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Raider Reflections

                                         by Larry Faith

     I cannot say with certainty but I believe I attended my first Mount Union football game in the fall of 1956. During that period of time high school football was king in this area of the country as Massillon, Canton McKinley and Alliance drew most of the newspaper print.  I recall the one-sided homecoming loss to Wittenberg in 1957 and the trouncing of Hiram 40-6 in the 1958 homecoming game.  Bill Davis was the All-American quarterback of that '58 squad.  That was the same year Alliance High School brought the Scholastic State Championship to Hartshorn Stadium.

     In those days, the stadium was completely enclosed by a red brick wall.  Fortunately for those of us who wanted to save 50 cents, the college had trees growing along the north and west walls.  A group of us would wait for just the right moment and pull ourselves over the wall and into the stadium.  We had better things to spend our allowance on such as soda, popcorn and hot dogs.  I remember being caught once and giving the Mount Union student who stopped me 25 cents not to force me to leave the stadium.  Being a broke college student, he accepted my offer.

     Mount Union used to play two or three games at night during that period.  The one game that stands out was a heart-breaking loss to Akron University 29-23 in the 1959 opener.  Late in the game Mount elected to take a safety when stopped deep in their territory.  However, the Zips returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and won the game in the final minute.  The Raiders would gain revenge the following fall as they would stun the Zips before 33,868 fans in the annual Acme-Zip game at the Rubber Bowl. Raider quarterback Ted Davidson would race 45 yards for the games first score and later throw a pair of touchdown passes. 

     The 1960 season finale brought the unbeaten Muskingum Muskies to Hartshorn Stadium where the great Bill "Cannonball" Cooper led the Muskies to a 46-0 victory over Mount Union.  Cooper, a three time Mike Gregory award winner, went on to play five years in the National Football League with the San Francisco 49ers.      

     I recall listening to the play-by-play on the radio of the 1961 opener as the Raiders traveled to Bethany, West Virginia to challenge a talented West Virginia Wesleyan eleven.  The game was played in the rain and mud and on the the second to last play of the game, All-Ohio Conference halfback Ralph Roberts broke into the clear only to slip and fall on Wesleyan's 10-yard line.  That same season Mount would suffer back to back 21-20 losses to Denison and Hiram.  There was also the time that the Kenyon College radio station set up shop in the east stands and a number of us surrounded them cheering loudly for the Purple Raiders who eventually won 32-18.  We were cheering for the likes of Roberts, Bob Hinchliffe, Jack Heim and Mike Smith.

     The saddest experience I've ever encountered at a sporting event occurred in the Autumn of 1962 during the Purple Raiders 27-14 homecoming victory over Hiram College.  As was customary at that time for both Alliance High School and Mount Union College football games, each time the home team scored a touchdown an aerial rocket would be fired signifying the score.  On the final Raider touchdown of that afternoon, there was a malfunction and the explosive blew up in the pipe which was to release it, tragically taking the life of Fire Department Lieutenant Jack Mainwaring who fired off the device.  His two children, Leigh Ann and Jack were friends of mine.  As a result of the explosion, there has never been another aerial rocket ignited at Hartshorn, now Mount Union College, Stadium.

     After my stint in the military, I went to work for the Alliance Review and helped cover the 1970 Mount Union Football Season in which Ken Wable's Raiders finished second in the Ohio Conference with an outstanding 8-1 record.  Only a 26-22 loss at Wooster denied the Purple Raiders a perfect season and conference title.  Running back Mike DiBlasi and offensive tackle Mike Warbel were named to the all-conference first team that year.

     When you talk about memorable Raider victories, most people would speak of the five national championship games or the victory over Otterbein in 1999 which broke the all-time college win streak record of Oklahoma from the 1950s.  Or even the triple overtime victory at John Carroll which allowed the streak to continue. But I recall a cold, rainy and dreary November afternoon in 1988 as one of my fondest memories..........

     I did not have season tickets in the covered stands at that time and I was debating over whether to stay home and watch the Massillon-McKinley high school game on the television and listen to the Mount Union-Wittenberg game on the radio.  But the more I thought about the importance of the game I began leaning toward grabbing the umbrella and my rain gear and heading off the five blocks to the Purple Raider and Tigers clash.  I had suffered through so many one-sided losses to Wittenberg as a Mount Union fan and I thought that just maybe the Raiders might surprise the powerful visitors on this day.  Plus, this was the last time these two teams would meet during the regular season as the Tigers were leaving the Ohio Athletic Conference at the end of that year.

     Boy did I ever make the right choice.   I couldn't tell you who won the Massillon-McKinley game that afternoon but I can tell that Mount Union whipped Wittenberg by a score of 31-7.  The Tigers entered the contest unbeaten in conference play and first in offense in the OAC. Future All-American linebacker Dave Lasecki and the Raider defense completely shutdown the vaunted Tiger attack.  Senior running back Brian Frost rushed for 153 yards and junior fullback Dean Paul added 138 yards as the Raiders amassed a phenomenal 383 rushing yards that day.   Yes, Larry Kehres was the Mount Union head coach. Who says Mount only wins through the air?

     I thank you for letting me share a few of my Mount Union memories with you on this sight saluting our favorite college football team, the Purple Raiders.  I look forward to paying tribute to some of the past Raider football teams.  Look for my re-cap of the 1950 season coming soon.

                                                                                 Larry Faith