Hello, I'm David Funk, and welcome to another edition of Sports History Flashback for November 18. This day in history had seen one of the most tragic moments in sports history.
On November 18, 1999, Texas A&M University was in the midst of building their annual Aggie Bonfire. At about 2:30am cst, the 40-foot high stack of some 5,000 logs collapsed during the middle of construction.
Texas Task Force 1, the state's emergency response team, began rescue efforts which would take over 24 hours to complete. There was a fear that using heavy equipment would make the situation worse, so many of the logs were removed by hand.
There were 58 students who helped construct the Bonfire, and 12 died as well as 27 of them were injured in the collapse. News coverage around the nation and world soon picked up the story, too.
The entire Texas A&M football team as well as the school's Corps of Cadets also assisted in manually removing the logs. The university's civil engineering team was also called in to examine the situation as well as if it was finally safe to remove the logs with heavy equipment.
Steely Lumber Company sent log-moving equipment as well as operators to finish the removal of all the logs.
The last person to be alive that was removed from the collapse was John Comstock. He would end up spending several months in the hospital which included having his left leg amputated and partial paralysis to the right side of his body. He would complete his degree in 2001.
A memorial service was held within hours of the collapse as 16,000 people paid their respects to the fallen victims. University President Ray Bowen presented roses to the families of the dead as well as those injured in the tragedy before everyone held arms while singing Amazing Grace.
The Bonfire was supposed to be burned on November 25, but the Aggies held a remembrance ceremony instead. Over 40,000 lit candles as well as had a moment of silence before they made their way to Kyle Field for their traditional yell practice. Inside the stadium, the Parsons Mounted Calvary fired the cannon exactly 12 times which was once for each victim who died.
The following day on November 26, the Aggies were set to play in front of over 86,000 fans against the rival Texas Longhorns at Kyle Field. Before the game, Aggie students flew F-16 jets over the field.
At halftime, the Texas Longhorns dedicated their performance to the fallen victims by playing Amazing Grace and Taps before removing their white hats out of respect when they walked off the field. They also cancelled their "hex rally" which was to bring bad luck to their rival opponent while choosing to hold a unity rally instead.
The Aggie Band also paid tribute to those victims, but unlike their tradition, they marked off the field in silence. The stadium was extremely quiet to where only a baby was heard crying at that point.
The No. 7 Texas Longhorns held a 16-6 halftime lead over the Aggies in that game. But Texas A&M's sheer will power would not deny them a win on this day.
Aggies fullback Jamar Toombs scored on a 9-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 16-13. Texas A&M's defense frustrated the Longhorns with a relentless pass rush that kept them from scoring in the second half.
Texas A&M put together a 48-yard drive which ended with quarterback Randy McCown throwing a 14-yard touchdown to Matt Bumgardner with about five minutes left to play to give them a 20-16 lead. The Longhorns drove down the field in the closing minutes, but a sack by Jay Brooks forced quarterback Major Applewhite to fumble as the Aggies' Brian Gamble recovered it with 23 seconds left to play. The Aggies won the emotional contest with an upset as well as a second half performance for the ages.
The factors that caused the collapse were due to the wiring of logs having much more stress and tension which broke as a result. Many blamed the school for the tragedy, and lawsuits were filed by the families of the victims as a result of what happened. Eventually, a federal judge dismissed the charges in 2004, but not before the defendants won a $4.25 million suit paid by their insurance companies the following year. The school recently settled the final lawsuit in this past October as they agreed to pay $2.1 million to the victim's families.
Because of this tragedy, the Aggie Bonfire did not resume again until 2002 for safety reasons. The first Bonfire took place on this day in 1907, and the collapse marked the only time it was postponed for safety purposes.
I remember this incident very well. I also saw one team that made their own university proud by winning their most emotional game ever. The Aggies played a near flawless second half, and pulled out a huge upset win in an emotionally trying time. I was an Aggies fan that day, and I had a tear in my eye at halftime when the stadium was in complete silence in remembrance for those victims. But that game belonged to Texas A&M, and they were not going to be denied a win that day even in the face of adversity as well as a halftime deficit. It's one of those moments where determination and emotional uplifting prevailed in helping a university cope with one of the biggest tragedies ever seen in sports.
Photos courtesy of CNN which shows a picture of the relief effort and tamu.edu.
Thanks for viewing, and I hope you enjoyed today's Sports History Flashback!
5 comments:
I remember that. Hard to believe it was so long ago. Very tragic day.
Lester- Yes, it was. I will never forget the events during halftime because I nearly teared up after the silence that came over Kyle Field.
Wow, I don't really remember this too well, I was only into Miami U college football during these days.
The way the game lifted spirits in the University reminds me of how baseball helped everyone deal with the aftermath of 9/11, on a much bigger scale obviously. Sports can play a very cathartic role in our lives.
Nice job Dave
rad- Yes, sports do play a big role in helping cope with tragedy and circumstances beyond our control. Thanks for stopping in.
I read this on 9-11-09, possibly today is the right day to take me back to the A&M tragedy. By no way am I suggesting that the two events are on equal footing, but it's the combination of the two on the same day. I briefly visited the A&M campus a few years ago and saw the memorial of this day ... thus maybe the part of the reason for me commenting today.
Well done Dave.
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