"Old" Dornblaser

[GrizLA]

Strange not seeing tepee burners belching.

I remember my first morning in Missoula, transferring from a very bucolic school, and walking out of the Lodge after breakfast and getting sick from the odor the burners made. Or, maybe, it was the beer from the night before when I closed "The Candle".

 

[Da Griz]

Wow! A great pic. Deja Vu all over again. MCHS, class of '62.

 

[The_Real_Chief]

The field was attached to the old men's gym. That was where the locker rooms were. Some more greats Dick Imer, Doug Dasinger,and many more. The great all American from Idaho Ray Mcdonad a huge running back.

Dick Imer sounds like a star that would be on a spicy late night movie

 

[Spanky]

Dick Imer was a great running back

 

[kemajic]

Dick Imer was a great running back

So small today he would be blue. Paul "Skunk" Conley was another very good small RB in the 60s. Tough as nails; got his yards in spite of overmatched OLs.

 

[Spanky]

Dick Imer, living in Hardin, still looks like he could play.

 

[Grizzoola]

Do you remember The Chimney Corner?

Oh, yaass! That & The Oxford filled my nutritional needs.

 

[Grizzoola]

I'm still a youngin' but this photo is fascinating. That is the Adam's Center in the background, correct? Thanks for sharing!

It was quite a splash in news stories of the day when built. The laminated, arched wooden supports of the roof were noted as the first materials in the world of such size. Basketball games in those days opened w/ a lot of drama, the ROTC marching the flags, under spotlight in a darkened arena, the national anthem by the MSU band. It was quite a show. Now, everything is "corporatized." The Lodge was the student center. Dances and other student activities held there. Now, it's just lifeless, corporate, offices.

 

[maroonandsilver]

I'm still a youngin' but this photo is fascinating. That is the Adam's Center in the background, correct? Thanks for sharing!

It was quite a splash in news stories of the day when built. The laminated, arched wooden supports of the roof were noted as the first such materials in the world. Basketball games in those days opened w/ a lot of drama, the ROTC marching the flags, under spotlight in a darkened arena, the national anthem by the MSU band. It was quite a show. Now, everything is "corporatized." The Lodge was the student center. Dances and other student activities held there. Now, it's just lifeless, corporate, offices.

I remember going out with my Grampa and watching those wooden arches being put up on the FH. I also remember going to the first game in the Field House against Indiana U.
I also remember sitting in the student section in that "Old Dornblaser" and watching cheerleaders on the track having to dodge whisky bottles lobbed down there. I want to remember they were being tossed from the mountain, but probably were just coming from the stands.
The Chimney Corner is now a "Liquid Planet".

 

[kemajic]

The Lodge was the student center. Dances and other student activities held there. Now, it's just lifeless, corporate, offices.

And such memories of the food service dining halls, mystery meat, etc.

 

[THE BETCH]

Made my spending money playing pitch in the Lodge. Classes suffered but not the Candle. Played against Terry in intramural basketball and ran against him in intramural track. Played with him in City League basketball. Dick Imer was my coach my Sr. yr. at Polson. Saw him last week at a tailgate. Looked great, even remembered me. Wonderful photo.

 

[Grizzoola]

The Lodge should still be, THE LODGE! No offense to Emma Lommasson intended.

 

[GrizRanger]

My first Griz games were seen on that field as well. Many good memories! Thank you for sharing.

 

[BelierPeaux]

I don't think that is present day Wa-Griz Site. You can see main hall right there. I know I'm a young guy comparatively, but this seems further South from current stadium.

The Field House is in plain site in the picture (before recent expansion). Anyone that has been to Washington Griz Stadium knows the stadium is just east of the Field House (Adams Center).

Yeah, I know, I didn't want to make anyone feel too senile by pointing out some of the obvious signs. Very fun picture, though. Take out some of the stuff in the foreground and you could mistake the Missoula in the background for present day.

 

[Spanky]

Speaking of Emma Lommasson....what a nice lady!

 

[RABIDAWG]

And Terry Dillon. Many thanks for that shot; a very good one; Idaho game, no less. Would guess late 50's. Better than many of the current BSC venues we play. Far better than the "temporary" Higgins version that followed after the campus eviction. Outstanding (fast) cinder track that hosted the State Interscholastic track meet every spring, a great recruiting tool for the University.

Your most welcome. Yes, and Terry Dillon too. I was a senior in high school the day he was killed on that construction project. Remember it like it was yesterday. :-|

That must put you in the MCHS Class of '64. I was in the Class of '63.

You are correct Sir. 1964 "The Last Great Class" of MCHS. Bet we know of each other then.

Very good, stilwtrgrizz! We had lights then. I remember when we Spartans got to play there one night. We thought the place was awesome! Yup, we '64 & '63 classmates probably all know each other. :thumb:

 

[Silvertip]

Dick Imer, living in Hardin, still looks like he could play.

His nickname was "The Little Penguin"

 

[Blgs Griz Fan]

Is this the same stadium the Griz playing in in the 70's?

 

[UMGriz75]

That white 3-story building on the NE corner of Main was a "temporary" for classrooms for the returning vets from WWII, financed by the GI Bill. I attended classes in that bldg in late '50s.

That white three story building was one of the first four buildings constructed on the UM Campus. I believe it may have been the first one built after Main Hall was completed. It was the original Campus Gymnasium.

UM HHP Prof Gene Burns is working on a book on the history of "Athletics" at the University of Montana and I was talking to Gene a couple of weeks ago about it. He wondered if I recalled the building, since he is trying to "run down" when it was dismantled. I took my first classes on Campus in the summer of 1962, and said I don't recall it being there. Mark Behan had told me that the Botany Greenhouse and Lab facility had been built in 1956, and so my guess was that the old Gym was torn down then or prior to that time. Anyone remember?

As it appears in the Dornblaser photo, the "backside" is somewhat nondescript. The front, however, was designed like a castle, with parapets and the whole nine yards. University Archives in fact refers to it as "the Castle" for the two or three photos they have of it from the Oval side. Gene says it was known for being very poorly heated. Unlike most of the buildings on campus, it was a wood frame construction.

When the new University Gym (now called Schreiber) was built in 1922 as part of the Dornblaser Field complex, the old Gym was converted to classroom space. The new Gym was really something by comparison, and remains an outstanding athletic facility to this day even though relegated to auxiliary gym use. Entrance to Dornblaser was from the north doorway of the new gym, and the teams would run onto the field from that door. The handsome ceramic "UM" emblem on the roof of Schreiber was meant to identify Dornblaser as "UM" and faced the Field, and as the teams entered the field, they did so beneath that emblem. So, it was designed as a nice "framing" for the UM team entrances, like the inflatable tunnels are used today. The ceramic "UM" is still on the roof above that doorway, although now it faces a parking lot. It is the last tangible evidence of the old Dornblaser Field.

As Gene noted, there is an odd dearth of material on that old Gym, which is odd because the few surviving photos of it shows a remarkable architecture that seems like it would have attracted a lot of attention.

 

[stilwtrgrizz]

Is this the same stadium the Griz playing in in the 70's?

I'm thinking the moved to the "temp" on south Higgins in 68. Prolly played in this one until then.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornblaser_Field