November 14, 1970

November 14, 1970. . , The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity lost five brothers in the plane crash that devastated the Marshall University football team: Starting Quarterback Ted Shoebridge and Offensive Linemen Jim Adams, Mike Blake, Pat Norrell, and Bob Patterson., To honor the fallen brothers and their Marshall football teammates, the fraternity erected this memorial designed by student PKA John Bodo. Artist Vernon Howell, Marshall graduate and former co-captain of the 1958-59 Marshall football team, created the sculpture and was honored to donate it to the fraternity to establish the memorial., Head Coach Jack Lengyel, who resurrected the Marshall football program after the crash, dedicated the memorial in 1971, stating that the crouching football player represented the spirit of the new football squad. "We're rising off the ground for the season ahead.", The memorial had been a presence on the fraternity house grounds for 50 years and has since become a symbol of hope and the indomitable spirit of the Herd Family and community., In November 2020, the memorial was donated to Marshall University by the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, Delta Iota Chapter, and relocated to the university's Huntington campus., Sculpture restoration by artist Mike Sizemore, Mountain Artworks Studio, and memorial base reconstructed by Jason Kirby, Kirby's Masonry.