Monmouth College Athletics

The “Fighting Scots” Nickname

The earliest athletic teams at the college did not carry any special names or loyal mascots. News reports and yearbook stories referred to “the Monmouth eleven,” “Monmouth nine” or simply described the athletic exploits by common adjectives, such as gridders, thinclads and roundballers. Shortly after Monmouth had entered Midwest Conference competition its students voted in 1928 to adopt the nickname “Bulldogs” for the athletic teams. However, generations of Monmouth athletes and fans have Harold Hermann to thank for changing the course of history.

Hermann, a Class of 1927 graduate who worked in the Alumni Relations and Sports Information offices after completing his degree, knew of the rich Scottish background of the church and alumni. Upon learning of the student vote on the college mascot, he immediately set out to campaign for a name change. Since Hermann handled the sports information duties he was perfectly positioned to refer to the college’s athletic teams as the “Fighting Scots”, a name he chose to describe all of the teams in print and press releases. The local newspaper media and press gradually picked up on the moniker and it wasn’t long before Monmouth officially adopted the Fighting Scots as its nickname.

Though several different versions of a Scotsman mascot have been used on college publications, logos, letterheads and signs throughout the years the “Fighting Scots” nickname has remained as the descriptive term for all Monmouth athletes and their teams.

Until Hermann chose to leave Monmouth in 1944, he continued his mission to revive the strong Scottish heritage of the college by selecting visible symbols worthy of the Fighting Scots. He chose the red and white Menzies Plaid as the first official tartan, replaced the green freshman beanies with tartan caps and brought the first bagpiper to campus from Chicago. The bagpiper concept caught on and eventually established the tradition which would become the Pipes and Drums corps which plays at graduation and other major college functions. For his years of devotion and service to Monmouth the school presented Hermann with its Distinguished Service Award in 1978.

Famous Monmouth Athletes

Unlike larger and more prominent universities which prepare their athletes for professional careers, the typical Division III small college does not cater to only the elite. Monmouth may not have the national reputation of other athletic programs but the college can claim a number of former student-athletes who have participated as Fighting Scots and gone on to some degree of fame and advanced competition in athletics in its long history.

Many of the more successful athletes of the college are memorialized in the M-Club Hall of Fame housed in the upper level of the Huff Athletic Center. The Hall of Fame was dedicated in October 1984 and included 10 of Monmouth’s greatest athletes in its charter induction class. Each fall a new group of former athletes and coaches are added to the Hall, which displays plaques and pictures of the honorees.

A member of the charter class and the first Monmouth athlete to achieve success in professional sports was football player Francis Louis “Jug” Earp (‘21), who starred for several years with the Green Bay Packers following his graduation. A dominant two-way lineman, Earp played one year with the Rock Island Independents and then 11 seasons with the Packers, including the championship years of 1929-1931. He retired from pro football in 1932 and was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1970.

Earp was followed into the NFL ranks by Keith Molesworth (‘28), who was a star receiver for the Scots in the late 1920’s and teamed with Warren Taylor to form one of the most feared passing combinations of the day. Molesworth played seven seasons (1931-37) at quarterback with the Chicago Bears and, after a short time in Triple-A baseball as a shortstop, he resumed his football career as a coach. Molesworth coached several professional teams, including the Baltimore Colts in 1953, and was the Colts’ personnel director from 1954 to 1966.

Football was not the only sport where MC athletes excelled. John Weatherly (‘33), another Hall of Fame charter member, was one of the best track athletes ever to wear the Scot uniform and held the school’s triple jump record from 1931 to 2006. Weatherly was an alternate for the 1932 United States Olympic team in the triple jump, won the event at the prestigious Drake Relays and captured an AAU national medal in 1931. He won four Midwest Conference sprint titles and was named an All-American in the triple jump. Hall of Famer Jack McIntosh (‘29), a six-time MCAC champion in the high jump and pole vault, won the 1930 Penn Relays high jump title.

Glenn “Jelly” Robinson (‘32) and Virgil Boucher (‘32) were Monmouth teammates who went on to long coaching careers. Robinson, one of the few athletes to letter in five different sports, returned to Monmouth as a coach from 1941 to 1956, while Boucher coached high school football in Illinois for over 40 years, earning induction into the IHSA Hall of Fame. Bobby Woll (‘34) earned UPI All-State honors in football in 1932 and 1933 before beginning his coaching career at the college and remains the only Fighting Scot player to have his football jersey retired. Robinson and Woll were also charter members of the Hall of Fame.

Jack Ozburn (‘33) was an AP All-Star basketball selection before having a successful AAU semipro career after his graduation. LeRoy King (‘45) played two full basketball seasons at Monmouth before using his final year of eligibility earning Honorable Mention Big 10 honors at Northwestern. King then went on to a brief professional career with the Rochester Royals, one of the original charter teams of the NBA. Robert “Tab” Talkin (‘49) left Monmouth during World War II service and earned All-American honors at Illinois State University.

Prior to the NCAA divisional system, several other Monmouth athletes earned “Little All-American” honors for their achievements on the playing fields. James Vipond (‘40) and Ray Brooks (‘53), two of the original 10 Hall inductees, were All-American football selections at guard and running back, respectively. John Bingaman (‘63), one of the MC’s best two-way players, earned All-American mention at center and linebacker.

Following in the steps of Earp, Molesworth and King, Bob McKee (‘58) became the first of several Monmouth athletes from the late 1950's through early 1970's to get a shot in the pros. Following a stellar multi-sport career at Monmouth McKee was drafted by the Baltimore Colts and played wide receiver for the world-champion Colts behind NFL great Raymond Berry. Defensive lineman Jeff Steinberger (‘69) played two years with the Minnesota Vikings, one season with the Cleveland Browns and also played in the short-lived World Football League. Dwayne Hughes (‘86), an outstanding defensive player at Monmouth, played one year in the Canadian Football League.

Ron Baker (‘76), at one time the college’s all-time leading rusher in football, captured AP All-American honors in 1974 and was a Kodak All-American selection in 1975 before earning tryouts with three professional teams. Bob Mabry (‘68) and Chuck Goehl (‘73) also received professional tryouts following their Monmouth years.

Donovan Hunter (‘74), who led Monmouth to an NCAA regional appearance his senior year, was an Honorable Mention All-American in basketball and earned a pro tryout with the Boston Celtics of the NBA before a successful career in Europe. Another former Monmouth athlete with international experience is Dick Sloan (‘59), who served as a coach on the U.S. Swimming International Team in 1984. Sloan also coached the 1985 Olympic Festival Team after a successful collegiate coaching stint at Kenyon College.

Monmouth has also had athletes in the professional minor league baseball system. Ron Smith (‘75) was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers and pitcher Gary Halls (‘76) signed a pro contract with the San Francisco Giants. Teammates Denny Jacobs (‘79) and Max Kreps (‘79) were both signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chris Wheat (‘90), who held the NCAA Division III career batting average record for several years, played briefly in the Brewers farm system.

Despite not being members of recognized sport teams during their years at Monmouth, two women who represented the college on the national level were included in the first Hall of Fame class. Hazel Hatch Wharff (‘49) was the NRA National Individual champion in rifle in 1948 and also placed second her senior year. Joan Phifer Hunt (‘55), a three-time national medalist in rifle, led Monmouth to a team championship at the NRA Intercollegiate Women’s Championship in 1954 and won the individual title. The pair remain Monmouth’s only female individual national champions in any sport.

In addition to numerous NCAA All-Americans the college has claimed eight national champions in men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field. Hall of Famer Eric Ealy (‘86) won the 1986 NCAA high jump title and Charles Burton (‘92) was the national champion in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 1992. In 2005, Blake Boma (’05) joined Burton as a 400-meter hurdle champion and Zach Barr (’07) took first in the steeplechases. It’s the only year the Scots claimed two national titles. Peter Sprecher (’08) won the pole vault national title in 2007. Jonny Henkins (’08) claimed the 2008 outdoor title in the pole vault after winning the indoor championship in the spring. In the process, Henkins became the Scots first two-time national champion. In 2010, Tyler Hannam (’11) became Monmouth’s second national high jump champion.

Space limits the ability to mention all of the outstanding athletes who have played at Monmouth College or won individual laurels for their achievements. Many of these athletes are mentioned in the record books for each individual sport.