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The members of the 1951 University of San Francisco football team are often called the greatest collection of college football heroes ever to play together. The team went all season without a single defeat, or even a tie. But despite its undefeated status, the team did not receive an invitation to play a post-season bowl game, an invitation that is usually a sure bet for a team with an unblemished record. In 1951, the Dons were battling a different kind of opponent—racism. That year, the team was one of only a few football teams in the nation with African American players. Only if they left behind their African American teammates, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, would the Dons be invited to play in a bowl game. For the Dons, the decision was easy: everyone goes, or nobody goes. And so the team came to be known as “undefeated, untied, and uninvited,” and they couldn’t be prouder. Members of the famed 1951 Dons football team were the guests of honor at a 50th anniversary dinner at the Westin St. Francis Hotel Sept. 29. The team, joined by fans, family, and friends, was honored in a way it never would have dreamed of 50 years ago. More than 400 people came together that night to remember the team that was heroic for more than its record on the football field. “When you think about the time the decision was made by the Dons not to play in the bowl…it warms my heart and gives me hope that we as people will continue to learn that standing together we are stronger. That’s the American spirit,” Dan Boggan, senior vice president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, said that night. “I’d like to say thank you for your courage, thank you for being the kinds of role models that inspire young people and inspire community. Thank you for being who you are.” More than 20 players and three wives of deceased players attended the dinner, which was organized by the USF Department of Athletic Development. The department’s Executive Director Emeritus Bill Henneberry was a member of the ’51 team. Also at the dinner was San Francisco 49er and National Football League (NFL) Hall of Famer Bob St. Clair, who said he credits his USF teammates with helping him succeed in professional football. “I’ve had quite a few accolades piled on me in the last couple of years,” he said. “The game of football is a team sport and…all of you guys out there who played with me, you guys were responsible for making me continue on and get these awards and I really appreciate that.” St. Clair is joined in the NFL Hall of Fame by fellow teammates Ollie Matson and Gino Marchetti. Toler, an African American player described as the best all-around member of the ’51 team, went on to break the color barrier in his own way. After a knee injury dashed his chances at a professional football career, he became the first African American game official in the NFL, working for 25 seasons. The men of the ’51 team were the last USF football players for more than a decade. As a small school with little funding, it was difficult for USF to compete with schools like Berkeley and Stanford in recruiting, scholarships, and facilities. Without money from a post-season bowl game in 1951, USF was forced to discontinue the football program that year. But the team’s legacy has never diminished. “These men exemplified the values that remain at the core of our identity as a Jesuit Catholic university,” USF President Stephen A. Privett, S.J. said at the dinner. “I refer to dedication to a common good, rather than the interests of any one individual, respect for the dignity and worth of every human being, and an unwavering commitment to excellence on the field, in the classroom, and in their personal and professional lives. The men who we celebrate this evening paid a price for their integrity. They refused a bowl bid rather than compromise their values. They sacrificed glory for honor and character."
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