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1950 Remembered

                                                      by Larry Faith

Nelson "Bully" Jones Leads Mount Union To A 6-2 Record

     As the 1950 football campaign approached you could almost imagine the theme from "MASH" playing in the background. While General Douglas MacArthur was preparing his troops for the invasion of Inchon, Korea, first-year head coach Nelson "Bully" Jones was readying his Raiders for the season opener against the Kent State Golden Flashes.  Mount Union got an early start that year with a scrimmage against Muskingum at New Philadelphia, Ohio on Saturday, September 21st.  The pre-season matchup was a secret but word got out late in the week of the date and location.  The Raiders were preparing for Kent State which had beaten Mount four times in a row.

Mount Union 19   Kent State 14

     Mount Union successfully opened it's season by defeating the Golden Flashes before a large Friday night crowd at Hartshorn Stadium.   Alliance High School was on the road that night in Barberton as the two teams shared the facility.  Kent State took the early lead in the game as halfback Jeff Mancos raced 70 yards with the game only three minutes old.  Alliance native Don Campbell added the point after for the Flashes.  But the Raiders came right back with a 70-yard touchdown drive culminating with Randy Pope bulling his way across the goal line.  The extra point was missed and Kent led 7-6.  That score remained through the second quarter, although Kent State drove to the Mount Union 12-yard line where the Raiders held and the Purple and White marched to Kent 28-yard marker later in the period.

     Early in the third quarter Pat Mancuso blocked a Kent State punt which was recovered by Dick Edwards on the Golden Flashes three-yard line.  Mount pounded the ball to the one-foot mark where they turned the pigskin over on downs.  Mount held Kent but on fourth down the Flashes faked a punt out of their own end zone and Mancos raced 100 yards down the sideline for what appeared to be a phenomenal gamble resulting in six points.  However, the official ruled that Mancos stepped out of bounds on his own 12-yard line.  It was a first down but not a touchdown.  Mancuso then blocked his second punt of the quarter and Raider tackle Wendy Reynolds recovered the oval in the visitor's end zone.  Jack Sponsellor's extra point made the score 14-13 at the end of the period.  The fourth quarter saw Kent State drive to the Mount Union 20-yard line where the Raiders took over on downs.   Mount then proceeded to march 80 yards for the winning score with quarterback Pat Byrnes tossing a three-yard touchdown pass to Mancuso.

Mount Union 53   Clarion 0

     Mount Union exploded for 34 first-half points and coasted to a 53-0 Friday night victory over it's visitors from Clarion, Pennsylvania.  Coach Nelson Jones was able to play his entire team of 43 gridders in the one-sided affair. Bill Erlitz scored the first Raider touchdown on a 13-yard run in the first quarter. Later in the period quarterback Dick McFall raced 30 yards for a touchdown.  Erlitz bulled over from the one-yard line on the first play of the second quarter.  Pat Byrnes then tossed a six-yard touchdown pass to Joe Vadini and Bill Krochta teamed up with Pat Mancuso on a 35-yard aerial later in the half.  The third quarter scoring saw Mancuso dash in from six yards out and George Balogh of Alliance scamper in from the visitor's 12-yard line. The final score of the game came on a eight-yard touchdown pass from Jed Latham to Dick Greenfield. Jim Casper kicked five extra points in the victory.

Mount Union 20   Baldwin-Wallace 17

     Mount Union took to the road for the first time as the Raiders traveled to Berea to meet two-touchdown favorite Baldwin-Wallace. The Purple Raiders were trailing 7-0 in the second quarter when Ed Pohjala caught a Yellow Jacket fumble out of the air deep in the host's territory.  Mount drove to the one-yard line where Napoleon Bell barreled into paydirt.  Baldwin Wallace answered that score and led 14-7 at halftime.

     The visitors moved into the Yellow Jackets' nest early in the third quarter but turned the ball over on a fumble.  They then held B-W and marched towards the opponent's goal with Bill Erlitz racing in from the 17-yard line to knot the game.  The Yellow Jackets then drove to the Mount 11-yard where the Raiders held them to a field goal.  Dick McFall returned the ensuing kick-off 47 yards.  Mount Union moved the chains to the one-yard stripe where the punishing Bell bolted over for the game-winning touchdown.  It was noted in the press that nearly half of the Mount Union student body made the trip to Berea to witness the upset.   Erlitz gained 116 yards on 18 carries.

Mount Union 32   Akron 19

     Over 6,000 fans turned out to witness Mount Union's 32-19 Homecoming triumph over Akron University.  Bill Erlitz scored two first-quarter touchdowns on runs of nine yards and one yard as the Purple Raiders took a 13-0 lead over the Zips.  The first score was set up by a Napoleon Bell interception on the visitors 20-yard line. Gene "Duke" Barret raced 42 yards with a pass interception in the second stanza to increase the Mount lead to 20-0 before Akron retaliated with an 82-yard drive.  Early in the third quarter "Nap" Bell galloped 67 yards for a touchdown.  The final period saw the home team take a 33-7 advantage as Jack Clements hooked up with Dick Greenfield on a 55-yard aerial bomb.   The Zips scored two late touchdowns.  Although Mount Union lost four of five fumbles, the turnovers were not costly.

Mount Union 63   Slippery Rock 12

     It was "High School Day" at Hartshorn Stadium and the Raiders didn't disappoint the scholastic crowd as they taught the Slippery Rock Teachers a lesson with a decisive 63-12 paddling.  In the first quarter Pat Mancuso was the defensive star as his two interceptions set up Mount Union touchdowns.  Napoleon Bell scored from from the visitor's 22-yard line and that was followed by a 20-yard touchdown pass from from Pat Brynes to Duke Barret.  The second quarter highlights included touchdown runs by Randy Pope of one yard and a five-yard score from George Bulogh.  School was out for the Teachers as Mount Union scored four third-quarter touchdowns and added two more six-pointers in the final stanza.  Dick Greenfield and Jack Clemnets both scored two touchdowns in the second half and Paul Rosea and Jim French both crossed the Slippery Rock goal line. This was also the week that China entered the Korean War.

Ohio Wesleyan 27   Mount Union 9

     The Purple Raiders traveled to Delaware in week six and experienced their first loss of the 1950 season.  The game was played in a driving rain and Mount Union was unable to get untracked although they trailed only 14-9 entering the fourth quarter.  The Battling Bishops scored first in the game taking a 7-0 lead.  Mount drove to the five-yard line where the Wesleyan defense stopped them.   Mount Union held and was awarded a safety when Ohio Wesleyan fumbled the snap on a punt attempt in their own end zone.

     The Raiders caught a break early in the third quarter when Wendy Reynolds stole the pigskin from the ball carrier on the second half kickoff at the Battling Bishops 20-yard line and rambled to the host's two-yard line.   Two plays later fullback Randy Pope crashed into the end zone. The score remained 14-9 until the fourth quarter when Ohio Wesleyan scored two touchdowns within three minutes.  Mount Union was able to drive to the opponent's 22-yard line once in the final period.

Mount Union 73    Wooster 13

     Mount Union journeyed to Wooster on November 11th and crushed the Scots to the tune of 73-13.  The Bagpipes were playing "Taps."  The Raiders raced to a 46-13 halftime lead as once again mentor Nelson Jones was able to play all of his substitutes.  First half highlights included two Randy Pope touchdown runs, a Dick McFall to Duke Barret TD pass and two 20-yard touchdown dashes by Jack Clements.  Pat Byrnes completed all five of his passes including scoring tosses of five yards to Dick Greenfield and 30 yards to Don Howenstein.   The 73 point outburst established a new team record for the Purple Raiders against a collegiate opponent.

Youngstown College 21   Mount Union 0

     The Raiders concluded the season on a losing note as they dropped a 21-0 decision at Rayen Stadium on Thursday night, November 16th to powerful Youngstown.  Once in the first quarter and again in the fourth period Mount Union was able to drive to the Penguins two-yard line only to be stopped there.  Middle College All-American halfback Wally Angelo led Youngstown to victory.   The hosts held the Purple Raiders to only 163 yards of total offense, including just 26 yards on the ground.  This came a week after Mount Union racked up 482 yards of offense at Wooster. 

     Wearing the Mount Union colors for the final time that evening were seven seniors:  Wendell Reynolds, Randy Pope, Napoleon Bell, Duke Barret, Dick McFall, Jed Latham and Ray Russell.

                                                                                                       Larry Faith