1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football
ConferenceIndependent
Record3–6
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJim "Shorty" Moss
Defensive coordinatorWilliam "Red" Dawson (3rd season)
CaptainDave Griffith
Home stadiumFairfield Stadium
1970 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Notre Dame   –   10 – 1 – 0
Villanova   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. 16 Air Force   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 13 Georgia Tech   –   9 – 3 – 0
Boston College   –   8 – 2 – 0
No. 19 Houston   –   8 – 3 – 0
West Virginia   –   8 – 3 – 0
No. 17 Tulane   –   8 – 4 – 0
No. 18 Penn State   –   7 – 3 – 0
West Texas State   –   7 – 3 – 0
Cincinnati   –   7 – 4 – 0
Florida State   –   7 – 4 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   5 – 6 – 0
Syracuse   –   6 – 4 – 0
Dayton   –   5 – 4 – 1
Pittsburgh   –   5 – 5 – 0
Rutgers   –   5 – 5 – 0
Utah State   –   5 – 5 – 0
Colgate   –   5 – 6 – 0
Southern Miss   –   5 – 6 – 0
New Mexico State   –   4 – 6 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   3 – 8 – 0
Northern Illinois   –   3 – 7 – 0
  –   3 – 6 – 0
Buffalo   –   2 – 9 – 0
Navy   –   2 – 9 – 0
Army   –   1 – 9 – 1
Xavier   –   1 – 9 – 0
Holy Cross   –   0 – 10 – 1
Rankings from AP Poll

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, including 37 members of the football team, five coaches, and seven staff members. 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

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19Morehead State
W 17–711,000
September 268:00 p.m.at Toledo
L 3–5212,804
October 38:00 p.m.at Xavier
W 31–146,535[2]
October 10Miami (OH)
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
L 12–197,000
October 17Louisville
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
L 14–166,500
October 24Western Michigan
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
L 3–3410,000
October 311:30 p.m.at Bowling Green
L 24–2616,073
November 71:30 p.m.Kent State
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
W 20–176,231
November 142:05 p.m.at East Carolina
L 14–178,711[3]
November 21at Ohio
Cancelled [4][5]

[6]

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

People listed in bold italics died in the plane crash on November 14, 1970, along with student trainer Donald Tackett.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "2008 Marshall Football Guide" (PDF). Marshall University. 2018. p. 186. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  2. ^ "Herd's comeback crushes victory bid by XU, 31–14". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 4, 1970. Retrieved May 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Marshall beaten by Pirates, 17–14". The News and Observer. November 15, 1970. Retrieved March 2, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Marshall vs Ohio". Special Collections.
  5. ^ "Memories of Marshall; ex-player says shock of crash never ends". The Blade.
  6. ^ "Schedule/Results (1970 Marshall)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  7. ^ "Plane Crash Memorial November 14, 1970 … Remembered".
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