Alfred Atkinson (left) and Reno H. Sales, looking like they'd rather be at a football game
BOBCATS 125: A Look 125 of Montana State's Greatest Football Players
5/1/2022 4:00:00 PM | Football
In a series leading us to the 2022 season, Montana State's 125th of varsity football, we look at the finest Bobcats
In a series leading us to the beginning of the 2022 football season, the 125th year of varsity football at Montana State, we will take a look at 125 great Bobcat football players. Until we get to early August this will not be a ranking, and will not be in any particular order. The list of 125 was selected by a panel of people that with an up-close view of the program - sometimes from different angles - for 30 to over 50 years. This list is not exhaustive and the polling was not scientific, but hopefully it sheds light on the greatness, the legacy, and ultimately the glory that has drawn so many loyal fans to Bobcat Football for 125 years. Please don't take offense if your favorite player is not listed, or is not covered as soon as, you'd prefer. This was a large undertaking, and as with any football program as established as ours it's impossible to cover every deserving player.
With that disclaimer, and as a bonus, we'll begin with a bonus edition. And we'll begin at the beginning.
In 1896 a group of young men gathered on the campus of Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts - a name that even as the school's fourth full academic year dawned was recognized as too bulky - to throw around a foot ball. The sports had taken hold on eastern campuses and spread westward. Contests between groups on a single campus, and between teams representing different schools, were much easier to arrange on larger campuses where distance between schools was not great. Life in the 19th century west, for many reasons, presented challenges.
As men with experience in the growing game, such as professor William Fiske Brewer, began arriving in Bozeman and other western campuses, foot ball took hold. In the fall of 1896 Brewer orchestrated some practices on the Montana State campus, and Reno Sales was among those who participated.So was Will Flaherty, who in later years called Brewer the school's first coach. There's a lack of clarity surrounding the program's first head football coach, because there probably wasn't one. Brewer undoubtedly helped organize the first group of players before the Montana State campus had really begun to take shape.
A group of men led that first Bobcat team. Charles Lisle, a local newspaperman, became the program's first official head coach but his work prevented him from traveling to out-of-town games. The first three games occurred on the road, so Lisle apparently didn't see his first game until the season finale, which was also the first football game played in Bozeman. Montana State lost to an established Butte High program that day.
Captain George Ahern also played a role in coaching that first Bobcat team. His intriguing story will be covered later, but he was the school's first military officer and teacher (a requirement for Land Grant schools until well into the 20th century) and was exposed to the sport at West Point. Professor E.V. Wilcox is credited with coaching the team during its road games, but since he also alternated as an official in those contests other men, such as Professor William McCormick, also helped coach the team.
Much of what we now consider 'coaching' in college football fell to captains in the early years. Those chores included calling plays and organizing players on the field. Harry C. Patterson was recognized as Montana State's team captain in 1897, although some sources cite Will Flaherty as the program's first captain. That may have been the case in 1896.
One other item worth mentioning is the role of the preparatory academy in Montana State's early years. Attached to the University in its first few decades was what was essentially a high school, designed to provide students the pre-requisites and skills to succeed in a rigorous academic environment. This was necessitated by Montana's rural nature, which often precluded students from attending high school. The prep academy was a boarding school, and Bozeman residents were prohibited from attending so as not to diminish the local high shool. Many of the school's early players were students in the prep school.
Reno Sales is a name known well to most Bobcat fans. He was on the school's first football team and according to the Exponent (our preferred early source) scored the first touchdown for his school against its arch-rival. Sales played on Montana State's first varsity team, the baseball squad of 1896, and went on to become a world-renowned geologist based in Butte. A native Iowan who grew up in the area known then as Salesville and now as Gallatin Gateway, Sales' generosity resulted in the construction of Reno H. Sales Stadium.
Alfred Atkinson, also pictured, joined the Montana State faculty in 1903 and was the school's president from 1919-37. During his tenure the school underwent incredible physical changes, but also ascended in athletics. Montana State became a legitimate member of the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference, constructed a new gymnasium (known for most of its life as Romney Gym), hired Ott Romney, and promoted the importance of college athletics in providing cohesion in a growing college. He remains one of the school's significant figures in history.
The panel of voters who narrowed down this list to 125 players: Dean Alexander (long-time Voice of the Cats), Kris Atteberry (Bozeman native, play-by-play broadcaster from 2003-06, current season ticket-holder, lifelong Bobcat fan), Butch Damberger (player from 1976-79, assistant coach from 1992-2002, current manager of the Strand Union Building and replay coordinator for Bobcat home games), Dan Davies (player from 1975-78, student assistant in 1979, assistant coach 1981-86, radio analyst since 1988), Mike Kramer (Idaho Vandals lineman 1972-75, high school coach in Montana 1977-82, Bobcat assistant 1983-86, coach elsewhere in the Big Sky Conference 1989-1999, 2011-16), Bill Lamberty (SID at Montana State since 1990).
In addition to stats and honors, one of the baseline resources used for selecting the top 125 players is three previous all-time teams. On November 20, 1933 the Exponent named its all-time team, a thorough exercise that produced three full teams detailing 37 players. The panel picking that first all-time team included the greatest names of the program's (and College's) early years: Fred Bennion (head coach 1914-17), Schubert Dyche (assistant coach 1922-27, head coach since 1928 at the time of that poll), Ott Romney (quarterback on 1914 team, head coach 1922-28), Professor William Fisk Brewer (a key figure in the development of Bobcat Athletics who was cited as the program's first coach for his work organizing players in 1896), Clarence Jeffers (player, 1897-1901), Eugene Bunker (head coach in 1913 after previously coaching at Gallatin County High School), Dr. R.C. Purdum, Edward Morris, Jack Taylor, Will Flaherty (player 1897-1903, lifelong supporter of Bobcat football), Homer Thompson (player 1899-1901), Edward Burke, Nelson Miller (player 1899-1903). The Billings Gazette selected all-time teams in 1970 (specifically legendary sportswriter Norm Clarke, who coined the "Iron Tumbleweed" nickname for Don Hass) and 2000 (specifically long-time sportswriter Greg Rachac).
So this will serve as our entry into the Bobcats 125, highlighting Montana State's great and memorable football players. Enjoy!
With that disclaimer, and as a bonus, we'll begin with a bonus edition. And we'll begin at the beginning.
In 1896 a group of young men gathered on the campus of Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts - a name that even as the school's fourth full academic year dawned was recognized as too bulky - to throw around a foot ball. The sports had taken hold on eastern campuses and spread westward. Contests between groups on a single campus, and between teams representing different schools, were much easier to arrange on larger campuses where distance between schools was not great. Life in the 19th century west, for many reasons, presented challenges.
As men with experience in the growing game, such as professor William Fiske Brewer, began arriving in Bozeman and other western campuses, foot ball took hold. In the fall of 1896 Brewer orchestrated some practices on the Montana State campus, and Reno Sales was among those who participated.So was Will Flaherty, who in later years called Brewer the school's first coach. There's a lack of clarity surrounding the program's first head football coach, because there probably wasn't one. Brewer undoubtedly helped organize the first group of players before the Montana State campus had really begun to take shape.
A group of men led that first Bobcat team. Charles Lisle, a local newspaperman, became the program's first official head coach but his work prevented him from traveling to out-of-town games. The first three games occurred on the road, so Lisle apparently didn't see his first game until the season finale, which was also the first football game played in Bozeman. Montana State lost to an established Butte High program that day.
Captain George Ahern also played a role in coaching that first Bobcat team. His intriguing story will be covered later, but he was the school's first military officer and teacher (a requirement for Land Grant schools until well into the 20th century) and was exposed to the sport at West Point. Professor E.V. Wilcox is credited with coaching the team during its road games, but since he also alternated as an official in those contests other men, such as Professor William McCormick, also helped coach the team.
Much of what we now consider 'coaching' in college football fell to captains in the early years. Those chores included calling plays and organizing players on the field. Harry C. Patterson was recognized as Montana State's team captain in 1897, although some sources cite Will Flaherty as the program's first captain. That may have been the case in 1896.
One other item worth mentioning is the role of the preparatory academy in Montana State's early years. Attached to the University in its first few decades was what was essentially a high school, designed to provide students the pre-requisites and skills to succeed in a rigorous academic environment. This was necessitated by Montana's rural nature, which often precluded students from attending high school. The prep academy was a boarding school, and Bozeman residents were prohibited from attending so as not to diminish the local high shool. Many of the school's early players were students in the prep school.
Reno Sales is a name known well to most Bobcat fans. He was on the school's first football team and according to the Exponent (our preferred early source) scored the first touchdown for his school against its arch-rival. Sales played on Montana State's first varsity team, the baseball squad of 1896, and went on to become a world-renowned geologist based in Butte. A native Iowan who grew up in the area known then as Salesville and now as Gallatin Gateway, Sales' generosity resulted in the construction of Reno H. Sales Stadium.
Alfred Atkinson, also pictured, joined the Montana State faculty in 1903 and was the school's president from 1919-37. During his tenure the school underwent incredible physical changes, but also ascended in athletics. Montana State became a legitimate member of the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference, constructed a new gymnasium (known for most of its life as Romney Gym), hired Ott Romney, and promoted the importance of college athletics in providing cohesion in a growing college. He remains one of the school's significant figures in history.
The panel of voters who narrowed down this list to 125 players: Dean Alexander (long-time Voice of the Cats), Kris Atteberry (Bozeman native, play-by-play broadcaster from 2003-06, current season ticket-holder, lifelong Bobcat fan), Butch Damberger (player from 1976-79, assistant coach from 1992-2002, current manager of the Strand Union Building and replay coordinator for Bobcat home games), Dan Davies (player from 1975-78, student assistant in 1979, assistant coach 1981-86, radio analyst since 1988), Mike Kramer (Idaho Vandals lineman 1972-75, high school coach in Montana 1977-82, Bobcat assistant 1983-86, coach elsewhere in the Big Sky Conference 1989-1999, 2011-16), Bill Lamberty (SID at Montana State since 1990).
In addition to stats and honors, one of the baseline resources used for selecting the top 125 players is three previous all-time teams. On November 20, 1933 the Exponent named its all-time team, a thorough exercise that produced three full teams detailing 37 players. The panel picking that first all-time team included the greatest names of the program's (and College's) early years: Fred Bennion (head coach 1914-17), Schubert Dyche (assistant coach 1922-27, head coach since 1928 at the time of that poll), Ott Romney (quarterback on 1914 team, head coach 1922-28), Professor William Fisk Brewer (a key figure in the development of Bobcat Athletics who was cited as the program's first coach for his work organizing players in 1896), Clarence Jeffers (player, 1897-1901), Eugene Bunker (head coach in 1913 after previously coaching at Gallatin County High School), Dr. R.C. Purdum, Edward Morris, Jack Taylor, Will Flaherty (player 1897-1903, lifelong supporter of Bobcat football), Homer Thompson (player 1899-1901), Edward Burke, Nelson Miller (player 1899-1903). The Billings Gazette selected all-time teams in 1970 (specifically legendary sportswriter Norm Clarke, who coined the "Iron Tumbleweed" nickname for Don Hass) and 2000 (specifically long-time sportswriter Greg Rachac).
So this will serve as our entry into the Bobcats 125, highlighting Montana State's great and memorable football players. Enjoy!
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