Indianapolis history:

1963 Coliseum explosion killed 74

Propane tank ignited during Holiday on Ice show at Fairgrounds

Updated: July 10, 2001

A young boy is lifted from the rubble of the Coliseum explosion. He was trapped for two hours before being extricated from the debris from the blast. (Staff photo)

Oct. 31, 1963, will forever be ingrained in the memory of the people of Indianapolis. That night an explosion ripped through the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, claiming the lives of 74 people and injuring nearly 400. It was one of the worst tragedies in Indiana history.

It was opening night for the Holiday on Ice show, with more than 4,000 spectators on hand. Propane, being used to keep pre-popped popcorn warm, was leaking from a faulty valve. At 11:04 p.m. an explosion sent bodies flying nearly 60 feet. A second blast took place a few minutes later, caused by heat rising and air rushing into the vacuumized area. The victims were either severely burned or crushed by concrete.

Indianapolis was not equiped to handle the volume of dead. Coroner Dennis Nicholas elected to use the Coliseum as a makeshift morgue. The bodies were placed on plywood and lined up on the ice according to gender and age.

Unidentified men undertake the task of identifying the dead as friends or relatives. (Staff photo)

Family members passed through the rows of bodies to identify their loved ones. Sixty five people were killed that evening and eight others would die in the days and weeks that followed. The 74th victim died Feb. 7, 1964.

On Dec. 19, 1963, a Marion County grand jury indicted State Fire Marshal Ira J. Anderson and Indianapolis fire chief Arnold W. Phillips on misdemeanor charges of failing to inspect the Coliseum. Edward J. Franger, president of Discount Gas Corp; Fred Helms, Discount's vice president; Richard Ensign, Discount's Indianapolis manager; Coliseum manager Melvin Ross; and Coliseum concession manager Floyd James were charged with manslaughter.

There was only one conviction. Franger was found guilty of assault and battery. That verdict was later overturned by the Indiana Supreme Court. In the end victims and survivors received about $4.6 million in settlements.

The Coliseum was restored and is still used today for many events. It was renamed the Pepsi Coliseum in 1991.