Hall of Fame banquet tickets available
9/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Two of the greatest football teams in Montana history will be formally inducted into the Grizzly Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 16. Tickets for the event are now available.
The banquet will be hosted by the Hilton Garden Inn. It begins with a social hour at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 7 p.m. The induction ceremony will follow dinner.
The 1969 and 1970 Grizzly football teams will be inducted as one unit at the banquet.
Montana???s 1969 and 1979 football teams had back-to-back 10-0 regular seasons en route to two Big Sky Conference championships. A Montana football team had not gone undefeated in the regular season in its first 70 years until the Grizzlies accomplished that feat twice in a row in 1969 and ???70.
The 1969 Big Sky title was the first ever by a Montana team. The two conference crowns won by those squads were the only titles by a Grizzly team during the 19-season span from 1963 to 1981, until Marty Mornhinweg and company garnered a championship in 1982.
The Grizzlies were coached those seasons by the late Jack Swarthout, who left UM with a nine-year record (1967-75) of 51-41-1. Coach Swarthout had the most wins in school history until Don Read won 85 games from 1986-95.
Both of the teams posted the most victories and had the best regular-season records to date in school history. The 10 victories by the 1969 and ???70 teams were the most in school history until the 1989 squad went 11-3.
The 1969 and 1970 teams played in two straight Camellia Bowls (the NCAA Division II national championship game). However, the 1969 and 1970 teams??? chances for a national title were all but eliminated, as they lost several key players (almost half of their starters) prior to the Camellia Bowl games due to the NCAA???s rules on junior college transfer rules.
Some of the players on those teams included several All-Americans like Arnie Blancas, Les Kent, Tuufuli Uperesa, Karl Stein, Larry Miller, Ray Brum and Steve Okoniewski.
The 1969 and ???70 teams still hold numerous Big Sky and school single-season rushing records, as well as defensive records.
The 1969 football squad had a school-record 11 first team All-Big Sky selections: Blancas, Tim Gallagher, Bill Gutman, Kent, Miller, Jim Nordstrom, Roy Robinson, John Stedham, Stein, Larry Stranahan and Uperesa.
Tickets are $30 and available at the UM Ticket Office. They may also be ordered by calling 243-4051 or 1-888-MONTANA (phone orders have a service charge). The final deadline to purchase tickets is Monday, Oct. 12.
Former Grizzly quarterback Marty Mornhinweg was also elected to the Grizzly Athletic Hall of Fame. He will be inducted at some point in the winter. Mornhinweg is now in his 15th season as a coach in the National Football League and is currently the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles.
