The 1961 Western Montana College (WMC) Bulldog team steamrolled their conference competition on the way to the program’s fourth conference title.
The Bulldogs opened the 61’ season with a pair of non-conference games against the Idaho State College J.V.’s. The Bulldogs and Bengals tied 6-6 in Pocatello. A week later in Dillon, it was the Bulldogs over Idaho State 18-0.
Western opened Montana Collegiate Conference (MCC) play on Oct. 7 with a 47-0 thrashing of the Montana School of Mines. The Bulldogs returned to Dillon a week later and thumped Eastern Montana College 33-7.Â
That seven points scored by Eastern were the only points scored against the Bulldogs in MCC play. In six of the eight regular season games, the WMC defense held their opposition scoreless.Â
On three consecutive Saturday afternoons, the Bulldogs shutout Northern Montana 19-0, Rocky Mountain College 39-0 and Carroll College 19-0. Western closed the regular season with a 46-0 shutout of the Montana State freshman.
The Bulldogs were invited to play the Whitworth College Pirates, an NAIA power from Spokane, Wash. The Bulldog tasted what their MCC competition had tasted the past season, being shutout. The final was 54-0 and the Whitworth quarterback set a new NAIA record for six touchdown passes in a single game.
Shaking off that last game, the 1961 season was a very good one in the Bulldog history book. Five Bulldogs, Bert Deglow, Jack Gillespie, Joe Morstein, Mitch Makris and Bud Shuman all earned first team all-conference honors and all five would later be inducted into the Bulldog Football Hall of Fame. Don Mero was selected to the second team.
The 1961 Western Montana College Bulldogs, undefeated MCC champions.
