BOBCATS 125: Ron Warzeka and Ed Ritt
6/12/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
Montana State's enormous tackles bookended the 1956 National Championship line
Leading to the 2022 season, the 125th anniversary of Montana State's first football team, we will look at 125 of the greatest Bobcats. You can find details here and a directory here.
Ron Warzeka, T, 1953-56
ALL-TIME TEAM: Billings Gazette 1969 Team, Billings Gazette 2000 Team
HONORS: 1st Team All-America in 1956, 1st Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference in 1954, 1955 and 1956
A CLOSER LOOK: In any photo of Montana State's legendary 1956 National Championship team, it's easy to spot Ron Warzeka. He's the tallest dude. For his time and place, 6-3 and 235 lbs was a large man, and he used it well enough to become the first Bobcat selected for a post-seaosn all-star game - the 1957 East-West Shrine Game. Warzeka was drafted by both Oakland in the AFL and San Francisco in the NFL in 1957, and joined the Raiders. He played in 14 games that fall, starting three. Injuries ended his professional career.
Warzeka earned 1st Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference honors as a sophomore, junior and senior, and was an All-America during Montana State's 1956 National Championship campaign. The former Great Falls High star was his team's Most Valuable Player as a senior, and was lauded for his play on both sides of the ball. He enjoyed a successful career in the tire industry in Bozeman and Boise.
Ed Ritt, T, 1953-56
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: 1st Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference in 1956, 2nd Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference in 1955, Honorable Mention All-Rocky Mountain Conference in 1954
A CLOSER LOOK: Like his linemate Ron Warzeka, Ed Ritt checked in at 6-2 and 235 lbs, enormous for his time and place. While Warzeka appears rangy (tall and long) in old photos, Ritt appears wide. Regardless, the two formed a tandem that helped the Bobcats to conference championships in two of their three seasons bookending the Bobcat line. Ritt, three years older than Warzeka because of military service, also served as a team captain for the Cats in 1956.
Ritt was drafted in 1957 by the Chicago Cardinals, 10 picks ahead of Warzeka, and after being released by the Cardinals began a long and successful business career, primarily in Oregon.
FROM FORMER TEAMMATE DARRELL HUETH ON RON WARZEKA AND ED RITT: "Ron Warzeka was a great player, he was a senior my sophomore year, and he and Ed Ritt were really important parts of that National Championship team. They were both from Great Falls and both (among) the first Bobcats drafted by the NFL. They were both so big and strong. The only trouble with Ed was that he was virtually blind, and that's what cost him an NFL career, his eyesight. He was unbelievably strong and there's no question about it, they were the two best tackles in the West."
Ron Warzeka, T, 1953-56
ALL-TIME TEAM: Billings Gazette 1969 Team, Billings Gazette 2000 Team
HONORS: 1st Team All-America in 1956, 1st Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference in 1954, 1955 and 1956
A CLOSER LOOK: In any photo of Montana State's legendary 1956 National Championship team, it's easy to spot Ron Warzeka. He's the tallest dude. For his time and place, 6-3 and 235 lbs was a large man, and he used it well enough to become the first Bobcat selected for a post-seaosn all-star game - the 1957 East-West Shrine Game. Warzeka was drafted by both Oakland in the AFL and San Francisco in the NFL in 1957, and joined the Raiders. He played in 14 games that fall, starting three. Injuries ended his professional career.
Warzeka earned 1st Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference honors as a sophomore, junior and senior, and was an All-America during Montana State's 1956 National Championship campaign. The former Great Falls High star was his team's Most Valuable Player as a senior, and was lauded for his play on both sides of the ball. He enjoyed a successful career in the tire industry in Bozeman and Boise.
Ed Ritt, T, 1953-56
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: 1st Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference in 1956, 2nd Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference in 1955, Honorable Mention All-Rocky Mountain Conference in 1954
A CLOSER LOOK: Like his linemate Ron Warzeka, Ed Ritt checked in at 6-2 and 235 lbs, enormous for his time and place. While Warzeka appears rangy (tall and long) in old photos, Ritt appears wide. Regardless, the two formed a tandem that helped the Bobcats to conference championships in two of their three seasons bookending the Bobcat line. Ritt, three years older than Warzeka because of military service, also served as a team captain for the Cats in 1956.
Ritt was drafted in 1957 by the Chicago Cardinals, 10 picks ahead of Warzeka, and after being released by the Cardinals began a long and successful business career, primarily in Oregon.
FROM FORMER TEAMMATE DARRELL HUETH ON RON WARZEKA AND ED RITT: "Ron Warzeka was a great player, he was a senior my sophomore year, and he and Ed Ritt were really important parts of that National Championship team. They were both from Great Falls and both (among) the first Bobcats drafted by the NFL. They were both so big and strong. The only trouble with Ed was that he was virtually blind, and that's what cost him an NFL career, his eyesight. He was unbelievably strong and there's no question about it, they were the two best tackles in the West."
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