POSTPONED - City of Tuscaloosa to Hold Unveiling Ceremony for “Marshall Four” Statues
January 30, 2025
**UPDATE** This unveiling has been postponed due to material quality concerns with the statues.
The statues were on track to be installed the week of February 3 until quality issues were discovered when the statues were delivered from the foundry. The City of Tuscaloosa and the artist are striving to deliver the highest possible quality to honor the legacies of the players.
The rescheduled date will be determined as soon as possible.
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These statues honor Tuscaloosa natives Freddy Wilson, Larry Sanders, Joe Hood and Robert VanHorn, who attended Marshall University to play football as some of the first Black athletes from Tuscaloosa on athletic scholarships at a major university. All four tragically passed away in the Marshall University plane crash on November 14, 1970.
The statues were created by Caleb O’Connor, renowned artist and sculptor known in Tuscaloosa for sculpting the Minerva statue at Manderson Landing and the Deontay Wilder statue at the Visit Tuscaloosa Welcome Center.
The public is invited to the unveiling ceremony. Light refreshments will be provided.
Wilson, Sanders, Hood and VanHorn grew up in West Tuscaloosa, and spent much of their childhood at the original Benjamin Barnes YMCA.
An Elevate Tuscaloosa Project, the new Benjamin Barnes YMCA facility opened in December 2024.
Learn more at elevatetuscaloosa.com.
The statues were created by Caleb O’Connor, renowned artist and sculptor known in Tuscaloosa for sculpting the Minerva statue at Manderson Landing and the Deontay Wilder statue at the Visit Tuscaloosa Welcome Center.
The public is invited to the unveiling ceremony. Light refreshments will be provided.
Wilson, Sanders, Hood and VanHorn grew up in West Tuscaloosa, and spent much of their childhood at the original Benjamin Barnes YMCA.
An Elevate Tuscaloosa Project, the new Benjamin Barnes YMCA facility opened in December 2024.
Learn more at elevatetuscaloosa.com.