Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:41AM. [2] [3] They played their home games at Cessna Stadium and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference until the program was discontinued. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. really had to, essentially, trust myself. school at this time. Skipper. 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. [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]. The experiment was considered a failure. 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. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Once there, the senior parked his car and . On May 16, 2009 the Wichita State University alumni association held an all football players reunion at Cessna Stadium. Marshall lost, 17-14. Please consider supporting our work. Utah State placed a memorial wreath at the 50-yard line at its football stadium. Some school's results have been altered by retroactive NCAA penalties. But I dont feel badly about anything I did. co-pilot Ronald Skipper. 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. and returned to Wichita by commercial plane Saturday. Q: How did the Black plane reach Utah safely? The elevation of the site is 10,750 feet. Id say Wichita State and they would say, Thats the school that had the plane crash, wasnt it? Id say, Yeah, it sure was. But nothing else, because I didnt want to talk about it. Dave Lewis, In almost every conversation, when people ask you where you went to school, they remember the crash and ask about it. 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. On Saturday, Nov. 14, 1970, a plane carrying members of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team and coaching staff crashed in West Virginia killing all 75 people on board and plunging the university and community into grief. To read last week's Throwback Thursday on the previous nine times Arkansas and Texas A&M played when both were ranked, click here. In 2008, Howard Johnson, father of victim Ron Johnson, dedicated a stage musical called Waltzing in Heaven to the 1970 team in memory of his son. Caden Henderson NCAA Stats Splits: Stat Type: Pace Adjusted Season View The unfortunate loss of 31 fine individuals deserves to be remembered.. The university had a contract with Golden Eagle Aviation to provide a Douglas DC-6B to transport the team to away games. We will take a step back in time and look back at something that happened in Razorbacks history. 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 game at Utah State. Of the 31 people killed, 14 were Wichita State football players. Q: What is the significance of the Gold and Black designations for the planes? Understanding the 1970 Wichita State football plane crash. 84 defensive end Pete Naputano was a junior from Altoona who was on the injured list and not on the plane. Preview pages of the 1970 yearbook from West High School from Wichita, Kansas online. Twenty-nine persons died it with us, please let us know. The pilots of the doomed aircraft were blamed for the accident by the National Transportation Safety Board. 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. 9 in the country, Wichita lost by a 620 score. 1970 Wichita State Shockers football team, 1970 NCAA University Division football season, 1970 Missouri Valley Conference football standings, Wichita State University football team plane crash. [15], In 1997, the cost was cited at $11 million to restart the football program and three other women's sports. Subject: Wichita (Kan.) -- Pictorial works. The tragedy-ridden Wichita State football squad looked for all the world like kids just out of high school as they warmed up Saturday night to face the nations No. [1] The team played its home games at Cessna Stadium in . The two planes traveled to Denver, Colo., to refuel. The MVC dropped football to NCAA Division I-AA status in 1985, leaving WSU an independent in its final season. We will use old editions of the "Arkansas Recruiting Report" compiled by Otis Kirk during the 1990s, as well as newspaper reports accessed via microfilm, oral stories and other sources. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? The Black airplane carried the reserve players and assistant coaches. The Arkansas players were clearly affected by the events that transpired, evidenced by a story written by James Thompson, another Arkansas Gazette journalist. The first game following the air tragedy was Saturday, October teacher and coach at Robinson Middle School, he died in 2010 from pancreatic cancer. I headed down the mountain to get help and a pickup came and took me up to a construction site where we called for help. Wichita State player Mike Bruce, If the crew had been concerned about the aircrafts ability to clear the terrain ahead less than one minute sooner, when the aircraft was 1 1/2 to 2 miles east of Dry Gulch, a successful turnaround could have been executed. (AP Photo/Henry Griffin)AP. The Shockers were a common opponent for the Razorbacks in those days; they played five times between 1964 and 1980. [17], In 2006, Wichita Mayor Carlos Mayans proposed to use public funds to restart the football program at Wichita State. Former college football team in Kansas, USA, Breaking the color barrier in college football coaching, 1897 Fairmount Wheatshockers football team, 1905 Washburn vs. Fairmount football game, Wichita State University football team plane crash, "Wichita State suspends football program", "MEMORIAL '70 - Memorial '70 Home - Wichita State University", "Wichita State gives up football, too expensive", "Shocker football players return to Cessna Stadium", "Stadium Fix-up Costs Throw WSU Football Hopes For Loss", "PRICE FOR WSU TO START FOOTBALL AGAIN: $11 MILLION * REPORT CALCULATES COST OF ADDING 1-AA FOOTBALL AND THREE WOMEN'S SPORTS", "Not so fast: Football's return to campus no done deal - The Sunflower: Campus Life", "WSU gets the OK to tear down Cessna Stadium", "How and why Wichita State? The Shockers voted 76-1 to continue the season against Arkansas in Little Rock. I just knew he was going to be in trouble. Mary Lou Rutherford, witness, We just assumed thats the way it was when you fly in the mountains. Trailing 216 in the fourth quarter, Wichita's freshman quarterback Tom Owen threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to wingback Tim Thissen to narrow the score to 2112. Judy Dunn, 39, Oklahoma City, flight attendant, Judy Lane, 28, Oklahoma City, flight attendant, Oct. 31: Cincinnati 35, WSU 5 (moved from Oct. 17), Leading passer: Rick Baehr, 43 of 121, 514 yards, Leading receiver: Bill Moore, 12 for 175 yards, Honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference: C Kelly Cook, RB Don Gilley, DT Don Pankratz, LB George Whitfield, LB Bruce Gerleman. And it was dedicated to all those guys who didnt make it.. 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. Can you list the top facts and stats about 1970 Wichita State Shockers football team? Reeves, inducted in 1986 to the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame, is said to have helped several injured people after the crash. Head coach Ben Wilson, 14 players, and 16 others died on October 2 in the Wichita State University football team plane crash. Randy Jackson, fullback, Atlanta, Texas - escaped through a hole in the fuselage; hospitalized in serious condition after the crash with deep lacerations on his face and multiple bruises; Glenn Kostal, linebacker, Chicago - dug his way out from under a pile of debris, dirt and tree limbs and crawled through a rip in the fuselage; sustained a broken leg, Dave Lewis, lineman, Duncan, Oklahoma - listed in satisfactory condition after the crash, Rick Baehr, led the team with 513 passing yards, Don Gilley, led the team with 290 rushing yards and 12 points scored, Bill Moore, led the team with 12 receptions and 175 receiving yards, This page was last edited on 19 January 2023, at 23:20. It was the first night football game played west of the Mississippi River. (AP file photo) This Oct. 2, 1970, file photo shows wreckage of a plane that carried members of the Wichita State University football team, in Silver Plume, Colo. Rusted and ragged pieces of . 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. The first home game was WSU's homecoming on October 31 against the University of Cincinnati 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. A fictional version of the program is shown in the Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso. Tolle made it look like 1993 all over again at Eck Stadium on Saturday, doing his best Darren Dreifort impression. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. [34] Classes at Wichita State were canceled for Monday, October 5, and a memorial service was held that evening at the school's Cessna Stadium. [5] Fairmount won the game 240.[6]. Former T. C. Williams High School football coach Herman Boone, who was portrayed by Denzel Washington in the film Remember the Titans, compared Jeffriess hiring to that of Jackie Robinson signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. View Previous Seasons LSFN All-Time Record 466-287-31 The Shockers would have likely still been over-matched against No. He earned All-MVC honors as a senior and played three seasons in the NFL. Do you have a blog? A plane carrying the Wichita State University football team had crashed. The team compiled a 0-9 record , finished last out of five teams in the MVC, and was outscored by a total of 381 to 99. | Opinion, Rare critter eluded Kansas biologists for years. Date Original: Circa 1970. [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. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Aboard the plane were the Marshall University football team, coaching staff and boosters. By the numbers. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. The NCAA allowed WSU to play freshmen, who were ineligible at the time by NCAA rule. [14], In 1992, a study was done on Cessna Stadium to comply with I-A football standards. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). See our list of forfeits and vacated games for more details. On Nov. 28, 1970, Levitt Arena hosted A Night of Stars benefit for the victims of the Wichita State and Marshall University plane crashes.