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. 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? By the half, the freshmen were veterans. Join our linker program. You really do. Mike Bruce, I hate like hell to fly. (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 . Members of the 1970 Wichita State and Arkansas teams will have a reunion at War Memorial Stadium this weekend for the Alcorn State game. [41], On October 31, the Shockers lost by at 355 score to Cincinnati before a homecoming crowd of 27,210. The first game following the air tragedy was Saturday, October [3] They followed with losses to Arkansas State on September 19 and West Texas State on September 26. It was - and still is - the largest shutout victory for Arkansas since 1947. All rights reserved (About Us). Can you list the top facts and stats about 1970 Wichita State Shockers football team? 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 Twenty-nine died at the scene. The Shockers were a common opponent for the Razorbacks in those days; they played five times between 1964 and 1980. Wichita State did not play Arkansas again until 1980, when the Razorbacks won 27-7 in Fayetteville. Its just something you live with all the time. [11], In the final game of the season, the Shockers took a 170 lead over Lee Corso's bowl-bound Louisville Cardinals. All Rights Reserved. Q: Did the crash contribute to Wichita State dropping football after the 1986 season? Orville Henry of the Arkansas Gazette wrote that WSU entered the stadium in a single-file line to a minute-long standing ovation from the crowd of 40,000. . 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. Wichita State University 1970 Football Team Airplane Crash Tragedy. The NCAA Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:41AM. 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. 1990 Roster # Player Position Birthday Hometown High School Height Weight; 1: . The NCAA allowed WSU to play freshmen, who were ineligible at the time by NCAA rule. 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. Some school's results have been altered by retroactive NCAA penalties. This is an opportunity to put the events in the publics mind, Stephens said in 2014. Learn more and register, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. 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. The Shockers have won five Missouri Valley Conference football championships. Quality local journalism has never been more important. 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. Do you have a sports website? The Shockers fielded a team from 1897 to 1986. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. [2][3] They played their home games at Cessna Stadium and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference until the program was discontinued. Harmon, the first female member of the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame, worked as executive secretary, fieldhouse director, academic counselor and assistant to the athletic director. It is also available at watch.kpts.org. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Find out more. Dorothy Harmon She served as interim athletic director after the crash. No plans have been made for the construction of a new multi-purpose athletic facility to replace the decrepit stadium. (AP Photo)ASSOCIATED PRESS. [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. players, athletic staff members and team boosters crashed at approximately 3 p.m. The team compiled a 09 record (04 against conference opponents), finished last out of five teams in the MVC, and was outscored by a total of 381 to 99. it with us, please let us know. 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. [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]. Remembering the 31 people who died on Oct. 2, 1970 through the archives of The Wichita Eagle: Photos of the team and the crash | The names of the victims, Those left behind mourned and built new lives | A beautiful fall day then an ominous sound | Pilot steadfast in denying fault: Someone needed to be blamed | The years drive a wedge between survivors linked by tragedy |, 1970 healing process began on a Saturday night in Little Rock | It is time to heal | Playing with pain, Marvin Brown was Solomons favorite son | Daughter grew up without her da-da | Complex connection for WSU survivors | Families never lose memories | Former Utah State player still feels linked to Shockers, Former WSU player Rick Stephens rides to remember friends who died | Photos: Crash survivor and friends honor victims in Colorado. Classes were cancelled Monday, October 5, and a memorial Q: How is the Wichita State crash connected to Marshall University in West Virginia? (AP Photo/Henry Griffin)AP. The experiment was considered a failure. The MVC dropped football to NCAA Division I-AA status in 1985, leaving WSU an independent in its final season. However, the Cardinals came back to win the game by a 3424 score.[12]. In the afterglow of Kansas State's remarkable 2022 football season, some pieces are starting to fall into place for next year. Find out the latest on your favorite NCAAB players on . Homecomings are exciting times, Father, whether it be a homecoming with you when the game of life is over or whether it be a grand homecoming with this tremendous crowd today at Wichita State University. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Be sure to enjoy VIP access to Hawgs247 with our Buy 1 Month, Get 2 additional Months FREE promotional offer. This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1970 Wichita State Shockers football team, and is written by contributors. Wichita Falls Coyotes State Champions: 1941 1949 1950 1958 1961 1969 1961 Schedule Record: 10-0-0 Head Coach: Joe Golding Vs Common Opponents (See All) Click on teams to see side-by-side scores. I would be somewhere and someone would ask me where I went to school. The crash site is about a 575-mile drive from Wichita and is above I-70 on the north side of the highway, sitting on public land in the Arapaho National Forest. The highlight of the game for Wichita was a 105-yard kickoff return by tailback Don Gilley in the first quarter. The event was organized by former Wichita State player John Potts and former Arkansas player Chuck Dicus, according to The Wichita Eagle. And for the next five minutes, players for both sides embraced, shook hands and talked about the football game.. Do you have a sports website? KPTS will show its 2009 documentary Black & Gold: Remembering the WSU Plane Crash at 8 p.m. Friday. Skipper. Rev. the "Second Season." [17], In 2006, Wichita Mayor Carlos Mayans proposed to use public funds to restart the football program at Wichita State. Player Randy Kiesau flew from Wichita to Denver on the Black plane, then changed to the Gold plane. It was bigger than most planes we get down here and flying a lot lower. Tolle made it look like 1993 all over again at Eck Stadium on Saturday, doing his best Darren Dreifort impression. 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. The Shockers voted 76-1 to continue the season against Arkansas in Little Rock. 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 memorial to Wichita State University football player John Taylor lies among the remains of the tragic plane clash Oct. 2, 1970, near the Loveland Ski Area that killed 31 people. On October 2, 1970, a plane crashed that was carrying about half of the football team on their way to play a game against Utah State University. The plane crashed on Mount Trelease, west of Denver in the Arapaho National Forest. "[9] According to Nelson, Washburn completed three passes, and Fairmount completed two. 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 records below only includes games while a member of the conference and does not include games against teams listed below considered non-conference games. Ahlberg traveled to Colorado with the families to visit survivors and identify the dead. (AP Photo/Chris Schneider) On May 16, 2009 the Wichita State University alumni association held an all football players reunion at Cessna Stadium. Last year, the Tampa Bay Times, published a story about another player, David Withers, who also was not on the plane because of an injury. KMUW, 89.1-FM, will broadcast The Pieces that Remain: Remembering the WSU Plane Crash, at 5 p.m. Friday. It was the first night football game played west of the Mississippi River. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. really had to, essentially, trust myself. Naputano was one of four players who led the team onto the field in the spring of 1971 the others were Felix Jordan, Ed Carter and Nate Ruffin. Of the 31 people killed, 14 were Wichita State football players. The crash claimed the lives of 31 members of the Wichita State University football team. [1] The team played its home games at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, Kansas. With permission from the NCAA, the Shockers played seven freshmen in their starting lineup. A: On Nov. 14, 1970, a plane carrying Marshall's football team back crashed near the airport in Huntington, W.V., killing 75 people. The game was officiated by then Washburn head coach John H. Outland. The elevation of the site is 10,750 feet. The Black airplane carried the reserve players and assistant coaches. The show depicts the Shockers winning a national championship at the NCAA Division II level under the titular character.[23]. Preview pages of the 1970 yearbook from West High School from Wichita, Kansas online. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. 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.