Colorado College Athletics

A STORIED PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Colorado College football officially was born on Christmas Day, 1882, when a small group of fans gathered on the sidelines of an improvised field near campus to watch the team's first game ever against an outside opponent. Those few fans in attendance had plenty to celebrate as CC defeated a group of local volunteer firemen, the Sigafus Hose Company, by a score of 10-8.

Football, however, was not a well-known sport in 1882. Just six years earlier, in 1876, Harvard and Yale staged the first intercollegiate game in history, playing under modified rugby rules in Cambridge, Mass. Only a few eastern colleges adopted the sport in the next few years, but it caught on quickly at CC. In February of 1882, the men students organized the Colorado College Athletic Association and elected officers to govern and regulate three sports under their its jurisdiction:  baseball, track and football.

A little more than three years later, in the spring of 1885, the CC Athletic Association responded to a challenge from the University of Denver by scheduling a game early on April 11. A severe windstorm that morning forced postponement of the game until the afternoon, when a large crowd turned out at Colorado Springs Athletic Park to see CC claim a 12-0 victory. The contest lasted an hour and a half, and was the first intercollegiate football game played west of the Mississippi River.

Four years later, in 1889, Colorado College and the Colorado School of Mines tangled for the first time. The rivalry continued for an entire century, ending in 1990 with Mines owning a 46-39-5 advantage in 90 meetings after that historic kickoff. Colorado College athletics entered a new era with the construction of Washburn Field in the spring of 1898. In addition to the football field, it included a baseball diamond and quarter-mile track that encircled the gridiron; a grandstand seating 500, including 100 box seats; and parking spaces on the sidelines for carriages and other horse-drawn vehicles.

Today, a century later with its recently-added lights, Washburn Field still stands on its original site as the Tigers' home turf. Throughout its storied football history, Colorado College has produced outstanding teams. One of its most famous victories occurred on October 24, 1908, when the Tigers traveled to Austin and handed the University of Texas its first defeat (15-0) in three years. CC was instrumental in founding the Rocky Mountain Conference the following season (1909) and went on to reign as league champion or co-champion seven times during a 54-year association the RMC. In the early 1970s, under Coach Jerry Carle, the team compiled a six-year record of 46-7-2 while earning an NCAA playoff bid in '75.

The Tigers also have boasted many outstanding individual players over the years. The legendary Dutch Clark is one of 13 Colorado College players to earn All-America honors, joined most recently in that distinction by defensive end Ryan Haygood in 1996 as well as Todd Mays, Jesse Whitehead and Chris Jones of CC's outstanding 1993 squad. Haygood and Rhodes Scholar Ryan Egeland also were named first-team GTE Academic All-Americans in 1996 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Defensive back Chris Smith followed with second-team honors in 1997.

Mays (1992) and All-America linebacker Scott Robertson (1988), meanwhile, are former recipients of The Denver Post’s Colorado Small College Defensive Player of the Year distinction. In 1943, All-America end Robert Hall helped CC wind up as one of only nine undefeated teams in the nation. In 1952, running back Andy Gambucci finished fourth nationally in scoring with 16 touchdowns. And, in 1980, Pat Geonetta set a school modern-day rushing record with a 298-yard performance in a 38-3 triumph over Nebraska-Wesleyan.

In 1993, the Tigers posted a school-record eight consecutive victories to start the season. Nick Mystrom became Colorado College's all-time single-season (110 points) and career (263) scoring leader along the way, while eight other team and individual records were smashed.

HOME FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY
Tigers Have Played at Washburn Field Since 1898

The marriage between Washburn Field and Tiger Football officially became a century old in 1998 as Colorado College celebrated the 100th anniversary of its first game there. Named after Rev. Phillip Washburn, rector at Grace Episcopal Church and an avid CC football fan, the original facility included a football field and baseball diamond surrounded by a quarter-mile running track. Of the 500 seats, 100 were boxes. Special parking spaces accommodated horse-drawn carriages. The first football game was played against North Denver High School on Oct. 1, 1898 -- ironically the same, windy day that the historic Antlers Hotel burned to the ground with 50 other downtown buildings.

The game itself, called at halftime so that players could help battle the worst fire in Colorado Springs history, went down in the annals as a 24-0 victory for Colorado College. And Wasburn Field, whose dedication ceremony had been held in May of that year, began accumulating its century of memories. Almost immediately, the drawing power of the new field combined with the success of CC’s teams created a demand for additional seating. In 1900, Cripple Creek millionaire Jimmie Burns paid for construction of an 800-seat covered grandstand in the south end zone. And, in 1907, gifts from Charles Washburn (Phillip’s brother) and Colorado Springs founder Gen. William Jackson Palmer financed installation of 430 more seats.

It still wasn’t enough to satisfy the city’s soaring appetite for football as in 1908 a game against Denver University attracted 2,600 spectators. Fortunately, college officials anticipated the big crowd and had time to rent extra bleachers from a circus performing in the area. About this same time, the school newspaper began to call for the field to be sodded, contending that the cost would be made up in savings on uniform damage. The greening of Washburn Field was under way.

The most drastic changes to the facility came just in time for the Dutch Clark era, after school trustee Edmund C. Van Diest laid out a plan for remarkably grand improvements in 1925. Although Van Diest’s dream of an enormous 32,000-seat stadium never reached fruition, Washburn’s seating capacity was increased to nearly 9,000 with seating on both the east and west sidelines. The west-side bleachers that stretched the entire length of the field. By 1926, some even began referring to the newly renovated venue as Van Diest Stadium. A public address system was added in time for the 1930 season. Floodlights were installed in 1948 to allow for early-season night games.

The stadium began to be downsized, however, during the 1960s.  In 1964, large sections of the west-side bleachers were dismantled. The east-side stands were taken down and replaced with the current concrete base with wooden seating that would accommodate Tiger fans through the 1996 season. The field itself was shifted about 100 north to allow for construction of the El Pomar Sports Center. When the tennis courts were built, the rest of the west-side seats were removed and the lights came down.

Washburn Field went virtually unchanged until renovation of the track and grandstand retaining wall earlier this decade. Lights returned in 1996, permitting night practices, and the facility celebrated its 100th anniversary with improvements financed by honored alumnus Douglas C. "Moose" Van Meter ‘51, who in 1997 was inducted into the Colorado College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Note: This narrative has been paraphrased from A History of Colorado College Tiger Football by Gary Street.
 

Memorable Dates Through The Years

Christmas, 1882	CC defeats Sigafus Hose Co. in first game ever against outside competition.
April 11, 1885	CC defeats University of Denver, 12-0, in first intercollegiate football game ever played west of Mississippi River.
Nov. 28, 1889	Rivalry begins with Colorado School of Mines.
Oct. 1, 1898	CC defeats North High School, 24-0, in first game played at Washburn Field
Nov. 30, 1899	Newly nicknamed Tigers beat Mines for the first time, 17-0, to become Colorado Intercollegiate Champions.
Oct. 24, 1908	CC claims 15-0 victory in Austin over University of Texas, a team that hadn't lost in three years.
Nov. 24, 1910	Tigers beat DU in Denver, 6-5, to finish season 7-0 and become co-champions of Rocky Mountain Conference.
Nov. 24, 1928	Dutch Clark rushes for 381 yards and passes for 200 in a 48-25 victory over University of Wyoming, en route to earning first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press.
Nov. 20, 1943	CC defeats University of Colorado, 6-0, to finish campaign as one of nine unbeaten teams (7-0) in the nation.
Nov. 18, 1950	Tigers beat Idaho State College, 20-7, to wrap up 9-1 season and claim seventh and final RMC title.
Nov. 15, 1975	CC hosts Millsaps College in NCAA playoff game, losing 28-21 to finish season with 7-2-1 record.
Nov. 6, 1993	Tigers win at Washington University, 38-16, to remain perfect at 8-0 heading into season finale against Hastings College. CC loses a week later to wind up 8-1 in a campaign that produces a school-record three All-Americans.

 

All-Time Coaches' Records

Coach	Year	Record
E.B. Curtis	1883-84	1-1-0
R.P. McLeod	1885	1-0-0
George K. Olmstead	1891-93	5-5-0
Harvey Noble	1894-95	2-4-1
Pope Lamson	1896	3-4-0
Browning Smith	1897	3-5-0
Coach Wilson	1898	5-1-1
John Clark	1899	3-2-1
J. "Buck" Ewing	1900-01	11-3-0
Fred Caldwell	1902	3-4-0
E.S. Merrill	1903	4-5-0
Coach Juneau	1904	6-3-1
John R. Richards	1905-09	23-8-4
C.J. Rothget	1910-18	41-18-2
C.L. "Poss" Parsons	1919-21	13-7-2
Telfer L. Meade	1922-25	19-11-3
W.T. VandeGraaff	1926-39	49-47-6
Clark DeGroot	1940	5-2-1
Juan Reid	1941	6-2-0
Harold A. White	1942-46	21-16-4
Ben Douglas	1947	4-5-0
Allison Binns	1948-50	17-11-1
William Heiss	1951-53	13-11-2
Robbie Robertson	1954-56	6-22-1
Gerald C. Carle	1957-89	137-150-5
Craig Rundle	1990-96	29-33-1
Greg Polnasek	1997-2002	14-39-0
Bob Bodor	2003-present	15-33-0
Totals	122 seasons	468-444-36

 

Individual Records

Record Category	Record	Individual
Longest Run from Scrimmage	99 yards	Dave Lanoha vs. Texas Lutheran, 1967
Most Rushing Yards in a Game	344 yards	Marquis Malcom vs. Macalester, 2004
Most Rushing Yards in a Season	1,349 yards	Dutch Clark, 1928
Longest Touchdown Pass	87 yards	Scott Driggers to John Champion vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 1983
Most Passes Completed in a Game	36	Jay Macias vs. Cornell College, 2003
Most Passing Yards in a Game	457 yards	Jay Macias vs. Cornell College, 2003
Most Passing Yards in a Season	2,695 yards	Scott Driggers, 1984
Most Passing Yards in a Career	7,315 yards	Scott Driggers, 1981-84
Most Receptions in a Game	15	Brian O’Sullivan vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 1997
Most Receptions in a Season	72	Jake Craig, 2003
Most Receptions in a Career	199	Nolan Swett, 2004-07
Most Receiving Yards in a Game	236 yards	Jake Craig vs. Rhodes College, 2003
Most Receiving Yards in a Season	937 yards	Jake Craig, 2003
Most Receiving Yards in a Career	2,758 yards	Nolan Swett, 2004-07
Most Touchdowns in a Season	16	Andy Gambucci, 1952
Most Points in a Season	110	Nick Mystrom, 1993
Most Points in a Career	263	Nick Mystrom, 1989-91, '93
Most Touchdowns by a Defensive Player (Season)	3	Chris Jones, 1993
Longest Field Goal	55 yards	Ted Swan vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 1975
Longest Punt	95 yards	Bob Justis vs. Fort Lewis A&M, 1964
Longest Punt Return	82 yards (TD)	Tom Southall vs. Trinity University, 1982
Longest Interception Return	93 yards (TD)	Brendan Ross vs. Auston College, 2007 Chris Jones vs. Trinity University, 1993

 

Tiger Football Superlatives

Category	Statistic	Year/Opponent
Best Won-Lost Records	7-0 9-1 8-1	1910, 1943 1973 1993
Most Victories in a Season	9 8	1973 1972, 1974, 1993
Most Consecutive Victories to Start a Season	8	1993
Most Ties in a Season	2	1905, 1906, 1930
Most Lopsided Victories	80-3 75-7 67-0 64-0 63-0	vs. Ft. Logan, 1919 vs. Grinnell College, 1992 vs. Washburn University, 1944 vs. Utah State, 1943 vs. Trinity Bible College, 1990
Most Shutouts in a Season	7 6	1905 1898
Most Points Scored in a Season	344 317	1993 1972
Most Points Scored by Defense in a Season	36	1993
Most Touchdowns Scored in a Season	46	1993
Most Touchdowns Scored by Defense in a Season	6	1993
Fewest Points Allowed in Season	19	1906
Most Losses in a Season	8	1984, 1985, 1989
Most Lopsided Loss	77-8	vs. Idaho State, 1960
Most Points Allowed in a Season	340	1984
Fewest Points Scored in a Season	27	1906, 1938