CMC75 Moments: Late Comeback Gives 1950 Pomona-Claremont Football First SCIAC Title
As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moment, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.
Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
1950 Football: Pomona-Claremont 12, Occidental 7
As the 1950 football season drew to a close, the Sagehens were trying to win their first SCIAC title in the post World War II era, and their first with Claremont Men's College students on the roster (since 1946). After struggling in the middle part of the season, the Sagehens pulled together and had a chance to end that drought.
Redlands had defeated Pomona-Claremont 40-20 in the first SCIAC contest (its fourth loss in a row overall), when a championship seemed unlikely, but the Sagehens bounced back for a big 15-10 comeback win over Whittier (the only SCIAC loss of the season for the Poets). That win, plus a victory over Caltech, set up a chance for a share of the title in the finale against Occidental, the oldest football rivalry on the West Coast and the annual "Battle for the Drum," which typically produced overflow crowds during that era.
Occidental went ahead in the low-scoring, but testy affair (with six players ejected), with a third-quarter touchdown to make it a 7-6 game, and the Sagehens had one final chance in the closing minutes. Senior quarterback Bob Greene of CMC led Pomona-Claremont down the field, and with just 1:12 to go, he tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Roger Reinke to give Pomona-Claremont the dramatic win. After news came that Whittier defeated previously unbeaten Redlands, it also meant a tie for the conference title, which was the first team championship that any Claremont McKenna student-athletes were a part of.
On the final drive, several Stags (as they were already nicknamed informally) played a major role. Bob Durkee caught a seven-yard pass, Walt Gschwind had a seven-yard run, John Welsh caught a 13-yard pass down to the 20-yard line, setting up the winning touchdown, and captain John Lang's work on the offensive line was critical to pave the way. Andy Dunlap of CMC was also credited in the newspaper write-up for his work on the defensive line to help hold Occidental to seven points. Gschwind finished with a team-high 51 yards rushing and threw a 22-yard pass, while Greene was 6-12 passing for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Andy Dunlap would earn First-Team All-SCIAC honors in 1951, and John Welsh's graduation in 1952 could close the early "Welsh Era" for CMC Athletics, after his older brother Pete Welsh competed from 1947-50 and later became the first Hall of Famer in CMS history.
Off the field, Mike Bagnall would go on to be the executive vice president of finance for Walt Disney Productions, where he worked from 1962 until his retirement in 1985. Greene became a real estate developer in Northern California, and established the Robert H. Greene Family Scholarship at Claremont McKenna in 1987, which remains an endowed scholarships at the college to this day.
CMC Students on the 1950 Pomona-Claremont SCIAC Championship Team:
Mike Bagnall (halfback)
Marc Crahan (guard)
Andy Dunlap (end)
Bob Durkee (halfback)
Bob Greene (quarterback)
Walt Gschwind (tailback)
John Lang (tackle)
Ward Pinther (tackle)
Al Tinkley (halfback)
John Welsh (end)