Section One: When Football Becomes Life or Death

By Dylan Michael King

It's Sunday, December 19th, 1976.

The stadiums built in downtown Baltimore for the Orioles and Ravens don't yet exist. To the north, not far from Johns Hopkins University, sits Memorial Stadium. It's shared by the Orioles, and the NFL predecessors to the Ravens, the Baltimore Colts.

Although these two teams have combined for five championship seasons on this field, neither team is really happy here. A lot of seats have poor views of the field, and although it fits 60,000 people, it was not built to accommodate that many.

But it's home, and today, 60,000 Colts fans will squeeze in for their first-round playoff matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. At precisely 4:59 p.m., this game will end.

Six minutes later, at 5:05 p.m., an airplane will crash into the upper deck of Memorial Stadium. The plane will be a two-seat Piper Cherokee. Though not large by aircraft standards, its wingspan is about 30 feet, and its weight is approximately one ton.

Anyone who happens to occupy this area or anywhere near it at the time of the crash faces possible-to-certain death.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0CTVC1YFB
• ISBN13: 9798867307134
• Release Date: January 2024
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 44 Pages
• Weight: 0.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"