"He said: 'Your husband is in the plane, too.' Marshall coach Doc Holliday invited him to speak to the team. That is certainly what was going to happen.". "I always loved to fly," she said. 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. This goes deep, Plymale said. Across the nation, many expressed their condolences. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. ". Marshall decided to continue the football program. He went recruiting. ", "This was a city, the largest in the state, that literally went into a four-day state of shock," Brunner said. David Debord, #76, 1970 MU Football team, b&w. "[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. "We stayed friends forever," Dawson said proudly. After the crash, Carter took a bus back to West Virginia. Dawson played tight end for Bill Peterson in the early 1960s at Florida State. All except team chaplain Robert Scott. The NCAA repealed that prohibition at its annual convention in January 1972. The two didn't get along, according to Dawson. "The reason it's survivor's guilt is because so many people changed their mind at the last minute," Call said. Sketch is matted and framed. Private. I had 75 angels there.". His body was not identified and he is buried with five other unidentified players in the Springhill Cemetery. On November 14, 1970 a DC-9 airliner carrying the Marshall University football team, coaches, and supporters crashed on final approach to Tri-State Airport n. He was 37. To this day, she isn't satisfied. It was a funeral that never stopped. Plymales mother attended a funeral in North Carolina, and her family became close friends with the victims family. 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. February 15, 2023, 10:43 AM. Of course, she misses her husband. " Carter said. Dawson was not on the plane when it crashed. He returned to find a city, a university and a program in despair. Mom and her intuition won. The bronze 1723 ft (57 m) statue was created by artist Burl Jones of Sissonville, West Virginia, and cost $150,000. Rick, he ran them off. The crash was the worst in American sports history. Later in the season, Marshall also upset Bowling Green State, 12-10. DeBord died in the 1970 plane crash. [16] The sculpture's designer, Harry Bertoia, created the $25,000 memorial that incorporated bronze, copper tubing, and welding rods. The victims included 36 Marshall University football players, 9 coaches and administrators, 25 fans and air crew of 5. . Marshall Plane Crash Site Marker. 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. Beamer had brought a special Hokie Stone inscribed with Loria's name. Parker flew to the game, but did not fly back, having switched places with Deke Brackett, another coach. 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. "God is your pilot. Among them were Dr. Ray Hagley, who was a Marshall team physician, and his wife. He said, 'What the hell is going on with Virginia Tech?' 37 of them were members of the football team. 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 won just two games, and the first winning season didnt come for another 13 years. He was an incredible all-around athlete. A memorial bell tower is being planned for a location on WV 75 near exit 1 along Interstate 64. Dawson hopes it goes as well as last year. The aircraft "dipped to the right, almost inverted, and had crashed into a hollow 'nose-first'". [8], The board made three recommendations as a result of this accident, including recommendations for heads-up displays, ground proximity warning devices, and surveillance and inspection of flight operations. "The teammates liked the Tuscaloosa boys unbelievably," Dawson said, "especially when Reggie got there.". Home For Slezak, a retired banker/computer engineer, Saturday's 50th anniversary of the crash is an emotional occasion. "Anniversaries are supposed to be happy," Slezak said . 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. "It was horrible because it was a non-ending funeral. Back rfeads: 1st MU practice Spring 1971, Coach Red Dawson. Inscription. Dawson's brother had been recruited by Bryant, so there was a relationship. history.[6]. In 2000, at age 50, Call became a flight attendant with USAir Express. There was no reason to be around. No one will ever know exactly how Harris Sr. ended up on the plane. The Hokies were in town to play the Herd. Following its plane crash, Wichita State was granted similar permission to use freshmen on the varsity to resume its 1970 season. 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. In the teams first home game since the plane crash, Marshall put together one of the most inspiring performances in sports history. Yes, we grieve. The Harris family detailed thatevening in a 1995 article in The Record. W.Va. State historical marker 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. Tri-State airport installed a glide slope using federal funds in 1972. The House of Delegates passed the bill last month. Every one of the 75 people on board died in the crash. "Oh sure, you ask yourself, 'Why did I miss it and all my friends and coaches were killed?' Kenova native and Grammy-award winner Michael W. Smith opened the ceremony by singing Amazing Grace. He told the audience that he was 13 when the plane crashed eight minutes from his house. This plaza and this fountain are the heart of Marshall University, university President Jerome Gilbert said. | It's categorized as a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Marshall University honors the 75 lives lost in the 1970 plane crash tragedy during the 48th Annual Memorial Service on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018 . 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 tragedy shocked the town of Huntington in the worst way imaginable. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. It was impossible for the remaining Marshall players to forget about their fallen teammates, but they had to when the 1971 season approached. Patricia Smith was adopted and eventually, after exhaustive research, tracked down the identity of her father at age 30. He was the Athletic Director for MU. 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. The airliner's crew was Captain Frank Abbot (47), First Officer Jerry Smith (28), plus two flight attendants. Tolley's grave was moved up there a few years ago. We Are Marshall.. "At 1 o'clock in the morning, a detective came to the door. Digitized University Archives Collections > Six weeks before the Marshall tragedy, a plane carrying members of the Wichita State football team crashed in Colorado, killing 31 people. All 75 people on board died. - The Yeti Airlines flight with 68. Carter read his own obituary the next day in the local newspaper. Frank got the whole team out and they went up and placed that Hokie Stone on the memorial. "I took the phone, but Mrs. Shoebridge was crying hysterically. Back then, Bowden was the wide receivers coach. On November 14, 1970, the team was flying back from a game against East Carolina. New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, USA . What they witnessed was dystopian. They even won a couple of games. The following offseason, Dawson went to a national coaching convention. All three were 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. "All of them were fighting and arguing over each other about whose fault it was. Patient as an elementary school teacher but also unrelenting. Southern Airways DC-9, similiar to plane that crashed with MU footballt team, col. (low-res digital image only). The rebuilding of the football program was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starting Matthew McConaughey. My Account 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). 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. About The controller gave them clearance to land. })(); (aka "The Marshall University Football Team Crash"). 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. She spoke of her husband's early days as an assistant at Ferrum Junior College in Virginia. Prior to the state Senate's unanimous vote Wednesday, the chamber held a moment of silence for the crash victims at . 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. (East Carolina is located nearby in Greenville.) [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. Slezak has realized how fickle life can be. But for the university and the entire community, it left a huge void. One day, the wife of the head coach was in class. Dawson goes to games again. All were on the travel squad list before the plane crash. A bunch of her husband's former linemen were lining the walls of her living room. It signified the teams unity as not just a football team, but one family. Prior to the state Senates unanimous vote Wednesday, the chamber held a moment of silence for the crash victims at the request of Upshur County Republican Sen. Bill Hamilton. Members of the current team also visited a nearby cemetery, where six players from the 1970 team whose bodies were never identified were buried. "All these guys, about 50 of them, came out for football. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive), "'We Are Marshall' just stuck," Smith said. 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?". One of Dawson's greatest contributions may have been the recruiting of four African-American athletes out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. var _gaq = _gaq || []; "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. They couldn't see. He went to work one day and didn't come home.". [13][14], The Marshall University football team only won two games during the 1971 season, against Xavier and Bowling Green. 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. It's more than that, of course. 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. This is not what you wanted to hear. Marshall decided to continue the football program. As part of an annual rite, the . Carter can't recall how a Marshall assistant found his film in the late 1960s. Nash died in the 1970 plane crash. If her husband was too hard-nosed or too tough, those notions were dispelled in the days after her world was turned upside down. 75 members, coaches, and fans were killed in November 1970 plane crash. 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. "It was losing faith in these ministers. As a memorial to the 75 victims, the Marshall players wore the number 75 on their helmets. The rebuilding was the subject of the 2006 movie We are Marshall starring Matthew McConaughey as Lengyel. Holliday wants to make a date to come out and hunt turkeys on Dawson's 400 acres outside of town. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; Fr. Accessibility Statement, Privacy The Unexpected Death of University of Connecticut Football Player Jasper Howard. Marshall fans and residents of Huntington, W.V. He and the sycamore have aged well. Trademarked and copyrighted images and insignia are the exclusive property of Marshall University. Dawson was retained by Tolley. Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Just like winter leads to spring, these bad memories now lead us to, I think, a day of celebration, Woelfel said. The trip took 20 hours. On Saturday, it will be Middle Tennessee State. This flight was the only flight that year for the Marshall University football team. Artwork by Eugene Payne, Staff Artist, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, N.C. "He had a great future in front of him. "In my case, it became clear four years later. And then, after the game, if Slezak had been there, would that have deterred Art Sr. from getting on the plane? She never could explain it other than saying God had spoken to her. So were the religious types who were too numerous for their messages to get through. According to the official National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, the accident was "unsurvivable". They did care a lot about him. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing. 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.