WARNING: EXPLICIT MATERIAL

Rick Tolley

AKA:
Coach Tolley
Birth Name:
Rickey Dale Tolley
Birth Date:
January 6, 1940
Birth Place:
Havaco, West Virginia
Death Date:
November 14, 1970
Place of Death:
Kenova, West Virginia
Age:
30
Cause of Death:
Plane crash
Cemetery Name:
Spring Hill Cemetery
Claim to Fame:
Sports
Rick Tolley was an American football coach who served as the head football coach at Marshall University during the 1969 and 1970 seasons. He died in the 1970 plane crash that killed all 75 crew and passengers aboard, including most of the Marshall football team and coaching staff and several team boosters. Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 domestic United States commercial jet flight from Stallings Field (ISO) in Kinston, North Carolina, to Huntington Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field (HTS) near Kenova, West Virginia. At 7:36 pm on November 14, 1970, the aircraft crashed into a hill just short of the Tri-State Airport, killing all 75 people on board. The accident is the deadliest tragedy to have affected any sports team in U.S. history.

On That Day …

Everyone on board perished that included 36 football players, 39 coaches, school administrators, community leaders, boosters and the flight crew. Players who didn’t make the road trip were called upon to identify crash victims through clothing, jewelry, shoes – even scars. Six players whose bodies were never identified were buried at the Marshall University Plane Crash Memorial. The crash left 18 children as orphans.

The airliner continued on final approach to Tri-State Airport when it collided with the tops of trees on a hillside 5,543 ft west of runway 11 (now runway 12). The plane burst into flames and created a swath of charred ground 95 ft wide and 279 ft long. According to the official National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, the accident was “unsurvivable”. The aircraft “dipped to the right, almost inverted, and had crashed into a hollow ‘nose-first'”. By the time the plane came to a stop, it was 4,219 ft short of the runway and 275 ft south of the middle marker. The report additionally notes, “Most of the fuselage was melted or reduced to a powder-like substance; however, several large pieces were scattered throughout the burned area.” The remains of six passengers were never identified.

The NTSB investigated the accident and its final report was issued on April 14, 1972. In the report, the NTSB concluded, “[…] the probable cause of this accident was the descent below Minimum Descent Altitude during a nonprecision approach under adverse operating conditions, without visual contact with the runway environment”.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Spring Hill Cemetery

1427 Norway Avenue

Huntington, West Virginia, 25701

USA

North America

Grave Location:

Section 1953M, Marshall University Plane Crash Memorial

Grave Location Description

As you drive into the cemetery from second entrance on Norway Avenue the road will curve around to the right. Take the first hard right and then the second right (just follow the signs) to the Marshall University Plane Crash Memorial featuring the final resting place of head coach Rick Tolley.

Grave Location GPS

38.41254342373635, -82.41887468894218

Visiting The Grave:

Photos:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

Read More About Rick Tolley:

Videos Featuring Rick Tolley:

See More:

Bradley Lord

popular name: Bradley Lord

date_of_death: February 15, 1961

age: 21

cause_of_death: Airplane Crash

claim_to_fame: Sports

best_know_for: Bradley Lord athlete and American figure skater who competed in men's singles. He won the gold medal at the 1961 United States Figure Skating Championships and placed second at the 1961 North American Figure Skating Championships. Lord was en route to the World Championships in 1961 when his plane (Sabena Flight 548) crashed near Brussels, Belgium, killing all 72 people on board and one person on the ground. The fatalities included the entire United States figure skating team, who were travelling to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Lorenzo Charles

popular name: Lorenzo Charles

date_of_death: June 27, 2011

age: 47

cause_of_death: Blunt force trauma due to bus crash

claim_to_fame: Sports

best_know_for: Charles Lorenzo (Zo to his friends and teammates) was a Brooklyn, New York native and was born to Panamanian immigrants. He played basketball for the University of North Carolina State from 1981 to 1985 where he was coached by the late Jim Valvano. Lorenzo was drafted into the NBA by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2nd round (41st overall pick). Lorenzo is perhaps best known when he made March Madness history when he clinched the title for North Carolina State University over the favored University of Houston Cougars right as the buzzer sounded more than two decades ago. He had a brief career in the National Basketball Association with the Atlanta Hawks from 1985 to 1986 and then played professionally in Europe for about 12 years before retiring from basketball and settling back into the Raleigh area. For the last 10 years, Charles was a driver for Elite Coach, a limo, charter bus and car service when he passed away from a fatal bus accident.

Joe Dugan

popular name: Joe Dugan

date_of_death: July 7, 1982

age: 85

cause_of_death: Pneumonia following a stroke

claim_to_fame: Sports

best_know_for: After a slow start with Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics baseball team, Jumping Joe Dugan eventually made his way to the fabled New York Yankees where he developed into one of the greatest defensive third baseman and played in five World Series with the Yankees. Despite his solid record, he never made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Back to Top