BOBCATS 125: Austin DeFrate
5/29/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
A lanky end, A.O. DeFrate stood above the crowd both physically and as one of Bobcat Football's greats of the early 20th century
Austin DeFrate, E/HB, 1928-30
ALL-TIME TEAM: 1933 Exponent 2nd Team
HONORS: All-Rocky Mountain Conference 1929, 1st Team All-State 1929/30.
A CLOSER LOOK: Austin O. DeFrate gained a fair bit of national acclaim as Montana State's quarterback, leading the Cats during their most successful pre-World War II era. His team was 16-6-1 with a famous 1929 win over the Grizzlies in Butte. He threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Max Worthington and engineered another scoring drive as the Bobcats beat the Grizzlies for the first time since 1908. DeFrate's moment of fame came in 1928, when he returned an interception 88 yards for a touchdown against Nebraska. (Ed. Note - There are also reports in local media reports that cites Worthington as the player who returned that interception). The four-time track letterman was truly a big man on campus during one of Montana State's golden eras of athletics, standing six feet tall and walking among all-time greats such as Max Worthington and Brick Breeden and the Ward brothers. "Phat" DeFrate, who gained acclaim north of the border as a professional rugby player in Canada after leaving Bozeman. He was inducted into the Bobcat Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991.
FROM THE EXPONENT ALL-TIME TEAM EDITION: "Chosen as the halfback on the second All-Montana State team, DeFrate was one of the rather limited number of backs to play under the blue and gold who had both speed and weight. He was a triple threat man of the first order being able to block, pack the pigskin, and get off better than average punts. His senior year he became famous as a "mud horse" getting off several times that year for sensational dashes over sloppy fields through strong opposing teams. Besides receiving All-Conference honors he was recognized on all state selections. In 1931 he turned in a brilliant game at a meeting between two picked collegiate teams, one from the East and one from the West. After graduating from Montana State College DeFrate took up rogby football in Canada where he has become a favorite star."
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