By MATT OTTE
Special to The Gazette
Tie games are a thing of the past in college football.
But before rules were changed a decade ago requiring overtime periods to break regulation deadlocks, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (then known as Stevens Point State College) experienced a tie-game season apparently surpassed only once in the collegiate annals of the gridiron sport.
The season was 1951, and 50 years ago this week the Pointers were putting the finishing touches on that extraordinary campaign, which produced four tie-game performances by Coach Hale Quandt's players.
Stevens Point was affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in those years. Unfortunately, NAIA football records go back only to 1952, thus the four ties are unlisted in the records. Four schools - Rocky Mountain (Montana) College in 1971, Northern (South Dakota) State in 1978, Central Arkansas in 1982 and Austin (Texas) College in 1987 - are indicated as NAIA record-holders with three tie games in a season.
Stevens Point is now a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 3. NCAA records for that division do not list tie-game accomplishments. NCAA Division 2, however, lists Wofford (South Carolina) College as its tie-game record-holder with five, all of them consecutively in 1948. The NCAA Division 1 record in this category is shared by three schools with four ties - Temple in 1937, UCLA in 1939 and Central Michigan in 1991.
What really is amazing about the Pointers' record is that they played only seven games that season. They tied more than half their contests. Temple, UCLA and Central Michigan played nine, 10 and 11 games, respectively, during their Division 1 record-setting seasons. The Division 2 record-book doesn't indicate Wofford's total schedule but it is likely the school played eight or nine games in 1948.
Point lost its other three games in 1951. The 0-3-4 record wasn't really as embarrassing, however, as it appeared. For the season, the Pointers were outscored by a total of just 14 points - once by seven, once by six and once by one.
Stevens Point had reason to be optimistic as 1951 began. The Pointer fullback was a good one, Dave Bliese, and the leading scorer of 1950, Nubbs Miller, a freshman that year, also was back. Assisting Quandt on the sidelines were a couple of standouts, Ken Kulich and Dick Berndt, from state college conference's co-champions (with La Crosse) of 1949.
The season started with a tie (what else?) in a home game with Michigan Tech, 13-13. Bliese scored a fourth-quarter TD and freshman Al Due, in his first play as a collegiate, kicked the extra point which gave the Pointers their tie. Bryan Purchatzke scored the first touchdown. Defensive stalwarts were Bob Dehlinger, Jerry Jelinek, Bob Bostad, Stan Karls, John Joswiak and Bliese. Miller gained 100 yards in 13 rushing tries.
Another home game and another rain-plagued contest at Goerke Park - this time with defending co-champion La Crosse - was next. The Pointers lost, 13-7. Point led, 7-6, until the final period with Walt Samelstad's quarterback sneak and Due's PAT accounting for the score. A pass interception set up La Crosse's winning TD. Dehlinger, Bliese and Don Herrmann were credited with playing tough defense.
The Pointers next discovered it rained in Whitewater, too, as they lost to the other defending co-champion, 7-0. Yardage gained was 172-171 in favor of Point. A fourth-quarter fumble on the Whitewater 28 ended the Pointers' biggest threat to overcome the hosts' opening period score.
The trip to River Falls the following week ended in a 7-7 tie. Point scored on Miller's 21-yard scamper around end (and Due's extra point) but River Falls responded with an 85-yard touchdown bomb. The 302-203 yardage edge for Stevens Point was wasted. Herrmann gained seven yards every time he carried the ball.
It was another tie, this time 13-13, with Milwaukee, as the Pointers celebrated their homecoming. Trailing 13-6, Point went 57 yards in the last quarter to score the tying points after Bliese set up the drive with an interception. Jack Brandt scored on a 1-foot plunge, Due added the point. Brandt also scored the first touchdown from the 4 after Mark Schommer recovered a Milwaukee fumble.
Next was a third straight tie, 0-0, at Oshkosh. Due tried a field goal in the waning seconds but the ball hit the goalpost. The Pointers had a touchdown (by Ken Koehn) called back because of a holding penalty in the opening quarter.
The season ended the following week at home with Platteville on a frigid night at Goerke Park. The Pioneers won, 7-6, because they got the extra point after their touchdown. Purchatzke raced 61 yards to give Point a 6-0 lead in the first period. Platteville came right back with a touchdown and PAT later in the same quarter. Purchatzke gained 101 yards, Bliese 84 for the Pointers. Jelinek, Bliese, Walt Brunsman, Jack Popeck and Herrmann were lauded for their defense, holding Platteville in the second quarter on the 4 yard line.
Two Pointers - Jelinek and Bliese - were named all-conference on offense. Dehlinger and Brunsman were honorable mention on defense. The conference schedule of 30 games saw six end in ties, half of them involving Stevens Point. (Michigan Tech was a non-conference game.) La Crosse won the title with a 6-0 record.
Quandt ended his four-year stint as head coach with the Platte-ville game. He continued until retirement as athletic director and basketball coach. His 1948-51 teams had a 10-12 record along with six ties. The new coach would be John Roberts whose five-year record would show only one tie in 40 games. In fact, in the 40 years from 1952 to 1991 (covering a total of 384 games), the Pointers would be involved in only 10 tie games.
That's how unique was Stevens Point State College's four-tie record in the
1951 season.