A miraculous Noblesville High School athlete comeback story

By TERRY COOMER

Noblesville High School has had many great athletes and many great athletic achievements down through the years. I am always glad to be able to say I grew up in Noblesville, Indiana. All the athletes who have done great things have had a wonderful support system from the community as well as great coaches who inspired, taught, coached, and helped them to do great things. I want to apologize upfront if I did not remember someone’s contribution.

Recently, I was talking with my friend Craig Marks. I was inspired by Craig’s life-or-death experience and his remarkable comeback to play football at Indiana University on a full scholarship.

Nov. 21, 1970, is a day that changed Craig’s life forever. Craig was a 15-year-old sophomore at Noblesville High School. At 6’3” and 185 pounds, Craig played football and lettered that year. As football season ended, he was looking forward to playing  basketball, and to participating in track.

Craig and two high school friends were out hunting in a farm field not too far from Craig’s home. One of the boys turned around and uncocked his gun (a 20-gauge shotgun).The gun accidentally went off and shot Craig in his upper left thigh. He was hit with that blast from just 10 feet away.

One of the friends ran a mile across the field to a farmhouse to call for help.  The other friend put a handkerchief in the wound and held it there to apply pressure. Craig laid in that field for an hour, conscious the entire time, before help finally came. The field was so muddy that the ambulance got stuck and could not get to him. A neighbor’s tractor  had to be used to pull the ambulance to and from the site of the accident . During this time Craig lost nine pints of blood (the human body has only 12 to 13 pints). Needless to say, this was a life-or-death situation.

On the way to the hospital Craig passed out from the loss of blood and the trauma. When he arrived at the hospital the doctors were concerned, he might not make it and were considering amputating his leg. Luckily, one of the doctors knew of an army surgeon in Indianapolis who had treated many gun blast victims during World War II. They located the surgeon at the barbershop (he was getting his hair cut) and asked him to come and do the surgery to help Craig.

Obviously, this was a very serious injury, but they were able to save Craig’s leg. There continued to be great fear, however, that there had been so much nerve damage that he would be disabled and never be able to use that leg again. Obviously, this would mean he would not be able to participate in athletics.

At the time of this accident, Craig Marks was an up-and-coming football player for NHS. After spending 33 days in a hospital bed and losing 30 pounds, there was concern that Craig would not be able to gain enough strength in that leg necessary to play again. The question was, could he come back? The answer to the question was yes!

Now, the comeback

When Craig first started his rehabilitation, he could only lift two pounds with his left leg. He was determined to work hard lifting weights, running, and strengthening his leg. Needless to say, he did not play basketball or participate in track during the remainder of his sophomore year but spent his time and effort working on getting his strength back. As you can imagine it was a real chore.

Coach Jim Belden, the highly successful high school football coach at Noblesville at the time, was a great encouragement and help to Craig. Craig greatly appreciated the iconic coach’s help. As he progressed, Coach Belden even took Craig to Ball State University where they made a special pad for him to put over the wound in his leg to help protect it if he got hit there. He was ready to play football again in the fall of his junior year.

Craig went on to start at offensive tackle and defensive tackle in his junior and senior years. In 1972 his 53 tackles made him the second-best tackler at NHS. Craig lettered in football three years and during those years the team earned a 22-8 record. Now 6’4” and 210 pounds, Craig was named All-County and All-Sagamore Conference as a senior and played on the Indiana All Star team after his senior year. That same year, in basketball, Craig averaged eight points and 10 rebounds per game for NHS. Craig also set the first school discus record of 122’9” as a senior.

As his high school career ended, Craig received a full-ride scholarship offer to play football for Lee Corso at the University of Louisville. Before the season started, Corso made the move to coach at Indiana University. Corso then offered Craig a full-ride scholarship to go with him to play football at Indiana University. Wow! From laying in a field, seriously wounded near death, to playing football at Indiana University.

Craig did not play his first season at IU, as he sustained a knee injury to his left leg during a scrimmage near the end of the season. Consequently, Craig was redshirted for the 1974 season. In 1975 Craig played and earned a varsity letter. Craig’s very first play as a varsity player was tackling Tony Dungy, who was Minnesota’s quarterback at the time, and who later coached the Indianapolis Colts. In his first varsity start he played across from Wisconsin’s All-American tackle Dennis Lick.

In 1976, Craig started 10 games and was very proud when IU beat Purdue. In 1977, he started all 11 games at defensive tackle and IU’s record was 5-6, including another win over Purdue. One of his particular memories that season was tackling Purdue’s standout quarterback, Mark Herrmann, when the two teams matched up in the Old Oaken Bucket game. After his playing career, Craig was brought on as a Graduate Assistant football coach for IU’s 1978 and 1979 seasons. A highlight from that experience was being on staff for the1979 Holiday Bowl win – IU’s first bowl victory.

One great honor for Craig was being awarded the 1978 Hamilton County Athlete of the Year. The great Noblesville baseball Coach Don Dunker, after whom the baseball field at Noblesville High School is named, organized the event to give the award to Craig Marks. Another honor, culminating his football career, will occur in October 2025, when Craig receives the I-Man Award for lettering at Indiana University 50 years ago.

Craig’s accomplishments did not end at Indiana University.  After graduating with degrees in Health, Physical Education, and US History, he went on to obtain his master’s degree in physical education with a concentration in coaching. Craig was a teacher for 34 years at Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis, where he taught Social Studies, US History, Health, Physical Education, and Advanced Physical Education and influenced many young men and women.

Craig coached football for 20 years as an assistant coach at Franklin Central. Their teams went to the Indiana state finals seven times and won four state championships. They were the first team in Indiana to win three state championships in a row!  Craig was also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and was instrumental in developing the strength program at the high school. Craig coached track for 14 years at both Franklin Central High School and Scecina Memorial High School in Indianapolis.

Craig has been married for 43 years to his wife, Donna. They have three adult children and one precious grandchild. Craig is very pleased that his mother, Doyne Marks, is still able to be an encouragement to him at 96 years old. As we were talking, Craig also mentioned he is happy that he has been able to continue life-long friendships with many of those who graduated Noblesville High School with him.

It would have been very easy to give up after such a decimating injury, but Craig Marks not only got up off the ground, he became a great Noblesville athlete.  He went on to coach, teach, and encourage other young people to persevere and be all they could be. Congratulations to Craig Marks for a great comeback story; a story that can be an inspiration to all of us.

You can reach Dr. Terry Coomer by email at [email protected].