Falcons: 50 years ago

Air Force will honor its 1958 team at halftime of Saturday's game against Colorado State, as this season marks the 50th anniversary of that historic campaign. Daily through Friday The Gazette will look back at the top moments and key players from the only undefeated season in Air Force history.

Flashback: Sept. 26, 1958
Air Force opens its season - the fourth in program history and first under legendary coach Ben Martin - with a 37-6 victory over Detroit.

The Falcons are significant underdogs, but - as would become a theme throughout the year - they stage an upset on the road.

Air Force scores on its first possession and gets a 78-yard touchdown run from sophomore Mike Rawlins, which sets a record for the academy's longest scoring play from scrimmage.

Spotlight on ... Mike Quinlan
Halfback, Class of 1961

A two-sport athlete who also excelled in baseball, Quinlan made some huge plays for the Falcons during the 1958 season and led the team in scoring.

He scored his first career touchdown in a 13-13 tie with Iowa and had four touchdowns, including one on a 63-yard punt return, during a 45-7 win over New Mexico.

Perhaps his biggest play of the season came in the regular-season finale against Colorado. With Air Force down 14-6 in the second half, Quinlan broke free for a 60-yard touchdown.

"He got better and better every week," said Jim Bowman, a coach on the 1958 team. "He was the Doak Walker of the Air Force football team - a guy you could count on like that."

After graduation, Quinlan went to pilot training. He spent 23 years in the Air Force, and his last position was associate athletic director at the academy. After retiring from the Air Force, he became senior vice president and general manager of USAA in Colorado Springs.

In his words: "I don't think any of us even thought of a bowl game at the beginning of the season. There was no indication that we would have that kind of season. The season before was very average. Of course, (coach) Ben Martin comes in and turns it around."