Rick Tolley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rick Tolley
Title	Head Coach
College	Marshall
Sport	Football
Born	1940
Died	November 14, 1970
Career highlights
Overall	6-13
Coaching stats
College Football DataWarehouse
Playing career
1958-61	Virginia Tech
Position	Center & Linebacker
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1969-70	Marshall

Rickey Dale Tolley (1940 - November 14, 1970) was the head coach of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team during the 1969 and 1970 seasons. He died in the 1970 plane crash that killed most of the Marshall football team and coaching staff.

Tolley became the interim head coach of Marshall just 4 days before the start of fall practice for the 1969 season. He had just 32 players that first season yet still managed to win games against Bowling Green University (21-16), Kent State University (31-20) and East Carolina University (38-7). The game against Bowling Green snapped a 27-game, 3 season losing streak. They also just lost another game against Ohio University (35-38) when the Bobcats scored the winning touchdown with five seconds left.

Tolley started his coaching career at John Battle High School in Bristol, Virginia as an assistant football coach for two years and then as an assistant baseball coach at the University of Virginia for another year. He then joined the football coaching staff at Ferrum Junior College for three years, one of which they won the National Junior College Championship. He then left to become the defensive line coach at Wake Forest University in 1968. He joined Marshall as an assistant in February, 1969.

In college, Tolley played center and linebacker for the Virginia Tech Hokies football team. At Mullens High School, he played basketball, baseball and football. (Mullens has since been consolidated into Wyoming East High School).

Tolley had been married to the former Mary Jane Edmundson of Charlottesville, Virginia since 1963 at the time of his death. The couple had no children. Mary Jane Tolley later moved back to Virginia, where she taught English and Creative Writing for high school students. Never remarried, she is now retired and living an active life in Richmond. She can be seen in a final scene in the movie "We are Marshall" with many people gathered around the university Memorial Water Fountain honoring and remembering the crash victims.

Tolley is depicted in the movie We Are Marshall by actor Robert Patrick (uncredited). Patrick was 18 years older than Tolley, causing Tolley to be portrayed in the film as a middle-aged.

Tolley's Head Coaching Record by Season
Season	School	Record
1969	Marshall	3-7
1970	Marshall	3-6
Total	2 Seasons	6-13

[edit] External links

Memorial from Marshall University

Preceded by Perry Moss	Marshall University Head Football Coach 1969–1970	Succeeded by Jack Lengyel

v • d • e Marshall Thundering Herd Head Football Coaches

Ford • McCary • Rardin • Vinal • Chambers • Shipley • Reilly • Cramer • Shelton • Briggs • Meredith • Tallman • Maulbetsch • Dandelet • Henderson • Pederson • Royer • Snyder • Moss • Tolley • Lengyel • Ellwood • Randle • Parrish • Chaump • Donnan • Pruett • Snyder