Bemidji State Football The 1948 Bemidji State College football homecoming committee decided that something symbolic was needed to add color to the festivities. Publicity stunts that year included dropping leaflets, which included game admissions among them, from an airplane. Homecoming committee chairman Ron Smith and others decided that an axe, then in possession of Smith, would serve as a suitable trophy to mark the hotly-contested annual Beaver-Dragon gridiron clash. The axe would be awarded to the university president representing the victor of the contest. Smith’s axe originated in the native village of Mount Hagon, New Guinea. The axe is hand made and was polished underwater by its maker. Two types of axe are produced by natives in the Mount Hagon area, one with a blade of black stone for work and one of gray stone for ceremonies. Smith procured the gray trophy axe through a series of shrewd trades with the natives. In 1948 the teams fought to the bitter end for possession of the weapon in the inaugural Battle for the Axe, with Moorhead State winning 13-6. Despite a loss in the first battle, Bemidji State dominated the early history of the trophy series posting a 10-3-1 record in its first 14 games. BSU won five consecutive meetings in the series from 1957-’61 and was unbeaten in seven consecutive meetings from 1955-’61. The tide turned in 1962, with the Dragons taking control of the series for the next few decades. In 21 games played from 1962 to 1982, the Beavers brought home the battle axe just twice - after a 28-12 win in Bemidji in 1969 and a 24-22 win in Moorhead in 1976. The Beavers broke through with two wins in four games from 1983-’86, but would then win just once - a 28-27 win in Bemidji in 1992 - in 11 games from 1987-’97. But the tide has once again turned in BSU’s favor, as the Beavers have captured seven of the last eight battles for the axe - including an active series-long streak of six consecutive wins.
From the Sep. 29, 1948 edition of The Northern Student: “Bemidji Presents Trophy to MSTC Today a Homecoming committee journeyed to Moorhead State Teachers college for a special pepe convocation. At this time invitations were extended to the faculty, student body, band and queen to come to BSTC where they will be given an active part in the Homecoming activities. At the convocation Ron Smith presented the New Guinea “Battle Ax” which is the new trophy between BSTC and MSTC.”
NCAA Division II Trophy Games Following is a list of the current Division II trophy games, including the year the trophy was first exchanged. Trophy Old Hickory Stick Battle Axe Sitting Bull Bishop’s Top Dog Axe Bowl Old Settler’s Musket Battle of the Ravine Traveling Traveling Training Kit Governor’s
Date 1931 1948 1953 1970 1971 1975 1975 1976 1976 1978 1979
Teams NW Mo. St.—Truman St. Bemidji St.—MSU Moorhead North Dakota—South Dakota Lenior-Rhyne—Newberry Indianapolis-Butler Northwood—Saginaw Valley Adams St.—Fort Lewis Henderson St.—Ouachita Baptist Ashland—Hillsdale MSU-Mankato—St. Cloud St. S.Conn. St.—Cent. Conn. St.
Heritage Bell Eagle-Rock Elm City Field Cup John Wesley Miner’s Bowl Wagon Wheel Backyard Bowl East Meets West Hub Cap Paddle
1979 1980 1983 1983 1984 1986 1986 1987 1987 2004 2006
Delta St.—Mississippi Col. Chadron St.—Black Hills St. New Haven—S. Conn. St. Ky. Wesleyan—Evansville Ky. Weslyan—Union (Ky.) Mo. Southern St.—Pittsburg St. Eastern NM—W. Texas A&M Cheyney—West Chester Chadron St.—Peru St. Bemidji St. —Minn., Crookston U-Mary-MSU Moorhead
All-Time Results Year Result Location 1948 L 6 13 Bemidji 1949 W 13 6 Moorhead 1950 W 20 0 n/a 1951 W 12 0 Bemidji 1952 L 6 19 Moorhead 1953 W 13 6 Bemidji 1954 L 7 20 Moorhead 1955 W 20 7 Bemidji 1956 T 13 13 Moorhead 1957 W 27 14 Bemidji 1958 W 48 7 Moorhead 1959 W 34 6 Bemidji 1960 W 20 8 Moorhead 1961 W 34 8 Bemidji 1962 L 7 10 Moorhead 1963 T 20 20 Bemidji 1964 L 14 15 Moorhead 1965 L 7 14 Bemidji 1966 L 0 13 Moorhead 1967 T 20 20 Bemidji 1968 L 10 28 Moorhead 1969 W 28 12 Bemidji 1970 L 6 33 Moorhead 1971 L 8 28 Bemidji 1972 L 15 48 Moorhead 1973 L 7 17 Bemidji 1974 L 0 40 Moorhead 1975 L 0 28 Bemidji 1976 W 24 22 Moorhead 1977 L 14 21 Bemidji 1978 L 0 28 Moorhead 1979 L 2 35 Bemidji 1980 L 3 39 Moorhead 1981 L 7 35 Bemidji 1982 L 23 38 Bemidji 1983 W 33 28 Moorhead 1984 L 28 35 Bemidji 1985 L 7 14 Moorhead 1986 W 27 26 Bemidji 1987 L 14 36 Moorhead 1988 L 14 47 Bemidji 1989 L 12 46 Moorhead 1990 L 19 37 Bemidji 1991 L 14 42 Moorhead 1992 W 28 27 Bemidji 1993 L 16 36 Moorhead 1994 L 6 33 Bemidji 1995 L 20 32 Moorhead 1996 L 27 29 Bemidji 1997 L 17 36 Moorhead 1998 W 22 10 Bemidji 1999 L 25 32 Bemidji 2000 W 28 14 Moorhead 2001 W 28 14 Bemidji 2002 W 35 28 Moorhead 2003 W 23 15 Bemidji 2004 W 42 0 Moorhead 2005 W 27 13 Bemidji 2006 W 21 9 Moorhead 2007 W 27 3 Bemidji 2008 L 7 27 Moorhead 2009 W 38 13 Bemidji Points 1093 1355 PPG 17.6 21.6 overall record: 25-34-3 (.427) in Bemidji*: 15-15-2 (.500) in Moorhead*: 9-19-1 (.328) consecutive wins: 8, 2000-2007 consecutive losses: 6, twice * does not include the 1950 game, the location of which is not known
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