(AP Photo/File)AP. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. 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. 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 Reeves died Oct. 5 in a Wheat Ridge, Colo., hospital. It crashed around 1 p.m. about 40 miles west of Denver on Mount Trelease. The future of the 1970 football season was in doubt, with the decision lying in the Each year, the university holds a ceremony on campus at the Memorial 70 monument. Radio voice Gus Grebe was supposed to ride on the Gold plane, but was late arriving and flew on the Black plane. [14], In 1992, a study was done on Cessna Stadium to comply with I-A football standards. Prior to the game, a 15-minute ceremony featuring astronaut John Swigert was held to commemorate the team's return to Cessna Stadium for its first game since the crash. The Shockers went 6-5 in 1972 and didnt post another winning season until going 8-3 in 1983. service was held Monday evening at Cessna Stadium. Few times has a home crowd openly cheered for the visitors. 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. [15] Thirty-one persons were killed in the crash, including the following 14 players:[16][17], The fatalities also included head coach Ben Wilson (and his wife Helen), athletic director Bert Katzenmeyer (and his wife Marian), team manager Marty Harrison (age 19), team trainer Tom Reeves, admissions director Carl Fahrbach, ticket manager Floyd Farmer, Shocker Club chairman Ray Coleman (and his wife Maxine), Kansas state representative Ray King (and his wife Yvonne), the plane's pilot Dan Crocker, and two stewardesses.[17][24]. | Opinion, Rare critter eluded Kansas biologists for years. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? 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. Description: . (AP Photo/Henry Griffin)AP. Current Team: Lurleen B. Wallace CC Birthplace/Hometown: Freeport, Florida Nationality: United States Height: 6-1 (185cm) Weight: 160 (73kg) Current NBA Status: Draft Eligible in 2026 Draft Entry: 2026 NBA Draft Pre-Draft Team: Lurleen B. Wallace CC (Fr) Change player? 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. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Wichita State has won fourteen conference titles. [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 game with Utah State was cancelled. On Nov. 28, 1970, Levitt Arena hosted A Night of Stars benefit for the victims of the Wichita State and Marshall University plane crashes. Were still all so close, and we do so much of that in their memory. An Ohio State football fan who wants to better document the history of the program. We know you hear with us the thrill and excitement of the game. [8], On November 7, the Shockers showed marked improvement in a 2112 loss to Tulsa. Maybe they should leave it just the way it is.. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. He died two days later. (AP Photo/Chris Schneider) 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. Wichita State football players arrive at their Little Rock, Ark., hotel on Oct. 23, 1970, exactly three weeks after the plane crash that killed 14 teammates and 17 others. Of the 31 people killed, 14 were Wichita State football players. Or write about sports? The Shockers fielded a team from 1897 to 1986. The plane crashed on Mount Trelease, west of Denver in the Arapaho National Forest. Wichita State did not play Arkansas again until 1980, when the Razorbacks won 27-7 in Fayetteville. [17], In 2006, Wichita Mayor Carlos Mayans proposed to use public funds to restart the football program at Wichita State. Its almost like another memorial to them, with all of that still up there, teammate Ed Plopa said. The visiting Shockers fumbled the football an incredible 17 times, with the Seminoles recovering 10 times. 24 with the University of Arkansas Razorbacks in Little Rock at the War Memorial Stadium. Senior center Hayden Gillum became the first to make the leap, announcing Friday on social media that he will be back for the . [1] The team played its home games at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, Kansas. Find out more. A: The Gold plane carried the starters, coach Ben Wilson and athletic director Bert Katzenmeyer. Ahlberg traveled to Colorado with the families to visit survivors and identify the dead. Find out the latest on your favorite NCAAB players on . Wichita State cancelled its games against Utah State (Oct. 3) and Southern Illinois (Oct. 10) and moved its game against Cincinnati from Oct. 17 to Oct. 31. 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. The team was known as Fairmount from its first season in 1897 to 1925 and Wichita from 1926 through 1963. Understanding the 1970 Wichita State football plane crash Two planes carrying Wichita State University football players, coaches, administrators and fans refueled on Oct. 2, 1970, in. 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 SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. ABC televised the event with Monty Hall as host. 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. [15], In 1997, the cost was cited at $11 million to restart the football program and three other women's sports. Preview pages of the 1970 yearbook from West High School from Wichita, Kansas online. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. 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 experiment was considered a failure. The Shockers started seven freshmen and 10 sophomores and scored five points on a 37-yard field goal by John Potts and a safety when Cincinnati quarterback Bill Carter was tackled in the end zone. 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. Bob Seaman took over as head coach after the crash. Loria was a former teammate of Beamer. at the scene. Marvin Brown, 19, Solomon, sophomore tailback, Don Christian, 20, Duncan, Okla., junior defensive back, John Duren, 19, Oklahoma City, sophomore end, Ron Johnson, 21, Kansas City, Mo., senior safety, Randy Kiesau, 20, Clinton, Okla., junior defensive back, Mal Kimmel, 21, St. Genevieve, Mo., senior center, Carl Krueger, 19, Chicago, sophomore tackle, Steve Moore, 21, Derby, senior linebacker, Tom Owen, 20, Temple Terrace, Fla., junior running back, Gene Robinson, 21, Dayton, Ohio, junior end, Tom Shedden, 20, Oklahoma City, junior tackle, Richard Stines, 19, Kansas City, Kan., sophomore guard, John Taylor, 21, Sherman, Texas, senior cornerback, Jack Vetter, 21, McPherson, senior tackle. "[39] Assistant coach Bob Seaman took over as the team's head coach after the crash. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. [9], On November 14, Wichita lost to Memphis State by a 516 score. Learn more. Steam floated off their sweat-drenched heads, and a holler could be heard for the water boy. WSU players spent the night in Logan 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. game was to be played Saturday and placed a black and yellow wreath on the 50-yard [38] The remaining portion of the schedule was designated the "second season. 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. The Shockers have won five Missouri Valley Conference football championships. All rights reserved. Sure enough, Arkansas led 14-0 just three minutes in and head coach Frank Broyles quickly got his reserves into the game. 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. Check out the detailed 2000-01 Wichita State Shockers Roster and Stats for College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. It was the first night football game played west of the Mississippi River. The show depicts the Shockers winning a national championship at the NCAA Division II level under the titular character.[23]. It wasnt a great team to begin with. (AP Photo)ASSOCIATED PRESS. Do you have a blog? The site is accessible after a short hike and friends and family members still visit. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. 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. As a former starter, he asked to move to sit with his friends. The NTSB said rain and poor visibility contributed to the . KPTS will show its 2009 documentary Black & Gold: Remembering the WSU Plane Crash at 8 p.m. Friday. [11], In the final game of the season, the Shockers took a 170 lead over Lee Corso's bowl-bound Louisville Cardinals. Conrad Downing, Sports Information Director, Dale Mullen, Wichita Beacon sports writer, Bob Seaman, Coaching Staff - Offensive Coordinator.