The City of Tuscaloosa unveiled the Marshall Four statues in front of the Benjamin Barnes YMCA on Wednesday.
The Marshall Four, Joe Hood, Larry Sanders, Robert VanHorn and Freddy Wilson,were the first four Black athletes from Alabama to attend Huntington, West Virginia’s Marshall University on football scholarships.
The flight back to campus from their game against the East Carolina University Pirates in 1970 crashed, killing the four student athletes along with 71 others. The Marshall Four spent time during their childhoods at the Benjamin Barnes YMCA, where the statues now stand.
“The Marshall Four story is Tuscaloosa’s story. It can finally be told without reservation and in perpetuity with today’s unveiling,” said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.
Local artist Caleb O’Connor created the statues, which depict the Marshall Four standing side by side. O’Connor also created the Minerva statue at Manderson Landing and the Deontay Wilder statue at the Visit Tuscaloosa Welcome Center.
“This is an exciting moment and for me, this moment seems long overdue and much anticipated,” said Alabama District 2 Councilor Raevan Howard.
Matt James, Marshall University vice president of alumni relations, described the unveiling as “bittersweet.”
“On days like this, we’re filled with a sense of pride, but we’re also very sad because we remember,” James said. “When challenging things happen in life, we can go one of two ways and we always choose to remember, even though that’s the hardest thing to do.”
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