BUTTE — Nearly 100 years ago, Montana and Montana State began meeting in Butte for their annual showdown.
The Copper Bowl saw the Grizzlies and Bobcats play 21 contests in The Mining City. The first 13 contests were played at Clark Park, which at the time was the home field of Butte High, Butte Central and what was then known as the Montana State School of Mines, now Montana Tech.
The final seven games of the series were played at the newly-built Naranche Stadium beginning in 1939. That stadium was named after Butte High product and Griz Hall of Famer Eso Naranche, who was killed in action during World War II's North Africa campaign.
The Copper Bowl was dominated by Montana, which shutout the Bobcats 13 times during an era where the Cat-Griz rivalry was heavily lopsided in Montana's favor.
Below is a breakdown of the final scores from the 21 Copper Bowl games:
1926: Montana 27, Montana State 0
1927: Montana 6, Montana State 0
1928: Montana 0, Montana State 0
1929: Montana State 14, Montana 12
1930: Montana 13, Montana State 6
1931: Montana 37, Montana State 6
1932: Montana State 19, Montana 7
1933: Montana 32, Montana State 0
1934: Montana 25, Montana State 0
1935: Montana 20, Montana State 0
1936: Montana 27, Montana State 0
1937: Montana 19, Montana State 0
1938: Montana 13, Montana State 0
1939: Montana 6, Montana State 0
1940: Montana 6, Montana State 0
1941: Montana 23, Montana State 13
(Montana and Montana State put its rivalry game on hold for four seasons due to World War II)
1946: Montana 20, Montana State 7
1947: Montana State 13, Montana 12
1948: Montana 14, Montana State 0
1949: Montana 34, Montana State 12
1950: Montana 33, Montana State 0
