Marshall Four statues unveiled outside Tuscaloosa YMCA
Reading time: 3 minutes
Four Tuscaloosa natives who died in a plane crash with the Marshall University football team in 1970 have been memorialized with new statues in their hometown.
Freddy Wilson, Larry Sanders, Joe Hood and Robert VanHorn are remembered as some of the first Black athletes from the city to receive athletic scholarships at a major university.
“Today in Tuscaloosa, we are Marshall. We stand with Huntingdon, West Virginia as we pledge to never forget 75 players, coaches, administrators and supporters who perished on November 14, 1970.”
Walt Maddox, Mayor of Tuscaloosa
The community gathered Wednesday morning at the new Benjamin Barnes YMCA in West Tuscaloosa to celebrate the unveiling of the four statues. The city said the four former Druid High School players spent much of their childhood at the original Benjamin Barnes YMCA.
Marshall Four
Wednesday’s unveiling was an emotional event as remaining family members of the Marshall Four along with several representatives from Marshall University were in attendance.
City council woman Raevan Howard had a message to the family at the ceremony.
“You’ve waited long enough. These four men will be forever known as Druid Dragons, the Marshall Four and legends of our hometown. To be able to give these legends a permanent place in their community to be celebrated is an honor I’ll never forget and will forever treasure in my heart.”
Raevan Howard, Tuscaloosa City Council District 2
Lucianne Kautz Call also spoke during the ceremony. She was a cheerleader at Marshall in 1970 and is the daughter of former Marshall athletic director, Charlie Kautz, who died in the crash.
She recalled visiting the resting place of the Marshall Four in Tuscaloosa in recent years, seeing a marker that was in need of repair. Call quickly got in contact with the city to get a new marker made but that’s when discussions of the statues at the new YMCA began.
The statues were created by Caleb O’Connor, renowned artist and sculptor known in Tuscaloosa for sculpting the Minerva statue at Manderson Landing and the Deontay Wilder statue at the Visit Tuscaloosa Welcome Center.
We always choose to remember even though that’s the hardest thing to do.
Matt James, Marshall VP of Alumni Relations
Four people who previously served as student body presidents at Marshall University were also in attendance, including Matt James who spoke on remembering the 75 lives lost in the plane crash almost 55 years ago.
The Thundering Herd will have a ceremony during its home game this weekend against James Madison, which airs on ESPN2 at 11AM.
Tuscaloosa Arts & Entertainment Director Kay Day said the process of finally memorializing these four young men will be the subject of an ESPN documentary from 16-time Emmy Award-winning director and producer Martin Khodabakhshian.
Want updates like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter today.
