Rocket Football Timeline
1917
Dean Brandeberry is "selected" coach when he begins conversing with some students on the gravel field near the 11th Street UT campus. Team member Charles Morgan later says, "Nobody else wanted the job." Each of the team's 13 members purchases his own uniform. The team has no practice scrimmages prior to playing the first game in school history, a contest at powerful Detroit. UT not only loses the game, 145-0, it loses four players to injury. Toledo finishes the season 0-3, outscored 262-0 by its opponents.
1918
The first win in school history comes over Defiance, 19-12. UT finishes the season with a 1-1 record.
1919
Toledo meets Bowling Green for the first time, and wins, 6-0.
1919
Varsity "T" Club members organize and select blue and gold colors for the team and school.
1920s
The Blade newspaper refers to the team as "Munies," short for Municipal University, and also as the "Fighters."
1922
The first football field is built at Scott Park. Seating, consisting of seven rows of wooden bleachers, is added in 1923. From 1918-1936 games are also played at Armory Park, and Waite, Scott, Libbey and St. John's high schools.
1922
Lee McKinnon, a UT professor, acts as the first team statistician.
1922
The first "big" win is a 3-0 decision over Ohio Conference power Muskingum, played at Scott Park.
1923
Gib Stick becomes the first "superstar" in school history. Over four years, Stick scores 24 touchdowns, including five in one game. He later plays professionally with the Detroit Panthers.
1923
Toledo acquires its current nickname following a game with powerful Carnegie Tech. Surprised to learn that Toledo has no nickname, Pittsburgh sports writers pressure James Neal, a UT student working in the press box, to come up with one. Neal, impressed with his team's flashy performance against a superior Carnegie Tech team, labels UT the "Skyrockets," which the writers shorten to "Rockets."
1923
Toledo wins its first football championship, also the school's first in any sport. The Rockets win the Northwest Ohio Conference, which also includes Bowling Green, Bluffton, Findlay, Heidelberg and Defiance. Toledo finishes the season at 6-4, the first winning campaign in the program's seven-year history.
1923
Jim Pierce is the first black team captain, and becomes a professor upon graduation.
1923
The first homecoming game is played, a 27-0 win over Bowling Green.
1924
After Toledo defeats Bowling Green, 12-7, controversy erupts when BGSU alleges that the Rockets used an illegal player. Athletic competition between the two schools is suspended from 1925-27.
1925
Numbers are worn on jerseys for the first time.
1927
Toledo wins its second league championship, taking the NWO title and posting a 5-2 record.
1929
The UT marching band, 30 members strong, appears for the first time at a home football game. Toledo and Bowling Green tie, 0-0, and share the league title.
1929
The football budget has grown to $2,000.
1930
The first game programs are featured at a game against Heidelberg in the Waite Bowl. Printed by Franklin Hawkins, they sell for five cents each.
1930
The first spring practice is conducted by athletic director Dave Connelly. Jim Nicholson is named the first full-time coach and takes over for the 1930 season.
1931
Amid the Great Depression, football is cancelled due to a lack of funds.
1932
Plans are drawn for a 5,000-seat steel and concrete stadium.
1932
The fight song is written by Athletic Director Connelly.
1933
Jerry Welling, a halfback, is the first Rocket voted All-Ohio (by AP). He leads Ohio college scorers with 66 points.
1934
The first night game is played, a 20-0 victory over Capital, at Swayne Field.
1935
A Toledo game is broadcast on radio for the first time, as the Rockets defeat Dennison, 13-0.
1935
Toledo defeats Bowling Green, 63-0. BGSU drops UT from its schedule until the 1948 season.
1936
Glass Bowl Stadium is built on the present-day UT campus. A Works Progress Administration project, it is paid for with a $272,000 grant from the federal government and $41,558 from the city of Toledo and the university.
1937
Marty Slovak becomes the first Rocket to play in the National Football League, signing with the Cleveland Rams.
1937
The Glass Bowl is dedicated in a game versus Akron.
1938
Don Bukovich is named a "Little" All-American.
1938
Players use the towers in the Glass Bowl as living quarters.
1938
UT hosts and defeats 12th-ranked Marshall, 13-7, in front of 9,500 fans.
1938
Toledo participates in its first post-season game, a 13-7 win over St. Mary's of San Antonio, Texas.
1942
Emlen Tunnell stars for Toledo, and is later voted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
1943
With the country at war, football is suspended from 1943-45.
1946
Toledo hosts the first of four post-season contests known as the Glass Bowl Game. A record crowd of 13,500 watches UT defeat Bates College, 21-12.
1948
The first Toledo football game is televised by WSPD-TV13.
1948
Chuck Hardy returns a kickoff for a 101-yard touchdown, to this day a UT record.
1949
All home games are televised by Channel 13.
1951
UT sets the school's single-game scoring record in an 88-0 rout of Davis and Elkins.
1952
Toledo plays its first season in the Mid-American Conference, which at the time also includes Cincinnati, Miami, Ohio, Bowling Green, Kent, Western Michigan and Western Reserve.
1954
Mel Triplett is the starting fullback, and later plays eight seasons in the NFL where he stars on the 1956 world champion New York Giants.
1967
Toledo wins its first MAC title. After a season-opening loss to Ohio, the Rockets reel off nine straight wins.
1969
A 45-18 win over Villanova marks the beginning of Toledo's famed 35-game winning streak, second only in NCAA history to Oklahoma's 49 straight.
1969
Ken Crots makes a record-setting 77th consecutive point after touchdown in a 34-9 win over Ohio.
1969
The Rockets win their second MAC title and end an 11-0 season by defeating Davidson, 56-33, in the Tangerine Bowl.
1970
Toledo thrashes William and Mary, 40-12, in the Tangerine Bowl, finishes 12-0 and is ranked 12th in the final AP poll.
1971
Toledo leads the nation in total defense for the third consecutive year.
1971
Mel Long becomes the first and only consensus All-American in MAC history. Long later plays with the Cleveland Browns.
1971
The Rockets win a third-consecutive MAC title and their fourth in five years.
1971
Toledo is 12-0 and ranked 14th in the final AP poll following a 28-3 victory over Richmond in the Tangerine Bowl.
1971
Rocket quarterback Chuck Ealey is named MAC Player of the Year for the third time, and finishes eighth in the Heisman Trophy balloting. He later stars in the CFL.
1975
UT quarterback Gene Swick becomes the first player in NCAA history to reach 8,000 yards in career total offense.
1975
Swick leads the nation in total offense and finishes 10th in voting for the Heisman Trophy.
1980
The annual Peace Pipe trophy, given to the winner of the Toledo-Bowling Green game, is awarded for the first time.
1981
Toledo wins its fifth MAC title and stuns 20th-ranked San Jose, 27-25, in the inaugural California Bowl.
1982
A Glass Bowl record crowd of 31,369 watches Toledo defeat Bowling Green, 24-10.
1984
Toledo wins its sixth MAC title, and makes a second appearance in the California Bowl.
1990
Toledo ties Central Michigan for the MAC title, UT's seventh MAC crown--the most by any conference school in the last 25 years.
1992
The Rockets upset Purdue, 33-29, the first win in UT history over a Big Ten opponent. Kevin Meger sets school records for pass completions (33) and attempts (52) in a game, throwing for 305 yards and a touchdown. Meger is named Sports Illustrated national offensive player of the week.
1993
The Denver Broncos, with the 11th pick in the NFL draft, select UT defensive end Dan Williams. A two-time All-MAC first-teamer, Williams is the first in Rocket history to be selected in the draft's first round, and the second highest pick in MAC history.
1995
Toledo wins the eighth MAC title in school history, posting a 7-0-1 conference mark. Wasean Tait receives the MAC Vern Smith Award (Most Valuable Player) and Gary Pinkel wins MAC Coach of the Year and Ohio College Coach of the Year honors.
1995
The Rockets complete the fourth undefeated season in school history (11-0-1) with a 40-37 victory over Nevada in the Las Vegas Bowl. Wasean Tait scores from two yards out for the winning points in the first overtime game in NCAA Div. I-A history.
1995
Toledo is ranked 22nd in the final UPI poll, 24th in the AP poll and 24th in the CNN/USA Today poll. Wasean Tait finishes second in the nation in rushing, tallying a MAC record 1,905 yards.
1997
Toledo begins its season with a 36-22 upset of Purdue, and proceeds to an 8-0 record. Before the streak was snapped with a loss at Ball State, the Rockets were ranked No. 18 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the CNN/USA Today poll. The Rockets go on to win the MAC West title.
1997
Coach Gary Pinkel is named MAC Coach of the Year for the second time.
1997
Cornerback Clarence Love is taken in the fourth round of the NFL draft by Philadelphia. Defensive tackle Jason Richards signs a free agent contract with Tennessee immediately after the draft.
1998
Former Rocket Mel Long, Sr., is inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame.
1998
The Rockets repeat as MAC West champions.
1999
Former Rocket Tyrone Brown plays in the Super Bowl as a member of the Atlanta Falcons.
(With gratitude to the late Frank Kralik)
