Remembering the Thundering Herd (Marshall University) 50 years ago 11.14

Also a day to remember Huntington, WV product Jim Grobe who led the Deacs to a championship.

I saw an interview on local TV this week with one of the team managers. He was excited about making the trip with the team but then his grandmother died so he gave his place to another manager who otherwise would have been left in Huntington and went back home for her funeral. You could see that after 50 years he was still having trouble processing his twist of fate. One can argue that in an alternative universe the history of the VPI program would have turned out differently. One of the Marshall assistant coaches was Frank Loria. He's been the star at VPI (making at least one All America team) when Frank Beamer played there. If Loria had not died in the crash, who knows if his coaching career would have taken off with his becoming the favorite son who returned to Blacksburg to lead the Hokies.

My parents had tickets for the game/flight package. Because of a business obligation, on the Friday night before the game, dad gave their tickets to a friend. Fifty years later and I still tear up at the thought. All those young men, all those dedicated coaches, all the fine business leaders, and the flight crew...all gone in an instant...a hundred yards from the runway.

We beat NC State 16-13 in the rain at Groves Stadium that afternoon to clinch our first ACC Championship.