1950 Saint Mary's Gaels football team

The 1950 Saint Mary's Gaels football team was an American football team that represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 1950 college football season. In their first season under head coach Joe Ruetz, the Gaels compiled a 2–7–1 record and were outscored by opponents by a combined total of 235 to 95.[1]

1950 Saint Mary's Gaels football
Conference	Independent
1950 record	2–7–1
Head coach	Joe Ruetz (1st season)
Home stadium	Kezar Stadium

1950 Western college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Loyola (CA)			–					8	–	1	–	0
Pacific (CA)			–					7	–	3	–	1
San Francisco			–					7	–	4	–	0
San Jose State			–					6	–	3	–	1
Hawaii			–					5	–	4	–	2
Montana			–					5	–	5	–	0
La Verne			–					3	–	5	–	0
Santa Clara			–					3	–	7	–	0
Saint Mary's			–					2	–	7	–	1
Cal Poly San Dimas			–					1	–	6	–	1
Nevada			–					1	–	9	–	0

The 1950 season saw a financial decline for the program as attendance dropped. No more than 200 paying customers attended the final game of the season against Villanova. The losses flowing from the Villanova game were exacerbated by a $10,000 guarantee paid to the visiting team.[2] The December 3 game was the last in Saint Mary's football until 1970.

On January 4, 1951, one month after the close of the season, Saint Mary's announced that it was abandoning its intercollegiate football and baseball programs for the duration of the national emergency resulting from the Korean War.[3][4] In addition to the war, the school cited "the growing difficulty of sustaining academic standards in the face of an inflated competition, especially in football."[3] The school also expressed its "profound gratitude to the legions of loyal adherents . . . who have supported the athletic program over the many years that St. Mary's college teams figured prominently in the National sports world."[3]

Two rival programs among the west coast Catholic colleges, Loyola of Los Angeles and San Francisco, terminated their football programs one year later.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	Pacific (CA)	Kezar Stadium San Francisco	L 0–40	15,451	[5]
September 29	Georgia	Kezar Stadium San Francisco	T 7–7	7,220	[6]
October 7	Loyola (CA)	Gilmore Stadium Los Angeles	L 0–48	14,569	[7]
October 14	vs. San Francisco	Kezar Stadium San Francisco	L 7–33	20,000	[8]
October 21	at Oregon	Hayward Field Eugene, OR	W 18–13	9,752	[9]
October 28	at No. 5 California	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 25–40	32,000	[10]
November 5	Nevada	Kezar Stadium San Francisco	W 25–14	6,276	[11]
November 10	at San Jose State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	L 6–18	11,000	[12]
November 19	vs. Santa Clara	Kezar Stadium San Francisco	L 0–9	11,000	[13]
December 3	Villanova	Kezar Stadium San Francisco	L 7–13	200	[2]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1950 Saint Mary's (CA) Gaels Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
2. Harry M. Hayward (December 4, 1950). "Villanova 'Bath' Closes Disastrous Year at Gate". San Francisco Examiner. pp. 40–41 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "St. Mary's Quits Football". Oakland Tribune. January 5, 1951. pp. 32–33 – via Newspapers.com.
4. The Korean War began in June 1950. The Chinese entered the war in October 1950 and heavy fighting between American and Chinese forces ensued through the last three months of the year.
5. Bill Dunbar (September 23, 1950). "COP Runs Wild To Crush St. Mary's, 40-0, In Opener". Oakland Tribune. pp. 11–12 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Bob Brachman (September 30, 1950). "Astonishing Gaels Tie Georgia, 7-7: Johnson Rockets 90 To St. Mary's Score; Heavily Favored Bulldogs Outblocked, Outtackled -- and Lucky to Get a Draw". San Francisco Examiner. pp. 17, 19 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Jack Geyer (October 9, 1950). "Roaring Lions Stun St. Mary's, 48-0". Los Angeles Times. pp. IV-1, IV-2 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Harry Borba (October 16, 1950). "Don Men Slug St. Mary's Boys, 33-7: Gaels' Johnson Gains -- But Matson Reigns; USF Makes It 4 in a Row Over Old Foe; Bombiani Scoots 79 for Moraga Tally". San Francisco Examiner. pp. 36, 39 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Dick Strite (October 22, 1950). "Saints Come Back to Upset Webfoots for First Triumph: Ducks Fall Before Gael Passing 18-13 As 9,752 Supporters Watch". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Prescott Sullivan (October 29, 1950). "Bombiani Steals Show, But Bears Roll On: Gael Mite Runs 96, 91 Yards in 40-25 Battle; Penalties Nullify First Sprint, But 2nd Good for TD". San Francisco Examiner. pp. 26, 31 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Bill Dunbar (November 6, 1950). "Unimpressive Gaels Trip Nevada, 25-14: Johnson Star in Kezar Win". Oakland Tribune. pp. 30, 32 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Harry M. Hayward (November 11, 1950). "San Jose Closes Fast, Rips Gaels, 18-6". San Francisco Examiner. pp. 17–18 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Harry Borba (November 20, 1950). "Santa Clara Slaps Down Gaels, 9-0: Napolitano Hero for Broncs; Hurls to TD". San Francisco Examiner. pp. 35–36 – via Newspapers.com.