The 1956 St. Thomas Tommies football team represented the University of St. Thomas of Saint Paul, Minnesota, as a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 1956 NAIA football season. In their eleventh year under head coach Frank Deig, the Tommies compiled a perfect 8–0 record (7–0 against MIAC opponents), won the MIAC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 212 to 77.[1] St. Thomas had prior perfect seasons in 1910, 1913, 1923, 1942, and 1944; they have not had another since 1956.[2]
| 1956 St. Thomas Tommies football | |
|---|---|
MIAC champion | |
| Conference | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Record | 8–0 (7–0 MIAC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Captain | Tom Turk |
| Home stadium | O'Shaughnessy Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Thomas (MN) $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Concordia (MN) | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Macalester | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gustavus Adolphus | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota–Duluth | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint John's (MN) | 2 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Augsburg | 2 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hamline | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Three St. Thomas players were selected by the Minneapolis Sunday Tribune as first-team players on the 1956 All-MIAC football team: quarterback Bernie Raetz; end Dick Trafas; and tackle John Heller. Tom Turk and Dick Sappo were named to the second team as guards.[3]
The team played its home games on O'Shaughnessy Stadium in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 21 | Augsburg | W 34–12 | 4,342 | [4] | |||
| September 28 | Macalester |
| W 12–7 | 6,347 | [5][6] | ||
| October 6 | at Minnesota Duluth | Duluth, MN | W 34–14 | [7] | |||
| October 13 | at Concordia (MN) | Moorhead, MN | W 18–13 | [8] | |||
| October 19 | Gustavus Adolphus |
| W 14–0 | 9,245 | [9] | ||
| October 26 | Hamline |
| W 33–6 | 3,756 | [10] | ||
| November 3 | at Saint John's (MN) | Collegeville, MN | W 33–25 | [11] | |||
| November 11 | at Loras* | Dubuque, IA | W 34–0 | [12][13] | |||
| |||||||
Players
editThe following players are listed in the coverage cited above:
- John Amelse, end
- Jim Andresick, right halfback[14][5]
- John Benedict, guard
- Jerry Castle, fullback
- Doc Dolan, left halfback[5]
- Walter Dziedzic, tackle[14][5]
- Pat Gorman, right halfback
- John Heller, tackle[3][5]
- Roger Ilstrup, T-quarterback
- Earl Mergens, substitute end
- Bernie Raetz, quarterback[3]
- Dick Sappa, center/guard[3]
- Dick Trafas, end[3]
- Tom Turk, guard and captain, senior, 175 pounds[14][5]
- Jerry Wright, fullback[5]
References
edit- ^ "1956 - Saint Thomas (MN)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ "Saint Thomas (MN) Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Ray Canton (November 4, 1956). "Toms, Macs, Concordia Place Three Each on All-Star Team". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. p. S7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Toms Bomb Auggies 34-12 in Opener". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. September 22, 1956. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g Ray Canton (September 28, 1956). "Aggressive Toms Face Macalestr Challenge". Minneapolis Tribune. p. 3S – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ray Canton (September 29, 1956). "Raetz' Passes Rally St. Thomas to 12-7 Win Over Macalester". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. p. S3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Toms Tumble Duluth 34-14". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. October 7, 1956. p. Sports 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Raetz Rallies Tommies to Beat Cobbers 18-13". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. October 14, 1956. p. S5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tommies Line Play Blanks Gusties 14-0: St. Thomas Holds First". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. October 20, 1956. p. 1S – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "St. Thomas Wins 33-6 to Cinch State Title Tie". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. October 27, 1956. pp. 1S, 2S – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Toms Topple St. John's". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. November 4, 1956. p. 6S – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Toms Win 34-0, Finish Unbeaten: Raetz Passes Beat Loras". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. November 12, 1956. p. 2S – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Unbeaten Toms Roll Back Years". The Minneapolis Star. November 12, 1958. p. 17B – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Ray Canton (October 23, 1956). "Persistence Gets Toms' Captain Grid Career -- and Wife". Minneapolis Tribune. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.