Throwback Thursday: Boston College 7 NC State 3 - November 7, 1936

Gilmour "Gloomy Gil" Dobie was a football coaching legend.  Born in 1879, he had played his college football at Minnesota. Following graduation, he became a head coach almost immediately at North Dakota Agricultural (now North Dakota State) and then onto the University of Washington, where he compiled an amazing 58-0-3 mark including a 40 game winning streak, still the second longest in NCAA history.  He then went onto Navy and then Cornell, where he won three national championships in 1921, 22 and 23, before moving to Boston College in 1936.

Dobie had followed a one year tenure of a coaching combo of Dinney McNamara and Harry Downes, who split the season as head coach. They had replaced the legendary Joe McKinney, further proving adage of never being the man to replace the man.

In 1936, Dobie's first in Chestnut Hill, Boston College would face North Carolina State in the first ever meeting between the two schools who are now ACC rivals.  BC would face the Pack again in 1937, also at Fenway Park (a 12-7 NC State win) and then would take a brief 68 year hiatus before resuming hostilities again as Atlantic Division foes.

On this day though, Gil Dobie's men would ride an Ira Jivelekian second quarter touchdown pass to Atilio "Tillie" Ferdenzi, a halfback from Ashland, MA who wore Doug Flutie's famous #22  to the only score of the day as the Maroon and Gold dumped what was termed a "hardy" Wolfpack squad, 7-3 at Fenway Park before a modern day Alumni Stadium crowd of 7,000 (will that number be beat this Saturday??)

BC was a solid favorite that day, but was tested by the Wolfpack who were coached by Knute Rockne's successor at Notre Dame, Heartley "Hunk" Anderson.

NC State was first to capitalize on a mistake, when the Eagles fumbled on their own 10 yard line. The BC defense stiffened though and held and the Pack had to settle for a 28 yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.

The winning score came after Kissell had recovered a fumble at the Pack 15 yard line and following a run by Ferdenzi, Jivelekian hit him with a 9 yard TD pass in between four defenders.

The rest of the game reads like a modern day BC affair. Little offense, a smattering of turnovers and the few big plays that there were, negated by penalties.

Interestingly, it was noted that the Varsity team would look to schedule a scrimmage against the Freshman that week, which was not a bye week and the man who threw the game winning TD pass, Jivelekian, was rumored not even be playing the next week against Western Maryland, as a coaches decision!

Boston College would finish the season with a record of 6-1-2, losing just to Temple while tying BU and Michigan State.

Dobie would then retire following the 1938 season, with a 16-6-5 record at BC.  He amassed 182 wins with 14 undefeated seasons in 33 years of coaching and still being the fastest coach in college football history to reach 100 wins and finally being inducted, posthumously into the college football hall of fame in 1951. Upon his exit, he stated, "this game of football is getting too complicated for me".

What would he think of college football 2015?

Boston College on November 7

• 1908 - Boston College 0 at Connecticut 0
• 1914 - at Boston College 27 St Anselm's 0 - South End Grounds
• 1925 - West Virginia 21 at Boston College 0 - Braves Field
• 1931 - Boston College 19 at Western Maryland 13
• 1936 - at Boston College 7 North Carolina State 3 - Fenway Park
• 1942 - at #5 Boston College 28 Temple 0 - Fenway Park
• 1943 - at Boston College 64 Rome Air Force 0 - Fenway Park
• 1952 - Boston College 23 at Detroit 20
• 1953 - at Boston College 20 Wake Forest 7 - Fenway Park
• 1959 - Pittsburgh 22 at Boston College 14 - Alumni Stadium
• 1964 - Boston College 8 at Villanova 7
• 1970 - at Boston College 65 Buffalo 12 - Alumni Stadium
• 1981 - at Boston College 52 Massachusetts 22 - Alumni Stadium
• 1987 - at #9 Notre Dame 32 Boston College 25
• 1992 - at #9 Notre Dame 54 #8 Boston College 7
• 1998 - #13 Notre Dame 31 at Boston College 26 - Alumni Stadium