virginia, United States, A Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 similar to the aircraft involved in the accident, Pinkston, Antwon. 1. Rick played football at nearby Virginia Tech. "Anniversaries are supposed to be happy," Slezak said . His football will didn't come back quickly, but something has changed over the years. Reggie Oliver was an outgoing quarterback who eventually made his way into the Marshall hall of fame. Trademarked and copyrighted images and insignia are the exclusive property of Marshall University. But when the town got together, they decided to continue the team's tradition in remembrance of the loved ones lost on that 1970 night. "It was not a premonition. Charles Kautz, 1970 MU Athletic Director, b&w. Insurance agents were annoying. Kautz died in the 1970 plane crash. Slezak believes Harris Sr. flew to the wrong city Greenville, South Carolina, instead of Greenville, North Carolina, where East Carolina is located. Her recollections of the crash's aftermath are split. 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.