Marshall to Don Special Helmet for Plane Crash Anniversary Game

For the first time since the 1970 plane crash, Marshall is playing a road game on that somber anniversary, Nov. 14.

But when the Thundering Herd takes the field Thursday night at Tulsa, the 75 victims will not be forgotten. Players are wearing special helmets with a "75" emblazoned on the left side. That will be as large as the block "M," which will remain on the right side.

"It's the right thing to do," MU athletic director Mike Hamrick told herdzone.com. "The nation is certainly familiar with our Marshall story, the tragic crash, the loss of life. It's a large part of our fabric."

As it happens, the Herd's sharing the story with a national audience brought the game to Nov. 14. Fox Sports 1, the new network available in 86 million homes, requested the game be moved from the usual Saturday to Thursday night. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. EST.

The approximately 70 players in the travel party will not be able to attend the annual ceremony at the Memorial Student Center, after which the Memorial Fountain is turned off for the winter.

The Herd has played four times on Nov. 14, all at home. Those were 1981 and 1987 against Western Carolina (a win, a loss), 1992 vs. Tennessee Tech (win) and 2009 against Southern Mississippi (loss).

Reach Doug Smock at 3040-348-5130, [email protected] or follow him at twitter.com/dougsmock.