1917 Saint Mary's Saints football team

1917 Saint Mary's Saints football
California college champion
ConferenceIndependent
Record8–1–1
Head coach
Seasons
← 1916
1918 →
1917 Western college football independents records
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
Idaho     2 3 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]

  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. ^ Cite error: The named reference SFE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference OT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  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.