Airdate: TBD - FSN
The University of San Francisco football went undefeated in 1951 and was considered one of the best teams in the nation. But when bowl bids came around, they were left out because of two unwanted players: they had two African-Americans on the team. They could have played without Ollie Matson and Burl Toler and gone to a bowl, but they chose honor over glory. They were undefeated…and uninvited.
The official reason for rejecting USF was that most of the nation was unfamiliar with their team and their supposed weak schedule. But San Francisco sportscaster Ira Blue reported that Gator Bowl president Sam Wolfson had intimated that bowl committees had decided to avoid teams with "Negro" players. He suggested that had the Dons been willing to play without Matson and Toler, they might have been granted a bid. Without hesitation, the players decided they would never play without their teammates.
Without the money from a bowl game, the USF football program could not exist. The 1951 team was the first at the school to go undefeated…and the last to ever play. But what a team it was. Nine players went on to the NFL and three of those received football’s highest honor. Gino Marchetti, Bob St. Clair, and Ollie Matson were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the most ever from a single college team.
Their success on the field and refusal to compromise their beliefs has earned them a place in sports history. In 2008, the 1951 USF Dons finally received the recognition they deserve, being honored at the 2008 Fiesta Bowl.