Billy Joe Mantooth
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Billy Joe Mantooth (July 23, 1951 – July 23, 1986) was an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
from
Clendenin, West Virginia Clendenin is a town in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Elk River. The population was 850 at the 2020 census. History In the 1800s, Clendenin was a small settlement at the confluence of Big Sandy Creek and the Elk ...
, known as "The Man-Eater" during his playing days. He started his career at
Ferrum College , mottoeng = Not Self, But Others , established = , type = Private college , president = David L. Johns , city = Ferrum, Virginia , country = U.S. , c ...
; after being honored as an
NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n in 1970, he transferred to
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
. He also later played in the
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
.


High school

Born to Rhondle Mantooth and Adabell Bowen Mantooth, Billy Joe Mantooth played his high school football at Herbert Hoover High School. He wore number 31, and played on both offense and defense. It was his skills as a
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
which won him selection to the West Virginia All-State Football team in 1968. Mantooth hoped to play Division I football after graduating from high school, but the college coaches said that while he was a very promising linebacker, they advised that at less than 200 pounds, Mantooth needed to "bulk up" to compete at the major college level.


College

Mantooth started his college career playing
junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
football for the
Ferrum College , mottoeng = Not Self, But Others , established = , type = Private college , president = David L. Johns , city = Ferrum, Virginia , country = U.S. , c ...
Panthers. After earning
NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n honors in 1970, he was heavily recruited by several different schools.


Recruited by Marshall University/1970 plane crash

Mantooth's name is well known in the story of the
1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football team The 1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football team was an American football team that represented Marshall University as an independent during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. In its second season under head coach Rick Tolley, th ...
. En route back to
Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...
from a game against
East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...
, the Marshall team's
Southern Airways Flight 932 Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 domestic United States commercial jet flight from Stallings Field (ISO) in Kinston, North Carolina, to Huntington Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field (HTS) near ...
clipped some trees on approach to
Tri-State Airport Tri-State Airport (Milton J. Ferguson Field) is a public airport in Wayne County, West Virginia, United States, three miles south of Huntington, West Virginia, near Ceredo and Kenova. Owned by the Tri-State Airport Authority, it serves Huntingt ...
and the plane crashed at a nearly vertical altitude into a ravine short of the runway. All seventy-five people on board were killed. The football team was decimated: thirty-seven players and five of the eight coaches lost their lives. The lives of two Marshall coaches were spared due to a recruiting trip trying to bring Mantooth to the Thundering Herd, as assistant coaches
Red Dawson Lowell Potter "Red" Dawson (December 20, 1906 – June 10, 1983) was an American football coach for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the Tulane Green Wave at the collegiate level and the AAFC's Buffalo Bills at the professional level. ...
and Gail Parker were on their way to see the star linebacker known as "The Man-Eater" at
Ferrum College , mottoeng = Not Self, But Others , established = , type = Private college , president = David L. Johns , city = Ferrum, Virginia , country = U.S. , c ...
in
Ferrum, Virginia Ferrum is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,043 at the 2010 census, an increase of over fifty percent from the 1,313 reported in 2000. Ferrum is home to Ferrum College and its Blue R ...
. Dawson had actually driven to the East Carolina game and, joined by Parker (who had switched places with Deke Brackett, another coach), was to drive to Ferrum from
Greenville, North Carolina Greenville is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County, North Carolina, United States; the principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area, Greenville metropolitan area; and th ...
at the game's conclusion. However, en route to see Mantooth, Dawson and Parker heard about the crash on the radio.


West Virginia University

In 1971, Mantooth signed with
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
to finish his college career at a Division I school; he had gained 40 pounds of muscle since high school. He reportedly choose WVU because he was a West Virginia native and because of the excitement around town about new head coach and offensive innovator
Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...
. Wearing number 50, Mantooth was a co-captain of the WVU football team in 1972.


1972 West Virginia vs. Penn State Game

West Virginia fans clearly remember a key play from the 1972 Penn State game involving Mantooth: Penn State's Bob Nagle fumbled before the goal line, and two West Virginia players—Mantooth and Dennis Harris—successfully pounced on the ball at the three-yard line, yet Penn State was incorrectly awarded a touchdown.


NFL career

In 1973, Mantooth joined the NFL as a linebacker for the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
when Coach Mike McCormack found Mantooth at the NFL's
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
camp in April. Mantooth was released by the Eagles that summer before the
1973 NFL season The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season was highlighted by O. J. Simpson becoming the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in one season. The season ended with Super Bowl VIII when the Mi ...
began. He was drafted by the WFL's
Philadelphia Bell The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The Bell played their home games in 1974 at JFK Stadium in South Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of th ...
in 1974 in the 37th round as the 435th pick, but Mantooth instead remained in the NFL by joining the roster of the
Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
, where he remained until 1975.


''The Big Blow''

In April 1981, Mantooth, who was 6'3", 230 lb. at the time, was involved in ''The Big Blow'', an altercation where he punched former University of Kentucky football player Dan Fowler, rendering the 6'4", 240 lb. Fowler unconscious. In 1982, a Fayette Circuit Court jury awarded $20,000 ($ in dollars when adjusted for
inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
) to Fowler after he sued Mantooth over the punch, but the award was overturned by
Kentucky Court of Appeals The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The ...
in 1983 and then reinstated by the
Kentucky Supreme Court The Kentucky Supreme Court was created by a 1975 constitutional amendment and is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Prior to that the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The Kentucky Court of ...
in 1984.


Death

A resident of
Bridgeport, West Virginia Bridgeport is a city in eastern Harrison County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,325 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Clarksburg micropolitan area. The town of Bridgeport had its beginning in pre-American Revolutionary W ...
, Mantooth was killed in a one-car crash on
Interstate 79 Interstate 79 (I-79) is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States, designated from I-77 in Charleston, West Virginia, north to Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) and PA 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a primary thoroughfare ...
near
Sutton, West Virginia Sutton is a town in Braxton County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 876 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Braxton County. Sutton is situated at a center of transportation in West Virginia. Interstate 79, a major nor ...
on July 23, 1986 (his 35th birthday) while employed by Metec Inc. of
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
.


Family

Mantooth was survived by his
widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...
, Pam, and daughter, Michelle, who earned her degree in psychology at her father's alma mater and earned a McNair Scholarship for her pursuit of a
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
He was also survived by his eldest daughter, Amy Coffin. Amy is a graduate of
Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
and resides in Northern Virginia with her husband and three children, plus his older brother, John (nicknamed "Butch"), and three sisters, Rhonda, Tammy, and Loretta.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mantooth, Billy Joe 1951 births 1986 deaths Ferrum Panthers football players West Virginia Mountaineers football players American football linebackers Philadelphia Eagles players Houston Oilers players People from Bridgeport, West Virginia People from Clendenin, West Virginia Road incident deaths in West Virginia Players of American football from West Virginia