The story of the 1951 University of San Francisco Dons football team is prime territory for the inspirational sports movie circuit. So it’s not a big surprise to hear that Walden Media and Mandalay Sports Media currently have a film about the team in development.
Known as the “Undefeated, Untied and Uninvited,” the Dons dominated in 1951, finishing 9-0 thanks to future Pro Football Hall of Famers Gino Marchetti, Bob St. Clair and Ollie Matson. The school was primed to accept their first-ever bowl bid but ran into roadblocks due to the fact that their roster featured two African-American players, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler. While most bowls games refused to invite the Dons, the Orange Bowl said it would invite the team but only if Matson and Toler did not play. The team refused and did not play in a bowl game. Unfortunately, without the bowl money, the cash-strapped university was forced to discontinue the football program.
The team was collectively inducted into the USF Hall of Fame in 2009.
ESPN ran a documentary about the team in 2014 during their Black History Month coverage called ’51 Dons.
[Variety]
