Fred Bennion
BOBCAT CALENDAR: The Bobcats Returned to Bozeman to Quite a Celebration After Beating Utah State in 1914
10/17/2020 9:00:00 AM | Football
Fred Bennion Enjoyed an Outstanding Career at Montana State, but the Peak Came Today in 1914
A day-by-day look at Bobcat football history...
October 17
SPOTLIGHT: As the train carrying the Montana State football team pulled into the Bozeman Depot on
The fall of 1914 must have been heady times for Fred Bennion.
When the team peered out the windows they were treated to a vision probably unimaginable a few days earlier. Nearly the entire student body, and several from the greater Bozeman community, had assembled to welcome the team home after a 52-3 thrashing of Utah State in Logan. The school's band led the way as the team was paraded through downtown, where the entire procession enjoined a snake dance. One can only imagine the sight. Early the next day two students began marching around campus with a drum, and the rest of the students fell in behind for another impromptu celebration.
Bobcats stood 3-0 at that moment in time after opening the season with a win against Billings High, followed by an easy win over Montana Tech (42-0) and Utah State, and had outscored its opponents 115-3.
The Utah State massacre nearly opened with a thud. After recovering its own fumble on the opening kickoff Montana State scored five minutes later when Ott Romney crossed the goal line. Utah State halved the margin early in the second quarter with a 30-yard field goal, but after that it was all Bobcats. Romney returned the next kickoff to near midfield, then Joe Robideaux scored a touchdown, as did Gatton and Romney, and at the intermission Montana State led 30-3. Nothing in the second half called the game's outcome into question, as the Bobcats cruised.
The 1914 squad certainly wasn't Utah State's finest. In fact, in the next edition of the Student Life newspaper the main headline read, "Why Can't Aggies Win?" Montana State beat Montana Tech again the next week before losing in Missoula. The team finished a tremendous 1914 season 5-1 by beating North Dakota State.
Bennion is an interesting study. He had enjoyed successful years as a player and as head coach at Utah, where he was believed to be the first Ute player ever to catch a touchdown pass. Utah was 16-8-3 under Bennion's control, and he led the Bobcats to an 11-7-5 record over four seasons.
As if gaining one terrific coach wasn't enough, Bennion brought with him a young Ute quarterback named Ott Romney looking to finish his eligibility in Bozeman. He posted a marvelous season, spent the fall of 1915 as the football program's graduate manager, which set him up for a long, successful career in coaching and athletic administration.
Bennion's path was equally unique. After four very good years leading the Bobcat football and basketball fortunes, he transitioned into a position in the school's agricultural extension service. He began studying in the field after arriving in Bozeman, and during the spring of 1917 under the war emergency program he served as an ag extension agent in several counties. Upon his departure, Bennion was praised for soothing tension between the College and the University, calming a rivalry which had reached uncomfortable (to school administrators) levels.
Bennion remained in agriculture-related work throughout his life, serving as a county extension agent in Oregon before returning to Montana and eventually to Bozeman and Montana State. He lived to the age of 75, passing away in 1960.
GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2015 - #17 Portland St 59, MSU 42
2009 - MSU 31, South Dak 24 OT
1998 - Portland St 34, MSU 31
1992 - MSU 14, Idaho St 7
1987 - Weber State 35, MSU 32
1981 - MSU 29, Idaho 26
1970 - at Weber St 56, MSU 13
1964 - MSU 20, Idaho St 0 HC
1959 - at Idaho St 6, MSU 0
1953 - MSU 20, at Colo Coll 0
1941 - at No Colo 7, MSU 6
1936 - No Colo 13, MSU 0
1931 - Wyoming 32, MSU 13
1914 - MSU 52, at Utah St 3
October 17
SPOTLIGHT: As the train carrying the Montana State football team pulled into the Bozeman Depot on
The fall of 1914 must have been heady times for Fred Bennion.
When the team peered out the windows they were treated to a vision probably unimaginable a few days earlier. Nearly the entire student body, and several from the greater Bozeman community, had assembled to welcome the team home after a 52-3 thrashing of Utah State in Logan. The school's band led the way as the team was paraded through downtown, where the entire procession enjoined a snake dance. One can only imagine the sight. Early the next day two students began marching around campus with a drum, and the rest of the students fell in behind for another impromptu celebration.
Bobcats stood 3-0 at that moment in time after opening the season with a win against Billings High, followed by an easy win over Montana Tech (42-0) and Utah State, and had outscored its opponents 115-3.
The Utah State massacre nearly opened with a thud. After recovering its own fumble on the opening kickoff Montana State scored five minutes later when Ott Romney crossed the goal line. Utah State halved the margin early in the second quarter with a 30-yard field goal, but after that it was all Bobcats. Romney returned the next kickoff to near midfield, then Joe Robideaux scored a touchdown, as did Gatton and Romney, and at the intermission Montana State led 30-3. Nothing in the second half called the game's outcome into question, as the Bobcats cruised.
The 1914 squad certainly wasn't Utah State's finest. In fact, in the next edition of the Student Life newspaper the main headline read, "Why Can't Aggies Win?" Montana State beat Montana Tech again the next week before losing in Missoula. The team finished a tremendous 1914 season 5-1 by beating North Dakota State.
Bennion is an interesting study. He had enjoyed successful years as a player and as head coach at Utah, where he was believed to be the first Ute player ever to catch a touchdown pass. Utah was 16-8-3 under Bennion's control, and he led the Bobcats to an 11-7-5 record over four seasons.
As if gaining one terrific coach wasn't enough, Bennion brought with him a young Ute quarterback named Ott Romney looking to finish his eligibility in Bozeman. He posted a marvelous season, spent the fall of 1915 as the football program's graduate manager, which set him up for a long, successful career in coaching and athletic administration.
Bennion's path was equally unique. After four very good years leading the Bobcat football and basketball fortunes, he transitioned into a position in the school's agricultural extension service. He began studying in the field after arriving in Bozeman, and during the spring of 1917 under the war emergency program he served as an ag extension agent in several counties. Upon his departure, Bennion was praised for soothing tension between the College and the University, calming a rivalry which had reached uncomfortable (to school administrators) levels.
Bennion remained in agriculture-related work throughout his life, serving as a county extension agent in Oregon before returning to Montana and eventually to Bozeman and Montana State. He lived to the age of 75, passing away in 1960.
GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2015 - #17 Portland St 59, MSU 42
2009 - MSU 31, South Dak 24 OT
1998 - Portland St 34, MSU 31
1992 - MSU 14, Idaho St 7
1987 - Weber State 35, MSU 32
1981 - MSU 29, Idaho 26
1970 - at Weber St 56, MSU 13
1964 - MSU 20, Idaho St 0 HC
1959 - at Idaho St 6, MSU 0
1953 - MSU 20, at Colo Coll 0
1941 - at No Colo 7, MSU 6
1936 - No Colo 13, MSU 0
1931 - Wyoming 32, MSU 13
1914 - MSU 52, at Utah St 3
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