Tragedy is never something that is easily dealt with. Every so often, it hits the world of sports. Occasionally there is no explanation. Numerous drug overdoses, murders, car and plane crashes have all caused athletes to be taken from this world all too soon. It happens inevitably because no matter how invincible those athletes look on the field, at the end of the day they are still human. There is no way to stop tragedy from happening, but they can be remembered for everything they did on and off the field. Here are the five worst tragedies of the last 50 years. I’ve ranked them based on media coverage and national remembrance, as well as the prominence of the people or event involved.
Every single member of the team perished. Photo courtesy Marshall University5. Marshall Plane Crash On the night of September 14th, 1970, 75 players and coaches on the Marshall Thundering Heard football team boarded Southern Airlines Flight 932. It was a chartered 95-seat DC-9 aircraft. Earlier that day they had lost to Eastern Carolina 17-14. It took off on what was expected to be a 52-minute flight. Roughly 4,000 feet short of the runway, the airplane clipped a tree on top of a hill sending the plane into a nosedive. All 75 members on board the flight perished in the crash. The event later became the inspiration for the movie “We Are Marshall."
This former Yankees captain did not land his personal aircraft properly. Photo Courtesy Sports Illustrated4. Thurman Munson Thurman Munson was the starting catcher and captain of the New York Yankees for eleven years. He led the Yankees to two world championships as team captain. On August 2, 1979, Munson was practicing takeoffs and landings when he crashed his 1.4 million dollar Cessna Citation 600 feet short of the runway at Akron-Canton Regional Airport. His two friends Jerry Anderson and David Hall who were in the plane with Munson escape the fiery crash. They claim their last words to them were, “Are you guys okay?” Here is the official NTSB report on Munson’s death.
3. Roberto Clemente
In the middle of a successful career, Roberto Clemente saw a tragic end. Photo Courtesy Sports IllustratedAt the time, the 38 year old Clemente was only the 11th man in major league baseball to reach 3,000 hits, made 12 all star teams and had led the Pittsburgh Pirates to two World Series titles. On December 31, 1972 a cargo plane carrying Clemente crashed. The airplane was carrying relief supplies to victims of an earthquake in Managua. The DC-7 crashed right after take-off in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2. The Munich Olympics Massacre
If the rescue mission had been implemented properly, the hostages might have survived. Photo Courtesy Life MagazineDuring the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, 11 athletes from the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and then killed by the Palestinian group Black September. The group posing as athletes hopped a fence into the Olympic Village and took them hostage in their living quarters. They demanded the release of 234 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The incident is most noted for its poorly planned and executed rescue mission that led to the death of the hostages.
1. Dale Earnhardt Crash and Death
Dale Earnhardt's tragic death introduced new safety regulations for NASCAR drivers. Photo Courtesy CNNKnown as “the intimidator” for his driving style, NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt perished in a crash on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt just barely hit the bumper of Sterling Marlin’s car but at such a high speed attempting to correct his line ended up turning up into the banking of turn number four and into the wall taking driver Ken Schrader up into the wall with him. The investigation of the crash reported that Earnhardt hit the concrete wall at a speed of 157 miles per hour. The report stated that the change in velocity was equivalent to being dropped from 60 feet high straight into the ground, Earnhardt was killed instantly as millions watched on TV. The seatbelt failed and Earnhardt’s chin struck the steering wheel causing a skull fracture. After Earnhardt’s death many safety changes were implemented in cars including the HANS device that keep’s a driver’s head in place during a crash.
All of these people have a common thread. They were taken from us all too soon, but they can certainly be remembered for who they were as people and athletes and what they gave to the world while they were on the field of play.
If you have any suggestions as to what you would like to see me write about or cover this semester, have a comment about a recent post or simply want to talk sports, contact me at nkruege1@asu.edu or via Twitter @npkrueger
