St. Mary's Football Lives....

[Marcus Garvey]

on in spirit.

I've been doing a lot of travel to the South Bay Area for my new job. I was having dinner at a restaurant in downtown Mountain View when I noticed above the bar were football helmets for the local college and NFL teams (Stanford, Cal, San Jose St., etc...). There were a few I assumed to be from local high schools. 2 others however caught my attention:
The Santa Clara helmet was silver though. However, the logo was the same.

[Model Citizen]

People on this board would love St. Mary's and Santa Clara, two schools that believe the only D-I football worth playing is the kind with athletic scholarships. Except, of course, that they can't afford scholarships.

So all we're left with is a predictable discussion of the Little Big Game, how it's a shame these schools aren't in the Great West, blah, blah, blah.

[Franks Tanks]

People on this board would love St. Mary's and Santa Clara, two schools that believe the only D-I football worth playing is the kind with athletic scholarships. Except, of course, that they can't afford scholarships.

So all we're left with is a predictable discussion of the Little Big Game, how it's a shame these schools aren't in the Great West, blah, blah, blah.

St. Mary's is such a sad story, they were a national powerhouse in the early years of the game, but then again so was NYU and U of Chicago

[McNeese_beat]

St. Mary's is such a sad story, they were a national powerhouse in the early years of the game, but then again so was NYU and U of Chicago

Didn't San Francisco have something like 3 future NFL Hall of Famers on the same unbeaten team in the early 1950s?

You know, compared to down here in the Sun Belt (the region, not the godforsaken conference) you can't turn a corner without running into a Division I university. In Calif., they all seem to have gone out of the football business (St. Mary, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Pacific, Cal State-Fullerton, etc.). How come a Sac State or a UC Davis can't turn that untapped talent pool and become a national power...or is it a matter of time before UC Davis does become a national power?

[Cleets]

What is this St. Mary's you speak of...?

[poly51]

What is this St. Mary's you speak of...?

Saint Mary's College, Moraga, California.

Former member of the Great West Football Conference. Dropped football before they played a conference game.
They are in the West Coast Conference in basketball.

[AmsterBison]

... Cal-Davis can't turn that untapped talent pool and become a national power...or is it a matter of time before Cal-Davis does become a national power?

UC Davis is a very good team and I think it won't take long for them to be recognized as one of the power programs in the FCS.

Still bummed about St. Mary's dropping football.

[Franks Tanks]

What is this St. Mary's you speak of...?

They had a pretty good team in the pre-WW II days. They finished the 1945 season ranked #7 in the AP poll. They also played in the 1939 Cotton and 1946 sugar bowl, and had a big rivalry with Fordham if I remember

[ngineer]

Yes, St. Mary's was a national power up until WWII. Great rivalry with Fordham that is written about in the book on Lombardi. Even up until the end they were still competitive. Lehigh played them on a home and home basis back in 1998 and 2003. The game out in California was tight, 22-16, whereas we handled them pretty well in 2003, 35-7. I guess it all came down to money, as it seemed they were traveling great distances to play. Were they in the Great West back then? I thought they werer Independent? If they weren't in the GW, they should have been. Should have cut down on expenses. I believe their former HC is now the HC at Bucknell, Tim Landis.

[Ivytalk]

The GWC remains a decent basketball conference, with Gonzaga dominating in recent years (but USD and Santa Clara have been tough). I went to a USF-SC hoops game several years ago, and a fistfight broke out in the stands right after the game. Those schools hate each other...

[Franks Tanks]

Yes, St. Mary's was a national power up until WWII. Great rivalry with Fordham that is written about in the book on Lombardi. Even up until the end they were still competitive. Lehigh played them on a home and home basis back in 1998 and 2003. The game out in California was tight, 22-16, whereas we handled them pretty well in 2003, 35-7. I guess it all came down to money, as it seemed they were traveling great distances to play. Were they in the Great West back then? I thought they werer Independent? If they weren't in the GW, they should have been. Should have cut down on expenses. I believe their former HC is now the HC at Bucknell, Tim Landis.

I believe they were an Indy as well, and like you said they were very competitive until the end. They also played Colgate a few times I believe around 2000, I remeber watching the games on film. Funny thing is they would have been the prefect addition to the Patriot league we have all been searching for. Great academics, great football tradition with a member school, and a commitment to play by our rules. I guess that pesky little being 3,000 miles away thing would be the killer however xlolx

[McNeese_beat]

They had a pretty good team in the pre-WW II days. They finished the 1945 season ranked #7 in the AP poll. They also played in the 1939 Cotton and 1946 sugar bowl, and had a big rivalry with Fordham if I remember

OK, here's what I was referring to earlier. In 1951, San Francisco went 9-0 with a team that included nine future NFL players, five future pro bowlers and three future Hall of Famers: Ollie Matson, Gino Marchetti and Bob St. Clair. Dick Stanfel, another Pro Bowler, had just completed his career in 1950. Remember, they played in the NFL in an era when there were only 12 teams. So a lot of people like to look at this team as this as the greatest NOT to play in a bowl.

Why didn't they? Matson and Burl Toler (who went on to become the first black NFL official) were black and the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Gator Bowl snubbed them because of it. Even the Sun Bowl took Pacific, a team USF beat handily. Word got back to the team that they would be invited to the Orange Bowl if they agreed to go without Matson and Toler. St. Clair said the team didn't even vote on it. They dismissed the idea off hand as ridiculous.

After the season, USF announced it would drop football. The players not already headed to the NFL transferred, with St. Clair winding up at Tulsa to finish his career.

And another tidbit about that team: The "athletic news director" for the team (an SID in today's terms) was none other than Pete Rozelle, future NFL commissioner.

Finally, in 2001 for their 50th year reunion, they got a White House Reception and an official apology from the White House for their treatment.

[USDFAN_55]

The GWC remains a decent basketball conference, with Gonzaga dominating in recent years (but USD and Santa Clara have been tough). I went to a USF-SC hoops game several years ago, and a fistfight broke out in the stands right after the game. Those schools hate each other...

Those teams aren't in the GWC. I don't even think there is a GWC for basketball. That is just a football conference. Those teams are in the WCC, West Coast Conference, for all sports.... except USD football which is the lone surviving football team out of all the WCC schools.

[JoltinJoe]

St. Mary's was a West Coast power in football during the 1920s that was looking to take its reputation national. So Slip Madigan, the St. Mary's coach, arranged for a game with Fordham in New York City at the Polo Grounds in November 1930.

All the pundits predicted an easy Fordham win. Fordham had not lost a game in over two years and had a ferocious defense which had not surrended a touchdown during the 1930 season.

But St. Mary's, down 12-0 at the half, stunned Fordham with three second half touchdowns and left town a 20-12 winner. Fordham demanded a rematch and one of the great football rivalries of the pre-WW II era was born.

For its part, St. Mary's win earned the Gaels a trip to the White House -- the first time an athletic team was invited to the White House to celebrate a win.

75th Anniversary: St. Mary's pulled a stunner in '30 (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/13/SPG3AFNF9A1.DTL&hw=football+St+Mary+Moraga&sn=001&sc=1000)

[GoAgs72]

I went to quite a few UC Davis games with both Saint Mary's and Santa Clara. They were very competitive. Santa Clara was D2 in football, DI in everything else and couldn't afford the move to DI for football so they dropped it. Saint Mary's tried DIAA in football but again couldn't afford it. The annual game between Saint Mary's and Santa Clara was a very heated rivalry.

[ngineer]

I believe they were an Indy as well, and like you said they were very competitive until the end. They also played Colgate a few times I believe around 2000, I remeber watching the games on film. Funny thing is they would have been the prefect addition to the Patriot league we have all been searching for. Great academics, great football tradition with a member school, and a commitment to play by our rules. I guess that pesky little being 3,000 miles away thing would be the killer however xlolx

"details, details".....Yes, but for, the traveling expense they would have been THE perfect school to even out the PL.

[JBB]

They had a pretty good team in the pre-WW II days. They finished the 1945 season ranked #7 in the AP poll. They also played in the 1939 Cotton and 1946 sugar bowl, and had a big rivalry with Fordham if I remember

The game grew but they didnt. It hurt the GWFC.

[Ivytalk]

Those teams aren't in the GWC. I don't even think there is a GWC for basketball. That is just a football conference. Those teams are in the WCC, West Coast Conference, for all sports.... except USD football which is the lone surviving football team out of all the WCC schools.

My mistake. But the WCC is a good hoops conference!

[SF State Gaters]

There should be a lot of appeal to the "Pioneer Model" (the "Torrero Model" in the west?) for bringing football back to campuses like St. Mary's, Pacific, Santa Clara, or the like- and all it would really take would be for one of them to do it to get the ball rolling for any number of programs to give it serious consideration.

[Dane96]

Ok...buddy, I know you are trying to talk football...and it's appreciated...but many of us don't have the time to wade through multi-pages of you bringing up dead threads from three years ago. I want to be able to read an unclogged page in the morning.

Could you please respect that fact...for all of us. Not meanin to be disrespectful or stop you from wanting to post...but it is a bit much to see you dredge up 20 old threads in a row. Alot of these topics are dead for good reason.

Thank you.

[SF State Gaters]

Ok...buddy, I know you are trying to talk football...and it's appreciated...but many of us don't have the time to wade through multi-pages of you bringing up dead threads from three years ago. I want to be able to read an unclogged page in the morning.

Could you please respect that fact...for all of us. Not meanin to be disrespectful or stop you from wanting to post...but it is a bit much to see you dredge up 20 old threads in a row. Alot of these topics are dead for good reason.

Thank you.

fair enough mate, i'm sorry about that.