Bates Bobcats (1946)

Confession time: I like the proliferation of bowl games on TV, although I didn't always feel that way. But what would you rather watch during the holidays: A bowl game, or something else, like an ESPN/FS1 hot-take show or a Hallmark film? (What? You said Hallmark?!?) While many of today's games seem rather flimsy in nature, the fact is that oddball bowls have always been around ... there just weren't as many in the past. (And if you don't believe me about past oddball bowls, just Google "Raisin Bowl," "Salad Bowl," "Gotham Bowl," "Cherry Bowl," "Knute Rockne Bowl" and a million others. 😎)

A while back, I profiled New Hampshire's journey to the 1947 Glass Bowl, which is right up there  with the Refrigerator Bowl among bowl games that need to be brought back. But one year earlier, tiny Bates College of Lewiston, Maine made its own trip to the Glass Bowl and was the first team from the Pine Tree State to play in a bowl game. (UMaine is the only other team from Maine to make a bowl game, in 1965.)

The 1946 Bates Bobcats, the first team from Maine to play in a bowl game.
I always notice how tiny the players were in the old days.

The Glass Bowl was played from 1946-49 at the stadium of the same name in Toledo, Ohio. The Toledo Rockets played in all four games, losing only the 1949 finale against Cincinnati. According to Wikipedia, the game was canceled due a combination of Toledo's declining play, poor weather and a lack of interest by opposing teams, which makes you wonder how many schools hung up on the Rockets before Bates and UNH said yes.

Bates, which didn't play in 1945 because of World War II and won just one game apiece in '43 and '44, made up for lost time, winning all seven regular-season games — five by shutout in those low-scoring days — while allowing only 11 points. One of the wins was a baseball-esque 7-4 decision over Maine.

A page from the Bates yearbook shows some highlights of the Bobcats' season.
It looks like they celebrated their state title in a muddy basement.

In the Glass Bowl, Bates allowed nearly twice as many points as it had allowed all season in a 21-12 loss to Toledo in front of an announced crowd of 12,000 fans, a crowd that probably dwarfs  many of today's bowl audiences. Despite the defeat, Bates halfback Art Blanchard was named the game's MVP.

Another notable name for Bates was head coach Ducky Pond, who guided Yale from 1934-40 (among his charges were Heisman Trophy winners Larry Kelley and Clint Frank) and Bates in 1941 and '46-51. His career record was 52-55-3; I wrote a little about his Yale teams here. Pond was ninth in the national coach of the year voting in 1946 — can you imagine a small-school coach doing that now?

As you can see, Bates was mighty proud of its Bobcats in 1946.

Amazingly, Bates hasn't reached the seven-win plateau since the Glass Bowl season; the Bobcats have reached six wins five times — and zero wins eight times. 

The uniforms were pretty basic; the one curveball comes with the helmets: some had stripes and some were plain. The jerseys have a similar template as Maine's and Dartmouth's from this era. 

You can read more about this team in this excellent article, which has tons of great details and photos. I wrote about Bates' 1972 unis here.