American college football season
Memorial at Spring Hill Cemetery in Huntington, West Virginia to the victims of the 1970 plane crash.
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 . In its second season under head coach Rick Tolley , the team compiled a 3–6 record and was outscored by a total of 202 to 138.[ 1] The team played its home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia .
On November 14, Southern Airways Flight 932 , which was chartered by the school to fly the Thundering Herd football team, coaches, and fans to Kinston, North Carolina for a game against the East Carolina Pirates and back to Huntington, crashed on approach to Tri-State Airport after clipping trees just west of the runway and impacting nose-first into a hollow. All 75 people on board died. 37 of them were members of the football team. It was the worst single air tragedy in NCAA sports history. The tragedy was depicted in the movie We Are Marshall (2006) and the documentary film Marshall University: Ashes to Glory (2000).
Schedule
Roster
1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
QB
12
Bob Harris
Jr
QB
14
Ted Shoebridge
Jr
QB
20
Rick Lech
Jr
RB
22
Art Harris
So
RB/KR
25
Kevin Gilmore
Sr
RB
30
Dickie Carter
Sr
TE
35
Barry Nash
So
OL
50
Rick Dardinger
Sr
OL
51
Jim Adams
Sr
OL
52
Mike Swartley
So
OL
53
Wes Hickman
Jr
OL
54
Jim Sly
Jr
C
55
Dennis Foley
So
C
59
Allen Skeens
So
G
60
Tom Howard
Jr
OL
61
Mark Andrews
Jr
OL
63
Jack Crabtree
So
OL
66
Pat Norell
So
G
67
Mike Blake
So
OT
71
Bob Patterson
Jr
OT
73
Jon Calvin
So
OT
76
David DeBord
Sr
WR
80
Dennis Blevins
Jr
WR
82
Jack Repasy
Jr
WR
86
John Young
So
TE
87
Freddy Wilson
So
Defense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
DB
21
Felix Jordan
So
DB
25
Nate Ruffin
Jr
DB
27
Roger Childers
So
DL
31
Willie Bluford
Jr
RB
33
Joe Hood
So
LB
34
Art Shannon
Jr
LB
35
Dave Cyrus
Sr
DB
40
Larry Sanders
Jr
DB
41
Bobby Hill
So
DB
42
Tony Barile
So
DB
43
Stuart Cottrell
So
DB
44
Richard Taglang
Jr
DB
45
Gary Morgan
So
LB
56
Jerry Stainback
Sr
DL
62
Tom Zborill
Jr
DL
64
Greg Finn
Jr
DL
65
Tom Brown
Sr
LB
68
Larry Brown
Sr
DL
70
Ed Deeds
Jr
DL
72
Fred Gaudet
Jr
DL
74
Paul Oden
So
DL
75
Robert Van Horn
So
DL
77
Eddie Carter
So
DL
79
David Withers
So
LB
81
Dave Griffith
Sr
LB
83
Scotty Reese
Jr
DE
84
Pete Naputano
Jr
DE
85
Roger Vanover
Jr
DE
88
Al Saylor
So
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
PK/P
23
Marcelo Lajterman
So
P
32
Richard Brautigan
So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Bold, italics individuals died in the plane crash on November 14, 1970. [ 6]
Coaching staff Rick Tolley – Head coach (Died in plane crash)
Jim "Shorty" Moss – Offensive coordinator (Died in plane crash)
Red Dawson – Defensive coordinator (Was not on plane)
Deke Brackett – Kicking Game (Died in plane crash)
Al Carelli, Jr. – Offensive line (Died in plane crash)
Mickey Jackson – Backfield (Was not on plane)
Carl Kokor – Defensive line (Was not on plane)
Frank Loria – Defensive backs (Died in plane crash)
See also
References
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold