For information on all Saint Mary's College of California sports, see Saint Mary's Gaels
The Saint Mary's Gaels football program was the intercollegiate American football team for Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California.
History
Founding and early years The school's first football team was fielded in 1892, and was initially dropped in 1899 after going 7–6 in that span. The football program resumed again in 1915. In 1920 came one of the worst defeats in college football history, an 18-touchdown, 127–0 defeat from neighboring Cal. The Gaels gained only 16 yards of offense the entire game. This loss drove St. Mary's to turn the program around by hiring Knute Rockne's protege, Slip Madigan, who helped SMC win four consecutive conference championships from 1925 to 1928.
Galloping Gaels era By 1927, Saint Mary's developed into one of the strongest football programs on the West Coast. They defeated USC, UCLA, Cal, and Stanford. The Stanford team they defeated in 1927 went on to play in the Rose Bowl, as did the USC team they defeated in 1931. Slip also led the Gaels to the program's only two undefeated seasons in 1926, at 9–0–1, and 1929, at 8–0–1. Although the school's enrollment seldom exceeded 500, the 'Galloping Gaels' became a nationally known football power.
The famously red-clad jersey-ed 'Galloping Gaels', were known for their flashy style that reflected the personality of their flamboyant coach. In the most notable win in program history, Saint Mary's traveled to New York City in 1930 to play Fordham in front of 65,000 at New York City's famed Polo Grounds. Madigan traveled to New York for the game with 150 fans on a train that was labeled "The World's Longest Bar." To stir up publicity for the game, he then threw a party the night before the game and invited sportswriters and celebrities. Babe Ruth and New York mayor Jimmy Walker attended the party. Fordham was a heavy favorite, as the Rams had won 16 straight games going back to 1928. They featured the first version of a defense known as the "Seven Blocks of Granite," a formidable unit that later would include Vince Lombardi. Saint Mary's recovered from a 12–0 halftime deficit to win, 20–12.
The Gaels had a couple of shots at a national championship in the 1930s. A one-point loss to Cal in SMC’s opener in 1930 probably cost the school the No. 1 spot. In 1934, the Gaels beat Fordham and Cal, but were upset by Nevada, 9–7, and lost to UCLA, 6–0, and another national title had slipped away. The Gaels won the Cotton Bowl in January 1939 and lost in the Sugar Bowl in January 1946. That 1945 team won its first seven games and was ranked seventh in the AP poll entering the bowl game. They also lost in the 1946 Oil Bowl the following year. Many home games of this era were played to sold-out crowds at Kezar Stadium in
Program revival The football program was dropped after the 1950 first revived as a club sport, and then returned to sanctioned varsity status in 1970 (College Division, later Division III), and moved up to Division II
Modern Division I era and end of program In order to keep its overall athletics program at Division I, football was required to cease or move up to Division I-AA by 1993. (Rival Santa Clara discontinued football after 1992.) The team competed in NCAA Division I-AA as an independent from 1993 through 2003.
By 1998, Saint Mary's awarded 14 scholarships in football (vastly under the FCS limit of 63), with a budget of almost $800,000.
However, after eleven seasons as a Division I-AA independent, Saint Mary's ended its football program on March 3, 2004, citing budgetary reasons. The announcement came a week after the institution had declared intent to join the Great West Football Conference, rendering SMC as the 17th California university to drop football since 1951.
During fall 2004, an informal survey on campus found little support for bringing back football.
Conference affiliation • 1892-1899: Independent
• 1915-1924: Independent
• 1925-1928: Far Western Conference
• 1929-1950: Independent
• 1970-1979: College Division-Division III Independent
• 1980-1992: Division II Independent
• 1993-2003: Division I-AA Independent
Conference championships St. Mary's won four consecutive conference championships in a row in their only time associated in an athletic conference. The Gaels have been an independent all other years of existence. 1925 Far Western Slip Madigan 8-2 3–0 1926 Far Western Slip Madigan 9–0–14–0 1927 Far Western Slip Madigan 7–2–1 3–0 1928 Far Western Slip Madigan 5–4 2–0
Bowl games Season Bowls City Opponent Result1938 Cotton Dallas Texas Tech W 20–131945 Sugar New Orleans Oklahoma A&M L 13–331946 Oil Houston Georgia Tech L 19–41
Head coaches Slip Madigan and James Phelan are the only coaches that have led the 'Galloping Gaels' to bowl games.
Slip Madigan1921–1939117–45–121–0Red Strader1940–194110–7James Phelan1942–194747–25–10–2Joe Verducci1948–19497–12–1Joe Ruetz19502–7–1
Rivalries Oregon
Oregon and Saint Mary's College competed in an annual Thanksgiving Day classic between 1929 and 1935, played at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The victors were awarded The Governors' Perpetual Trophy jointly by the governors of the states of California and Oregon. The Gaels hold a 7–3 lead in the series and final possession of the trophy. The rivalry is unlikely to be contested again, as Saint Mary's discontinued football in 1951 due to the national emergency resulting from the Korean War, and reinstated its program in 1970, only to discontinue it again after the 2003 football season.
College Football Hall of Fame
Larry Bettencourt 1924-1927 C / DE 1973 James Phelan 1942-1947 Head coach 1973 Slip Madigan 1921-1939 Head coach 1974 Herman Wedemeyer 1943, 1945-1947 HB 1979
Pro Football Hall of Fame 1987 John Henry Johnson HB/ FB 1949-1950
National Award Winners
National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award Sean Laird (1997) All-Americans
Saint Mary's has 2 Consensus All-Americans and 1 Unanimous All-American (Herman Wedemeyer, HB- 1945) +St. Mary’s Gaels All-AmericansPlayerPositionSeasonPollTeamNotesRed StraderFB19243rd TeamLarry BettencourtC1925NB1st TeamCollege Football Hall of Fame member19263rd Team1927Consensus1st TeamUnderhillDE1926AP2nd TeamMalcolm FranklinDE1928AP1st TeamUP2nd TeamGeorge AckermanT1929AP1st TeamUP2nd TeamFred "Stud" StennettHB1929UP2nd Team1930AP3rd TeamDick BoyleHB19293rd TeamHarry EbdingDE1930AP3rd Team/ 2nd TeamBud ToscaniHB19312nd TeamBill FisherG1931AP1st TeamUP1st TeamAngelo BrovelliFB1932UP3rd TeamNEA3rd TeamFWAA1st TeamMike SteponovichG1932AP3rd TeamWilliam "Bill" BeasleyQB19323rd TeamEd GilbertG1933AP2nd TeamFred ConrinusDE1933UP3rd TeamJohn YezerskiDT1933NEA1st TeamCarl JorgensenDT19331st TeamUP2nd Team/3rd TeamGeorge WilsonHB1933AP2nd TeamUP3rd TeamMarty KordickG1935NEA2nd TeamHerman WedemeyerHB1945Consensus (Unanimous All AmericanAAB; AFCA; AP-1; COL-1; FWAA-1; INS-1; LK; SN; UP-1; CNS-1; CP-1; NL; OF-1; WC-1)1st TeamCollege Football Hall of Fame1946AP2nd TeamUP
Notable players Larry Bettencourt Tony Compagno Ryan Coogler Eddie Erdelatz John Henry Johnson Wagner Jorgensen
Dante Magnani Andy Marefos Dick Mesak Chase Peterson Bud Toscani Herman Wedemeyer Willie Wilkin Scott Wood
Notes
References