1927 Football Team

Legend has it that the 1926 Lobo football team suffered the ignominy of having to finish the final game with only 10 able-bodied players. The 11th player, who was injured, crawled to the line of scrimmage just inside the sideline for each down until the game was completed.

From this desperate circumstance sprang the heroic 1927 squad, the only undefeated UNM football team in a full season’s play against exclusively collegiate competition. The triumphant Lobos emerged with an 8-0-1 record, the lone blemish a 6-6 tie against Texas Mines (UTEP).

Coached by Roy Johnson, the 1927 aggregation featured such stalwarts as Mannie Foster, Jack Fish, Rufus Stinnett, Geard Armstrong, Malcolm “Squirt” Long and a blazing offensive halfback in John Dolzadelli.

The remarkable season would have provided UNM with a conference championship, however, it was a few years before the formation of the Border Conference in 1931.