1917 Saint Mary's Saints football team

1917 Saint Mary's Saints football
California college champion
Conference	Independent
Record	8–1–1
Head coach	Russell T. Wilson (1st season)

1917 Western college football independents records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Saint Mary's			–					8	–	1	–	1
Hawaii			–					4	–	0	–	1
USC			–					4	–	2	–	1
New Mexico A&M			–					4	–	2	–	0
Arizona			–					3	–	2	–	0
New Mexico			–					1	–	2	–	0
University Farm			–					1	–	2	–	0
Nevada			–					1	–	3	–	0
Montana			–					1	–	4	–	0

The 1917 Saint Mary's Saints football team was an American football team that represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 1917 college football season. The team compiled an 8–1–1 record, shut out seven of ten opponents, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 199 to 46. The sole loss was to the undefeated Mare Island Marines team that also won the 1918 Rose Bowl.^[1] With victories over both USC and California, the Saint Mary's team was proclaimed in the press as the California college champion.^[2][3]

Prior to 1917, Saint Mary's College had not been known as a football power. As of 1917, the school, located on Broadway in Oakland, California, had only 250 students with an average age of 16, and the Oakland Tribune opined that "only about 20 of the students are football material."^[4]

In July 1917, Saint Mary's College hired Russell T. Wilson as its new football coach. Wilson had previously been associated with Whittier College.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Goat Island Naval Yeoman School	St. Mary's grounds Moraga, CA	W 7–0		[6]
September 23	San Francisco Originals	St. Mary's grounds Moraga, CA	T 0–0		[7]
September 29	at Nevada	Mackay Field Reno, NV	W 41–0		[8][9]
October 1	at Stewart Indian School	Carson City, NV	W 27–0		[10]
October 14	Fort Winfield Scott	St. Mary's field Moraga, CA	W 41–6		[11]
October 10	Goat Island Medical School	St. Mary's grounds Moraga, CA	W 20–0		[12][13]
October 21	vs. Mare Island Marines	Ewing Field San Francisco, CA	L 0–27		[14]
October 27	at USC	Bovard Field Los Angeles, CA	W 7–0		[15]
November 4	Goat Island Naval Yeoman School	St. Mary's field Moraga, CA	W 42–0		[16][17]
November 10	at California	California Field Berkeley, CA	W 14–13		[2][3]

References

1. "Saint Mary's Yearly Results (1915–1919)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
2. Jack James (November 11, 1917). "St. Mary's Carries Off State Title by 14-13 Win Over U.C." The San Francisco Examiner. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "St. Mary's Beats California, 14-13, for State Title: Fatal Mistake Loses a Goal Kick for U.C." Oakland Tribune. November 11, 1917. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "St. Mary's Has Only 250 Boys on Total List: College That Won State Title Has Only About 20 Players On Football Squad". Oakland Tribune. November 11, 1917. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Russell Wilson Football Coach At St. Mary's". The San Francisco Examiner. July 14, 1917. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "St. Mary's Varsity Wins From Yeomen". The San Francisco Examiner. September 17, 1917. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Scoreless Tie Is Played on St. Mary's Field". Oakland Tribune. September 24, 1917. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Nevada Loses To St. Mary's". Reno Evening Gazette. October 1, 1917. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "St. Mary's College Beats Nevada, 41 to 0". The San Francisco Examiner. September 30, 1917 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "St. Mary's Eleven Wins Game at Carson City". San Francisco Chronicle. October 3, 1917. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "St. Mary's Second Team Beats Soldiers". The San Francisco Examiner. October 15, 1917. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Medical Eleven and St. Mary's Meet Today". The San Francisco Examiner. October 10, 1917. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "St. Mary's Team Training Hard for Grizzlies". Oakland Tribune. October 11, 1917. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Clipped from San Francisco Chronicle". San Francisco Chronicle. October 22, 1917. p. 7.
15. "Hard Fought: Saints Victors Over U.S.C. in Close Scrap". Los Angeles Times. October 28, 1917. p. VI-10 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Jack James (November 5, 1917). "St. Mary's Varsity Runs Rings Around Sea-Going Kickers: Naval Yeomen Lose to Collegians by Score of 42 to 0; Victors Line Up Against University of California Saturday". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "St. Mary's Defeats Yeomen by 42 to 0 Score: College Boys Now Think They Have a Chance to Defeat California U". San Francisco Chronicle. November 5, 1917. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.