BOBCATS 125: Max Worthington
7/13/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
Perhaps known better for his basketball stardom, Max Worthington played brilliant football for the Bobcats in the late 1920s
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.
Max Worthington, E, 1928-30
ALL-TIME TEAM: 1933 Exponent 1st Team
HONORS: 1st Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference end in 1929, 2nd Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference end in 1930, 1st Team All-State in 1930. Surviving records from this era are sporadic and all-state honors were important, so it's hard to imagine Max Worthington wasn't one of the two best ends in Montana in 1929, a year for which such honors seem not to have survived. Playing only two in-state games may have cost him that opportunity. The Exponent and Montanan both cite him as a two-time All-Rocky Mountain Conference honoree, and the 1931 Montanan indicates he was first team in 1929.
A CLOSER LOOK: While Max Worrthington will remain forever linked to basketball glory as a star for the Golden Bobcats, he was a remarkable all-around athlete and a true Big Man on Campus at Montana State. He remained that way for his entire life, carving out a career as a beloved campus administrator for many decades then becoming a fixture at Bobcat practices and games throughout his life.
His list of individual highlights is long, headlined by his performance against the Grizzlies in 1929. After the Bobcats nearly ended a long winless streak against their rivals in 1928, settling for a 0-0 tie after being turned away at the UM one twice in the second half, Montana State's thirst for victory in 1929 was at an all-time high. Worthington caught both touchdown passes in the legendary 14-12 Bobcat win, and he also helped MSC to a state championship-clinching win over Carroll.
His 1928 season featured a quirk. The Bobcats traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face the Cornhuskers, and played respectably. Montana State lost 26-6, and the only score came on a 90-yard fumble return. On game day that play was credited to Austin DeFrate, but upon return to Bozeman it was disclosed that Worthington actually scooped the ball and made the long run to bust up Nebraska's shutout.
The great Montana State legend wasn't necessarily bound to become a Bobcat so much as he was bound to play for Ott Romney. As detailed in Paul Wylie's brilliant book "Montana State's Golden Bobcats," Worthington became enthralled by the future MSC coach when his father Len took him to Billings High School football and basketball practices when Worthington was 10 years old and Romney coached the local youngsters. Worthington gained motivation, boosted by his father, to matriculate in Bozeman when Romney returned to his alma mater as coach in 1922, and five years later the Billings prodigy earned the Bobcat Award at the annual state high school basketball tournament in Montana State's beautiful new gymnasium. That is when Romney zeroed in on the youngster who once stood on the sidelines and watched his Billings High teams practice.
There are those that dwell on Montana State's football futility against their in-state rivals, but the basketball series was equally lop-sided toward the Blue and Gold and the Bozeman school was transforming into a destination. From a century's perspective it's easy to identify the late 1920s as a glorious time for Bobcat Athletics and Montana State College as a whole, but in the moment contemporary sources felt and commented on the energy on the Bozeman campus. Surely Worthington and other in-state Bobcats, such as local star Brick Breeden, fed on that as well.
Regardless, Wylie writes that Worthington and his boyhood pal Clyde Carpenter (a future Grizzly star and Bobcat head coach) had decided to attend the University in Missoula together and were traveling west from Billings for a visit when the train broke down outside of Bozeman. That delay led Max to deviate from the plan, walk from the train station to the SAE house where his brother LaSelle resided, and shortly thereafter located Romney and expressed his desire to attend Montana State College and eventually change its history.
Worthington's name will forever be linked to Bobcat basketball - the school's long-time home gym is named Worthington Arena - but he starred in football at Billings High, and earned all-league honors twice on the gridiron in the Blue and Gold.
FROM 1933 EXPONENT: "One of the All Montana State team who was twice named on the first All Rocky Mountain Team is Max Worthington. He was generally regarded by sports writers of Western papers to be the most vicious tacklers playing a wing position on any mountain team. In 1929 when a powerful Bobcat aggregation turned tables on the Grizzlies of Montana University for the first time in some twenty years Worthington was the outstanding lineman of the game. A year later his phenomenal pass-reception was the feature of a State College-University contest which saw the Bobcats within one foot of the goal line twice in the last half only to lose 13 to 6. Worthington was fast and clever, hard hitting and dependable. His play was always sensational. Worthington was captain of the 1930 Bobcats."
FEATURE IN 1931 MONTANAN: "MAX WORTHINGTON came to Montana State College with a marvelous athletic record behind him. He was a valuable asset to the Bobkitten team of four years ago. In 1929 he was awarded with an end position on the All-Conference eleven. He captained the 1930 football (team) through a hard season, but one which was successful in every respect. He also captained the 1931 basketball team. Max is one of the few athletes to ever captain both th~ football and basketball teams rn one year. In future years when the team is hard pressed, he will be missed. It is with a great deal of pride that Montana State
College can say that Max Vorthington attended the school and defended her many times upon the court or the turf. Here is a man who can grin in the same ple·asing manner after a defeat as he does after a victory. Vhen utter defeat was staring him in the face last fall; when it was almost inevitable, he
still drove , charged, blocked, and tackled just a shard and true as if the annual BobcatGrizzly game had only begun. His name shall go down in the annals of Montana State history as a student, a
man, and an athlete."
Max Worthington, E, 1928-30
ALL-TIME TEAM: 1933 Exponent 1st Team
HONORS: 1st Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference end in 1929, 2nd Team All-Rocky Mountain Conference end in 1930, 1st Team All-State in 1930. Surviving records from this era are sporadic and all-state honors were important, so it's hard to imagine Max Worthington wasn't one of the two best ends in Montana in 1929, a year for which such honors seem not to have survived. Playing only two in-state games may have cost him that opportunity. The Exponent and Montanan both cite him as a two-time All-Rocky Mountain Conference honoree, and the 1931 Montanan indicates he was first team in 1929.
A CLOSER LOOK: While Max Worrthington will remain forever linked to basketball glory as a star for the Golden Bobcats, he was a remarkable all-around athlete and a true Big Man on Campus at Montana State. He remained that way for his entire life, carving out a career as a beloved campus administrator for many decades then becoming a fixture at Bobcat practices and games throughout his life.
His list of individual highlights is long, headlined by his performance against the Grizzlies in 1929. After the Bobcats nearly ended a long winless streak against their rivals in 1928, settling for a 0-0 tie after being turned away at the UM one twice in the second half, Montana State's thirst for victory in 1929 was at an all-time high. Worthington caught both touchdown passes in the legendary 14-12 Bobcat win, and he also helped MSC to a state championship-clinching win over Carroll.
His 1928 season featured a quirk. The Bobcats traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face the Cornhuskers, and played respectably. Montana State lost 26-6, and the only score came on a 90-yard fumble return. On game day that play was credited to Austin DeFrate, but upon return to Bozeman it was disclosed that Worthington actually scooped the ball and made the long run to bust up Nebraska's shutout.
The great Montana State legend wasn't necessarily bound to become a Bobcat so much as he was bound to play for Ott Romney. As detailed in Paul Wylie's brilliant book "Montana State's Golden Bobcats," Worthington became enthralled by the future MSC coach when his father Len took him to Billings High School football and basketball practices when Worthington was 10 years old and Romney coached the local youngsters. Worthington gained motivation, boosted by his father, to matriculate in Bozeman when Romney returned to his alma mater as coach in 1922, and five years later the Billings prodigy earned the Bobcat Award at the annual state high school basketball tournament in Montana State's beautiful new gymnasium. That is when Romney zeroed in on the youngster who once stood on the sidelines and watched his Billings High teams practice.
There are those that dwell on Montana State's football futility against their in-state rivals, but the basketball series was equally lop-sided toward the Blue and Gold and the Bozeman school was transforming into a destination. From a century's perspective it's easy to identify the late 1920s as a glorious time for Bobcat Athletics and Montana State College as a whole, but in the moment contemporary sources felt and commented on the energy on the Bozeman campus. Surely Worthington and other in-state Bobcats, such as local star Brick Breeden, fed on that as well.
Regardless, Wylie writes that Worthington and his boyhood pal Clyde Carpenter (a future Grizzly star and Bobcat head coach) had decided to attend the University in Missoula together and were traveling west from Billings for a visit when the train broke down outside of Bozeman. That delay led Max to deviate from the plan, walk from the train station to the SAE house where his brother LaSelle resided, and shortly thereafter located Romney and expressed his desire to attend Montana State College and eventually change its history.
Worthington's name will forever be linked to Bobcat basketball - the school's long-time home gym is named Worthington Arena - but he starred in football at Billings High, and earned all-league honors twice on the gridiron in the Blue and Gold.
FROM 1933 EXPONENT: "One of the All Montana State team who was twice named on the first All Rocky Mountain Team is Max Worthington. He was generally regarded by sports writers of Western papers to be the most vicious tacklers playing a wing position on any mountain team. In 1929 when a powerful Bobcat aggregation turned tables on the Grizzlies of Montana University for the first time in some twenty years Worthington was the outstanding lineman of the game. A year later his phenomenal pass-reception was the feature of a State College-University contest which saw the Bobcats within one foot of the goal line twice in the last half only to lose 13 to 6. Worthington was fast and clever, hard hitting and dependable. His play was always sensational. Worthington was captain of the 1930 Bobcats."
FEATURE IN 1931 MONTANAN: "MAX WORTHINGTON came to Montana State College with a marvelous athletic record behind him. He was a valuable asset to the Bobkitten team of four years ago. In 1929 he was awarded with an end position on the All-Conference eleven. He captained the 1930 football (team) through a hard season, but one which was successful in every respect. He also captained the 1931 basketball team. Max is one of the few athletes to ever captain both th~ football and basketball teams rn one year. In future years when the team is hard pressed, he will be missed. It is with a great deal of pride that Montana State
College can say that Max Vorthington attended the school and defended her many times upon the court or the turf. Here is a man who can grin in the same ple·asing manner after a defeat as he does after a victory. Vhen utter defeat was staring him in the face last fall; when it was almost inevitable, he
still drove , charged, blocked, and tackled just a shard and true as if the annual BobcatGrizzly game had only begun. His name shall go down in the annals of Montana State history as a student, a
man, and an athlete."
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