1956 St. Thomas Tommies football
MIAC champion
ConferenceMinnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Record8–0 (7–0 MIAC)
Head coach
CaptainTom Turk
Home stadiumO'Shaughnessy Stadium
1956 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
St. Thomas (MN) $ 7 –0 –08 –0 –0
Concordia (MN) 5 –2 –06 –3 –0
Macalester 4 –3 –05 –3 –0
Gustavus Adolphus 4 –3 –04 –5 –0
Minnesota–Duluth 3 –4 –03 –4 –0
Saint John's (MN) 2 –4 –13 –4 –1
Augsburg 2 –4 –12 –5 –1
Hamline 0 –7 –01 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion

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]

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

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 21Augsburg
W 34–124,342[4]
September 28Macalester
  • O'Shaughnessy Stadium
  • Saint Paul, MN
W 12–76,347[5][6]
October 6at Minnesota DuluthDuluth, MNW 34–14[7]
October 13at Concordia (MN)Moorhead, MNW 18–13[8]
October 19Gustavus Adolphus
  • O'Shaughnessy Stadium
  • Saint Paul, MN
W 14–09,245[9]
October 26Hamline
  • O'Shaughnessy Stadium
  • Saint Paul, MN
W 33–63,756[10]
November 3at Saint John's (MN)Collegeville, MNW 33–25[11]
November 11at Loras*Dubuque, IAW 34–0[12][13]
  • *Non-conference game

Players

The 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

  1. ↑ "1956 - Saint Thomas (MN)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Saint Thomas (MN) Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Ray Canton (November 4, 1956). "Toms, Macs, Concordia Place Three Each on All-Star Team". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. p. S7 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Toms Bomb Auggies 34-12 in Opener". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. September 22, 1956. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ray Canton (September 28, 1956). "Aggressive Toms Face Macalestr Challenge". Minneapolis Tribune. p. 3S – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Ray Canton (September 29, 1956). "Raetz' Passes Rally St. Thomas to 12-7 Win Over Macalester". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. p. S3 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Toms Tumble Duluth 34-14". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. October 7, 1956. p. Sports 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Raetz Rallies Tommies to Beat Cobbers 18-13". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. October 14, 1956. p. S5 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Tommies Line Play Blanks Gusties 14-0: St. Thomas Holds First". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. October 20, 1956. p. 1S – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "St. Thomas Wins 33-6 to Cinch State Title Tie". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. October 27, 1956. pp. 1S, 2S – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Toms Topple St. John's". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. November 4, 1956. p. 6S – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Toms Win 34-0, Finish Unbeaten: Raetz Passes Beat Loras". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. November 12, 1956. p. 2S – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Unbeaten Toms Roll Back Years". The Minneapolis Star. November 12, 1958. p. 17B – via Newspapers.com.
  14. 1 2 3 Ray Canton (October 23, 1956). "Persistence Gets Toms' Captain Grid Career -- and Wife". Minneapolis Tribune. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
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