BOBCAT CALENDAR 1926: Bobcats Log Unbeaten Rocky Mountain Conference Season
6/3/2020 4:00:00 PM | Football
Bobcat legend Val Glynn leads the Cats as a triple-threat player
94 Years Ago – 1926
June 3: Each day leading to Montana State's 2020 season opener, scheduled for September 5, we will look at the season as many years ago as it is days until kickoff of the Gold Rush game.
94 YEARS AGO – Montana State's 1925 season looked good on its surface… a winning record, a strong group of star players, a beloved coach who had the program going in the right direction. But The Bobcats finished Rocky Mountain play with a 1-4 record, and from the distance of nearly a century didn't record a truly significant win. From the obligatory "Varsity Squad Practicing Hard" headline in the semester's first Weekly Exponent, though, the 1926 season seemed on a different path. Spirit ran high among the school's 785 students, but they would have to wait to actually see their Bobcats play. Montana State opened the season by holding a strong Idaho team – the Vandals finished 3-4-1, but won road games at Montana and Creighton – to a scoreless tie in a mudbath.
The season's fireworks came in the next couple of weeks. Montana State followed its good trip west with a sensational trek south. Trailing Colorado 3-0, Val Glynn threw a short pass to Joe Wellington from punt formation, and "The Duke" scampered 30 yards for a touchdown that decided the game in the 6-3 Bobcat victory. After dropping the Cat-Griz game in Butte next time out, Montana State edged the Colorado Teachers (Northern Colorado) 9-6 in the home opener. Ivar Twilde's 16-yard dropkick provided the winning margin in the 9-6 victory. The Bobcats hammered BYU 27-0 on Homecoming, then beat Wyoming 10-0 in Casper. The team's season ended like it began, with a on a muddy field. The result was a 7-0 loss at the College of Idaho.
One of the strong, low-key features of Montana State's mid-1920s teams was the kicking game. Val Glynn's punting was lauded nearly every game – he was estimated to average more than 40 yards per punt (punting stats were not kept in that day) – and Ivar Twilde nailed some important drop kicks. Glynn was rated as the top "triple threat man" in the Rocky Mountain Conference by the loop's coaches, largely owing to his spectacular punting.
The Bobcats finished the season 4-2-1, and in spite of losing in Butte the list of victories is solid. Montana State topped Colorado, Northern Colorado, BYU, and Wyoming – none national powers, but all competitive on a regional level – and but for Utah's perfect 5-0 league season the Cats would have laid claim to its only Rocky Mountain Conference title in the years before the bigger schools split away.
MOST COMMON STARTING LINEUP: Left End-Val Glynn, Left Tackle-Arthur Olson, Left Guard-George Vogt, Center-Rip Wilson, Right Guard-Jim Ario, Right Tackle-Joe Dobeus, Right End-Earl Keyes, Quarterback-Herb Winner, Left Halfback-Ott Gardner, Right Halfback-Tenney Babcock, Fullback-Pop Gregory.
POST-SEASON HONORS: All-America – none. All-Rocky Mountain – (1st) Val Glynn, End. (2nd) Rip Wilson, Center. (Honorable Mention) Jim Ario, Guard; Tenny Babcock, Halfback. (Team chosen by Associate Press) All-State – Not available.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: none
ROCKY MOUNTAIN STANDINGS: 4-0 in RMC, technically tied for 1st but just short of the conference title because 5-0 Utah played one more league game than Montana State. The 1926 season began the best stretch of football the Bobcats played in the Rocky Mountain Conference's (more or less) original configuration, the one which included Colorado, Colorado State, Utah, Utah State, BYU, Wyoming, and Denver, among others. The Bobcats beat Colorado in Boulder and beat Northern Colorado and BYU in Bozeman. The Cats also topped Wyoming in Casper. While the best team Montana State beat was 3-3 UNC, the Utes beat the fourth-place Colorado State and a Denver team that was tied for sixth.
June 3: Each day leading to Montana State's 2020 season opener, scheduled for September 5, we will look at the season as many years ago as it is days until kickoff of the Gold Rush game.
94 YEARS AGO – Montana State's 1925 season looked good on its surface… a winning record, a strong group of star players, a beloved coach who had the program going in the right direction. But The Bobcats finished Rocky Mountain play with a 1-4 record, and from the distance of nearly a century didn't record a truly significant win. From the obligatory "Varsity Squad Practicing Hard" headline in the semester's first Weekly Exponent, though, the 1926 season seemed on a different path. Spirit ran high among the school's 785 students, but they would have to wait to actually see their Bobcats play. Montana State opened the season by holding a strong Idaho team – the Vandals finished 3-4-1, but won road games at Montana and Creighton – to a scoreless tie in a mudbath.
The season's fireworks came in the next couple of weeks. Montana State followed its good trip west with a sensational trek south. Trailing Colorado 3-0, Val Glynn threw a short pass to Joe Wellington from punt formation, and "The Duke" scampered 30 yards for a touchdown that decided the game in the 6-3 Bobcat victory. After dropping the Cat-Griz game in Butte next time out, Montana State edged the Colorado Teachers (Northern Colorado) 9-6 in the home opener. Ivar Twilde's 16-yard dropkick provided the winning margin in the 9-6 victory. The Bobcats hammered BYU 27-0 on Homecoming, then beat Wyoming 10-0 in Casper. The team's season ended like it began, with a on a muddy field. The result was a 7-0 loss at the College of Idaho.
One of the strong, low-key features of Montana State's mid-1920s teams was the kicking game. Val Glynn's punting was lauded nearly every game – he was estimated to average more than 40 yards per punt (punting stats were not kept in that day) – and Ivar Twilde nailed some important drop kicks. Glynn was rated as the top "triple threat man" in the Rocky Mountain Conference by the loop's coaches, largely owing to his spectacular punting.
The Bobcats finished the season 4-2-1, and in spite of losing in Butte the list of victories is solid. Montana State topped Colorado, Northern Colorado, BYU, and Wyoming – none national powers, but all competitive on a regional level – and but for Utah's perfect 5-0 league season the Cats would have laid claim to its only Rocky Mountain Conference title in the years before the bigger schools split away.
MOST COMMON STARTING LINEUP: Left End-Val Glynn, Left Tackle-Arthur Olson, Left Guard-George Vogt, Center-Rip Wilson, Right Guard-Jim Ario, Right Tackle-Joe Dobeus, Right End-Earl Keyes, Quarterback-Herb Winner, Left Halfback-Ott Gardner, Right Halfback-Tenney Babcock, Fullback-Pop Gregory.
POST-SEASON HONORS: All-America – none. All-Rocky Mountain – (1st) Val Glynn, End. (2nd) Rip Wilson, Center. (Honorable Mention) Jim Ario, Guard; Tenny Babcock, Halfback. (Team chosen by Associate Press) All-State – Not available.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: none
ROCKY MOUNTAIN STANDINGS: 4-0 in RMC, technically tied for 1st but just short of the conference title because 5-0 Utah played one more league game than Montana State. The 1926 season began the best stretch of football the Bobcats played in the Rocky Mountain Conference's (more or less) original configuration, the one which included Colorado, Colorado State, Utah, Utah State, BYU, Wyoming, and Denver, among others. The Bobcats beat Colorado in Boulder and beat Northern Colorado and BYU in Bozeman. The Cats also topped Wyoming in Casper. While the best team Montana State beat was 3-3 UNC, the Utes beat the fourth-place Colorado State and a Denver team that was tied for sixth.
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