WE ARE....How a tragedy at Marshall changed CFB forever

OldDevilDawg

OldDevilDawg

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Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 domestic United States commercial jet flight from Stallings Field (ISO) in Kinston, North Carolina, to Huntington Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field (HTS) near Kenova and Ceredo, West Virginia. At 7:36 p.m. 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. history".[1] [2]
The plane was carrying 37 members of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team, eight members of the coaching staff, 25 boosters, and five flight crew members.[3] The team was returning home after a 17–14 loss to the East Carolina Pirates at Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.[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 team originally planned to cancel the flight, but changed plans and chartered the Southern Airways DC-9.[5] The accident is the deadliest tragedy affecting any sports team in U.S. history.[6] It was the second college football team plane crash in a little over a month. Wichita State's team plane crashed in Colorado just 43 days earlier killing 14 players and 31 people overall.

As a result of this tragedy, The door was opened for Freshmen to play immediately.

Today, WE ARE MARSHALL!
 
OldDevilDawg said:
Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 domestic United States commercial jet flight from Stallings Field (ISO) in Kinston, North Carolina, to Huntington Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field (HTS) near Kenova and Ceredo, West Virginia. At 7:36 p.m. 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. history".[1] [2]
The plane was carrying 37 members of the Marshall UniversityThundering Herdfootball team, eight members of the coaching staff, 25 boosters, and five flight crew members.[3] The team was returning home after a 17–14 loss to the East Carolina Pirates at Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.[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 team originally planned to cancel the flight, but changed plans and chartered the Southern Airways DC-9.[5] The accident is the deadliest tragedy affecting any sports team in U.S. history.[6] It was the second college football team plane crash in a little over a month. Wichita State's team plane crashed in Colorado just 43 days earlier killing 14 players and 31 people overall.

As a result of this tragedy, The door was opened for Freshmen to play immediately.

Today, WE ARE MARSHALL!
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A friend of mine (Mike Swartley) played for Marshall but he and about eight other teammates didn't make the flight because of the flu. He said it bothered him for a long time

@OldDevilDawg
Mike told me eight teammates missed the flight but after looking it up it looks like nearly half the team did

http://www.marshall.edu/special-collections/memorial/players/52-swartley.asp
 
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Fear-the Spear said:
A friend of mine (Mike Swartley) played for Marshall but he and about eight other teammates didn't make the flight because of the flu. He said it bothered him for a long time

@OldDevilDawg
Mike told me eight teammates missed the flight but after looking it up it looks like nearly half the team did

http://www.marshall.edu/special-collections/memorial/players/52-swartley.asp
Click to expand...
The 19 that didn't make the flight lived. Not many remember them and what they had to deal with (Survivors Guilt and such).
 
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RazzlDazzl said:
Yeah, I know I'm partial to Bobby Bowden as a FSU fan, but during his first season at WVU, he petitioned the NCAA to wear Marshall uniforms and play their last game, only to be denied.

He also gave Marshall's new head coach his playbooks and game film.
Click to expand...

He also led the push to allow Freshmen to play. Were it not for that decision from the NCAA, Marshall would not have fielded a team.
 
I lived in Steubenville Ohio for many years, right next to the OH/WV/PA borders. Our neighbors and close friends were big Marshall fans. Never seen a community or fanbase more connected to their team than the Herd.
 
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