UPDATE: The unveiling for "The Marshall Four” statues at the Benjamin Barnes YMCA, originally scheduled for Feb. 6, has been postponed due to material quality concerns with the statues. The rescheduled date will be determined as soon as possible.
The City of Tuscaloosa is honoring four students killed in the Marshall University plane crash more than 50 years ago.
Known as "The Marshall Four," Druid City natives Freddy Wilson, Larry Sanders, Joe Hood and Robert VanHorn attended Marshall University to play football. The students were some of the first Black athletes from Tuscaloosa on athletic scholarships at a major university.
The crash happened in West Virginia on November 14, 1970— where more than 75 people died in the crash, including the four teammates.
Tuscaloosa city leaders invite the community and the public to help commemorate the students. An unveiling for "The Marshall Four” statues is set for Feb. 6 at the Benjamin Barnes YMCA, located on Martin Luther King Blvd. The event begins at 9:00 a.m.
Wilson, Sanders, Hood and VanHorn grew up in West Tuscaloosa, and spent much of their childhood at the YMCA.
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.
An Elevate Tuscaloosa Project, the new Benjamin Barnes YMCA facility opened in December 2024. Learn more by clicking here.
