Aboard the plane were the Marshall University football team, coaching staff and boosters. The NTSB also cited the overloaded condition of the plane and a virtual absence of planning by the flight crew. This is an opportunity to put the events in the publics mind, Stephens said in 2014. Senior center Hayden Gillum became the first to make the leap, announcing Friday on social media that he will be back for the . Arkansas' fans refrained from calling the Hogs as they supported the Shockers. He conducted a memorial service and wrote Homecoming Prayer, which was read at the first home game after the crash. Not a subscriber yet? Full Wichita State Shockers roster for the 2022-23 season including position, height, weight, birthdate, years of experience, and college. Valley Conference. (AP Photo/Henry Griffin)AP. Join our linker program. A little more than a month after Wichita State's tragedy, a plane carrying the Marshall football team crashed and killed all 75 people on board, including 37 players and nine members of the coaching staff. It was shown that $24 million in improvements were needed. On April 15, 2020, it was announced that the Kansas Board of Regents had given Wichita State University permission to demolish Cessna Stadium, the former home of the school's football team. Dorothy Harmon She served as interim athletic director after the crash. A: Other factors budget woes,losing records, low attendance and loss of conference affiliation caused the demise of football. The event was organized by former Wichita State player John Potts and former Arkansas player Chuck Dicus, according to The Wichita Eagle. Caden Henderson NCAA Stats Splits: Stat Type: Pace Adjusted Season View On December 25, 1905, Fairmount played a game against the Washburn Ichabods using a set of experimental rules. You really do. Mike Bruce, I hate like hell to fly. 1970 Wichita State Shockers Roster | College Football at Sports-Reference.com via Sports Logos.net About logos 1970 Wichita State Shockers Roster Previous Year Next Year Record: 0-9 (123rd of 123) ( Schedule & Results ) Conference: MVC Conference Record: 0-4 Coach: Ben Wilson (0-9) Points For: 99 Points/G: 11.0 (116th of 123) Points Against: 381 Football players and coaches on the "Black" plane were told of the crash by Bob Seaman, assistant coach, shortly after arrival in Logan, Trainer Tom Reeves and athlete John Taylor died later in hospitals after suffering burns. . The NTSB estimated the plane exceeded its takeoff weight limitation by around 5,165 pounds. The show depicts the Shockers winning a national championship at the NCAA Division II level under the titular character.[23]. To read last week's Throwback Thursday on the previous nine times Arkansas and Texas A&M played when both were ranked, click here. All rights reserved. The "Gold" plane carrying the first-team players and staff crashed in Colorado's Loveland Pass. The future of the 1970 football season was in doubt, with the decision lying in the "[9] According to Nelson, Washburn completed three passes, and Fairmount completed two. He died two days later. The team compiled a 09 record (04 against conference opponents), finished last out of five teams in the MVC, and was outscored by a total of 381 to 99. Outland commented, "It seems to me that the distance required in three downs would almost eliminate touchdowns, except through fakes or flukes. [13] Hoheisel, who was described by coach Wilson in the preseason as "the heart and soul of our defense",[13] was selected as the team captain. A plane carrying the Wichita State University football team had crashed. had no objection of using freshman in the remaining games; neither did the Missouri Subject: Wichita (Kan.) -- Pictorial works. 24 with the University of Arkansas Razorbacks in Little Rock at the War Memorial Stadium. Some school's results have been altered by retroactive NCAA penalties. [18][19], In 2012, an attempt was made to begin a club-level football team at Wichita State with hopes of eventually reviving the football program, though no official endorsement was given by the university.[20]. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The Shockers would have likely still been over-matched against No. All rights reserved. The team's statistical leaders included Rick Baehr with 513 passing yards, Don Gilley with 290 rushing yards and 12 points scored, Bill Moore with 175 receiving yards.[2]. Tolle made it look like 1993 all over again at Eck Stadium on Saturday, doing his best Darren Dreifort impression. [11], In the final game of the season, the Shockers took a 170 lead over Lee Corso's bowl-bound Louisville Cardinals. 9-ranked football team the Arkansas Razorbacks. The stories of the people affected by the crash and its aftermath serve as a tribute to all - teammates, friends and family. Wichita's freshman quarterback Rick Baher also threw two touchdown passes, and John Potts kicked a 47-yard field goal. ABC televised the event with Monty Hall as host. A: On Nov. 14, 1970, a plane carrying Marshall's football team back crashed near the airport in Huntington, W.V., killing 75 people. [10] The game was canceled, and the Utah State football team held a memorial service at the stadium where the game was to have been played. Tolley was Marshall's head football coach when the team's plane crashed in 1970 killing all 75 people aboard. The plane crashed while trying to land at Tri-State Airport in Kenova, W.Va. Bulldozers plow through wreckage of the DC9 chartered jet that crashed in Kenova, W.V., Nov. 15, 1970. The 1970 Wichita Shockers football team was an American football team that represented Wichita State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The 2006 movie, We Are Marshall, depicted the aftermath of the crash. The two planes traveled to Denver, Colo., to refuel. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Fifty years ago Friday. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. This is a weekly feature at Hawgs247. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Wichita State was playing its first game since head coach Ben Wilson, athletic director Bert Katzenmeyer, 14 players and 15 other people died in a plane crash on Oct. 2, 1970 en route to a. College Football at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. Sure enough, Arkansas led 14-0 just three minutes in and head coach Frank Broyles quickly got his reserves into the game. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 9 Arkansas on Oct. 24. The first official football game played by Wichita State was in 1897, when they were known as Fairmount, under the coaching of T. H. Morrison. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. In an annual ceremony of remembrance, a wreath is placed at Wichita State's Memorial A: The Black plane followed the original flight plan, north toward Laramie, Wyo., to gain altitude before crossing the Rockies. Learn more and register, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. If you have this information and would like to share This story was originally published October 1, 2015, 12:36 PM. Utah State placed a memorial wreath at the 50-yard line at its football stadium. A fireman looks over the wreckage of a DC-9 jet that was carrying the Marshall University football team in Kenova, W.Va., on Nov. 15, 1970. (AP Photo)ASSOCIATED PRESS. [36] At the end of the season, a nationally televised fundraising program hosted by Monty Hall was aired to raise money for the victims of the two crashes. Randy Jackson One of the eight surviving players, Jackson led the Shockers in rushing in 1971 with 820 yards, then the second-highest total in program history, and eight touchdowns. John Duren, 19, Oklahoma City, Okla., Sophomore TE, Randy Kiesau, 20, Clinton, Okla., Junior CB, Mal Kimmel, 21, St. Genevieve, Mo., Senior C, Carl Krueger, 19, Chicago, Ill., Sophomore DE, Tom Owen, 20, Temple Terrace, Fla., Junior RB, Gene Robinson, 21, Dayton, Ohio, Junior TE, Tom Shedden, 20, Oklahoma City, Okla., Junior OT, Richard Stines, 19, Kansas City, Kan., Sophomore G, Jack Vetter, 21, McPherson, Kan., Senior DT, Bert Katzenmeyer, 52, Elwood City, Penn., Athletic Director, Ray Coleman, 45, Wichita, Kan., Shocker Club Chairman, Minority Owned Businesses & Cultural Opportunities in the AAC, Wichita State Crash Survivor Relives Details, Crash site an important memorial for 'Gold Plane' family, Triumph and tragedy: Scotties grad Barkell starred at Wichita State, recalls plane crash, Forgotten tragedy: Survivors' quest to keep memories of 1970 Wichita State crash from fading, Daughter of WSU plane crash victim never knew her 'Da-da', 1990: Those left behind mourned and built new lives, Three generations later, the secrets of Wichita State's devastating plane crash are still unfolding, Wichita State plane crash killing 31 in 1970 revisited Saturday, Youve got to go on: Children of Wichita State crash victims share a 50-year bond, Wichita State marks anniversary of 1970 football team plane crash - Wichita Eagle, Overshadowed: The Wichita State Football Crash, Black & Gold: Remembering the WSU Plane Crash, Surviving Oct. 2nd: Remembering the Fallen with Rick Stephens, 'Gold Plane' & Silver Plume: the Wichita State Plane Crash Revisited, A Look at the WSU Plane Crash's Aftermath, Crash Site an Important Memorial for 'Gold Plane' Family, Former Utah State player still feels linked to Shockers, Shocker Summer: 1970 healing process began on a Saturday night in Little Rock, Shockers forever: Area graduates were part of Wichita State program when plane crash killed 31 in 1970, Greg Hansen: Remembering the Wichita State plane crash, 50 years later, The Valley of No Return: The Story of the Wichita State University Football Team Plane Crash, Wichita State University Football Team Airplane Crash Collection. He would subsequently drop the plan weeks later. Every year on Oct. 2, Wichita State University remembers the victims of the 1970 plane crash in Colorado, a tragedy that took the lives of 31 people on the trip to a football game in Utah the next day. The first home game was WSU's homecoming on October 31 against the University of Cincinnati Orville Henry of the Arkansas Gazette wrote that WSU entered the stadium in a single-file line to a minute-long standing ovation from the crowd of 40,000. Wichita State's 2017 move to the American Athletic Conference leaves it as the only full member of the conference which does not play football. WSU players spent the night in Logan Coach Bob Seaman Wichita States offensive coordinator took over as coach, a job he held until 1973, when athletic director Ted Bredehoft fired him. Cheers in this stadium have turned to tears and back again to cheers and all are a part of life.. Joyce Series No: FBC613 Holdings: Box 1 (FBC613-1) Abilene Christian (Abilene Christian University - Abilene TX) 17 Sep 1960 vs East Texas State - 15 Oct 1960 vs Howard Payne - 29 Oct 1960 vs Mississippi Southern 30 Sep 1961 vs Lamar Tech 3 Nov 1962 vs Arlington State 26 Oct 1963 vs Trinity Bill Husted, an Arkansas Democrat journalist at the game, observed several scenes in his front-page story. It was bigger than most planes we get down here and flying a lot lower. Player Randy Kiesau flew from Wichita to Denver on the Black plane, then changed to the Gold plane. 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The National Transportation Safety Board issued this executive summary, The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the intentional operation of the aircraft over a mountain valley route at an altitude from which the aircraft could neither climb over the obstructing terrain ahead, nor execute a successful course reversal. Remembering the 31 people who died on Oct. 2, 1970 through the archives of The Wichita Eagle: Photos of the team and the crash | The names of the victims, Those left behind mourned and built new lives | A beautiful fall day then an ominous sound | Pilot steadfast in denying fault: Someone needed to be blamed | The years drive a wedge between survivors linked by tragedy |, 1970 healing process began on a Saturday night in Little Rock | It is time to heal | Playing with pain, Marvin Brown was Solomons favorite son | Daughter grew up without her da-da | Complex connection for WSU survivors | Families never lose memories | Former Utah State player still feels linked to Shockers, Former WSU player Rick Stephens rides to remember friends who died | Photos: Crash survivor and friends honor victims in Colorado. school at this time. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Taylor died Oct. 28 in a San Antonio hospital. Wichita waving white flag on Fourth of July skyrockets | Opinion, Wichita man sentenced for murdering 19-year-old who tried to steal $450 worth of marijuana, Kansas State at West Virginia could have major Big 12 Tournament seed implications, AAC tournament seeding on the line for Wichita State basketball: a look at tiebreakers, The bizarre stats the Wichita State basketball team finished with in loss to Houston, Turnovers spoil valiant road effort for Wichita State basketball in loss to No. Find out more. Conrad Downing, Sports Information Director, Dale Mullen, Wichita Beacon sports writer, Bob Seaman, Coaching Staff - Offensive Coordinator. The 1970 Wichita Shockers football team was an American football team that represented Wichita State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. Out of that great loss came a strength that was given to each survivor, to each member of the athletic administration, she said. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. 1 Houston, How Wichita State basketball coach Billy Kennedy hasnt let Parkinsons slow him down, While others shy away, Wichita States Craig Porter sees opportunity in the mid-range, Who I do it for: WSUs Jaron Pierre puts on a show for family in New Orleans homecoming. Of the 31 people killed, 14 were Wichita State football players. In his history of the sport of football, David M. Nelson concluded that "the first forward passes were thrown at the end of the 1905 season in a game between Fairmount and Washburn colleges in Kansas. [14], In 1992, a study was done on Cessna Stadium to comply with I-A football standards. According to Orville Henry's story in the following day's Arkansas Gazette, a crowd of 40,000 at War Memorial Stadium gave Wichita State's team - a 46-man roster with 19 freshmen and 20 sophomores - a minute-long standing ovation. It is also available at watch.kpts.org. The game was officiated by then Washburn head coach John H. Outland. Understanding the 1970 Wichita State football plane crash. We will take a step back in time and look back at something that happened in Razorbacks history. Could have been on Rusty Featherstone's list. Preview pages of the 1970 yearbook from West High School from Wichita, Kansas online. In one of the worst tragedies of college sports history, a plane carrying WSU football players, athletic staff members and team boosters crashed at approximately 3 p.m. on a mountain near Silver Plume, Colorado while en route to Logan, Utah for a game with Utah State University. Another 14 were university staff members and football boosters. service was held Monday evening at Cessna Stadium. Reeves, inducted in 1986 to the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame, is said to have helped several injured people after the crash. The 1970 Wichita Shockers football teamwas an American footballteam that represented Wichita State Universityas a member of the Missouri Valley Conferenceduring the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. Wichita State University 2023. Bill Cosby, Kate Smith, Lou Rawls and Marilyn Maye performed and Ohio State coach Woody Hayes read a statement from president Richard Nixon. We need your support. On September 12, Wichita State opened its season with a 4114 loss to Gene Stallings' Texas A&M Aggies before a crowd of 30,006 in College Station, Texas. Naputano was one of four players who led the team onto the field in the spring of 1971 the others were Felix Jordan, Ed Carter and Nate Ruffin. Do you have a sports website? On Friday, October 2, 1970, Wichita State traveled to Logan, Utah, in two chartered planes, designated as "Gold" and "Black" according to the school colors, for a game against Utah State. The team's statistical leaders included Rick Baehr with 513 passing yards, Don Gilley with 290 rushing yards and 12 points scored, Bill Moore with 175 receiving yards. The plane crashed on Mount Trelease, west of Denver in the Arapaho National Forest. The Gold plane was taking a more scenic route, but the pilot encountered difficulty and was unable to pull the overweight aircraft out of a canyon. Of the 40 people on board, 29 died at the scene and two died later. The team compiled a 09 record (04 against conference opponents), finished last out of five teams in the MVC, and was outscored by a total of 381 to 99. [14] Prior to the start of the season, second-year head coach Ben Wilson described his squad as a young club with good team speed, room to improve, and "a chance to surprise a lot of people."[13]. This years is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday. Many of us are familiar with the Marshall University story from the 2006 movie We Are Marshall.. A memorial to Wichita State University football player John Taylor lies among the remains of the tragic plane clash Oct. 2, 1970, near the Loveland Ski Area that killed 31 people. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. Physical Details: 5 x 7 inches . The Gold aircraft carried the starting players, head coach and athletic director. Kostal, Dave Lewis, Keith Morrison, Bob Renner, Rick Stephens and co-pilot Ronald Tragedy struck the Aggies before the 1970 season as all-SWC defensive end Mike DeNiro died in a car crash. Radio voice Gus Grebe was supposed to ride on the Gold plane, but was late arriving and flew on the Black plane. Dubbed the "Second Season," Wichita State took 46 players 39 of them freshmen and sophomores to Little Rock to face No. With permission from the NCAA, the Shockers played seven freshmen in their starting lineup. Please consider supporting our work. List of Wichita . Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? However, the Cardinals came back to win the game by a 3424 score.[12]. But they could not pull the overweight plane, a Martin 404, out of a box canyon. Mike Kennedy remembers when the paper bearing the Associated Press bulletin came over the wire in the KMUW radio newsroom on that October day in 1970. A marker on I-70 near the Eisenhower Tunnel is close to the crash site in Colorado. Wichita State has won fourteen conference titles. (AP Photo/File)AP. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. 9 Arkansas had the plane carrying their starters not crashed three weeks before, but it was even more pronounced with the young players they were forced to use. However, the score took a backseat in this game. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. The state of Kansas paid an out-of-court settlement of $1.56 million divided among the heirs of survivors and the eight players who survived, on the condition all lawsuits be dismissed. [2][3] They played their home games at Cessna Stadium and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference until the program was discontinued. By the half, the freshmen were veterans. Eight players and the co-pilot survived. The Black airplane carried the reserve players and assistant coaches. Head coach Ben Wilson, 14 players, and 16 others died on October 2 in the Wichita State University football team plane crash. We were even joking about being so close to the ground, saying things like, Look, you can see the rabbits down there. Wichita State player Glenn Kostal, When we climbed out of the plane, I could tell with one quick look that I was in about the best condition. All 75 people aboard were killed. The chartered Southern Airways DC-9 was returning from a game the team played earlier in the day against East Carolina University in North Carolina. For information, please contact us at: Wichita State University Libraries Special Collections and University Archives 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0068 YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. I think about them all the time. Bruce Gerleman, I have just felt bad about those other kids dying and me living. So I went out back and here was this big plane flying up the canyon really low. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. 1990 Roster # Player Position Birthday Hometown High School Height Weight; 1: . [37], After the crash, the team's scheduled games against Utah State and Southern Illinois were cancelled. The Shockers fielded a team from 1897 to 1986. . Wichita Falls Coyotes State Champions: 1941 1949 1950 1958 1961 1969 1961 Schedule Record: 10-0-0 Head Coach: Joe Golding Vs Common Opponents (See All) Click on teams to see side-by-side scores. Can you list the top facts and stats about 1970 Wichita State Shockers football team? FILE - In this Oct. 3, 1970, file photo, a charred Wichita State University football helmet is shown amid the wreckage of a plane that crashed in Silver Plume, Colo. Six weeks later, on Nov. 14, 1970, a plane carrying members of the Marshall football team crashed. The 1970 matchup was the most lopsided of a lopsided series, as Arkansas cruised to a 62-0 win. [7] The Arkansas crowd cheered for the effort demonstrated by Wichita State, and Arkansas coach Frank Broyles benched his first team after seven minutes and used 61 players in the game. Utah. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. The team was headed to Logan, Utah, for a game the next day against Utah State. Richard Taylor Minister at University United Methodist Church, he knew many of the players, coaches and administrators on the plane. But, the DC-6 was damaged so the aviation company opted to use two Martin 4-0-4 aircraft. A rescue worker probes though the wreckage of a plane crash in Silver Plume, Colo. on Oct. 2, 1970. '70 at 9 a.m. each October 2. Few times has a home crowd openly cheered for the visitors. 1970-71 Men, 1958-59 Men, 2008-09 Women, 1975-76 Men, 1995-96 . There was talk over the summer about reviving the football program. A longtime P.E. The records below only includes games while a member of the conference and does not include games against teams listed below considered non-conference games. Once there, the senior parked his car and . really had to, essentially, trust myself. Were still all so close, and we do so much of that in their memory. KPTS will show its 2009 documentary Black & Gold: Remembering the WSU Plane Crash at 8 p.m. Friday. The game with Utah State was cancelled. [3] They followed with losses to Arkansas State on September 19 and West Texas State on September 26. [40], On October 24, 1970, the team played the first game after the crash. [1] The team played its home games at Cessna Stadium in . [11], When Willie Jeffries became Wichita States head coach in 1979, he became the first African-American head coach of a Division I-A football program. Hugh McElroy, who that week became the . The elevation of the site is 10,750 feet. Sports Reference Baseball; Football; Basketball; Hockey; Calcio; Blog; Stathead . Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. The highlight of the game for Wichita was a 105-yard kickoff return by tailback Don Gilley in the first quarter. Ahlberg traveled to Colorado with the families to visit survivors and identify the dead. Withers, according to the story, hooked up with junior defensive end Pete Naputano, who also stayed behind while nursing a biceps injury. The two schools shared in the proceeds from the A Night of Stars benefit at Levitt Arena.