Ex-Gator starred for Eagles Aug 23, 2008
He was traded to the Detroit Lions after the 1962 season and was traded the next year, along with former USF star Ollie Matson, to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was with the Eagles that Mr. Peters became a star, getting named to the Pro Bowl three times during his six seasons in Philadelphia. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
USF Dons Olympic Highlights Aug 8, 2008
USF legend and NFL Hall-of-Famer Ollie Matson is the only athlete with more than one Olympic medal, when he doubled at the 1952 games in Helsinki, Finland ... Ollie Matson, Football/Track and Field (USF: 1949-1952) - Won silver medal in 4 x 400 relay for the U.S.1952 - Won bronze medal in 440 run for the U.S.1952 - Set NCAA record for rushing 3,166 yards as starter - Senior year achieved record of 1,566 yards and 21 touchdowns - Led 1951 team to first undefeated season, named All-American -... (Usfdons.com)
Incoming Don Haley Nemra to Represent the Marshall Islands in the Olympic Games Jul 24, 2008
The incoming freshman is the school's second Olympian to compete in track and field and first since USF Legend of the Hilltop Ollie Matson won silver in the 4x400 relay and a bronze in the 440 in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Features on Nemra. (Usfdons.com)
Fox Sports Set to Premier "Greatest Sports Stories" Episode on the 1951 USF Dons May 29, 2008
Ollie Matson and the Dons featured on Fox Sports ... They received a Bowl bid but with one stipulation: they had to play without their African-American teammates, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, as college football was not fully racially integrated until the 1970's. (Usfdons.com)
Fox Sports Net Ready to Unveil New 1951 USF Dons Football Documentary Feb 5, 2008
Ollie Matson and the 1951 Dons the subject of a new FSN documentary. Fox Sports Net Ready to Unveil New 1951 USF Dons Football Documentary. (Usfdons.com)
USF Dons 1951 Football Team to be Honored at Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Dec 29, 2007
Ed Brown, Ollie Matson and Bob St. Clair strike a pose ... They received a Bowl bid but with one stipulation: they had to play without their African-American teammates, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, as college football was not fully racially integrated until the 1970's ... -- Ollie Matson: One of the African-American players, who later went on to become an NFL Hall of Famer -- Burl Toler: One of the African-American players; suffered career-ending injuries in the 1952 College All-Star Game but... (Usfdons.com)
Fiesta Bowl to honor team spirit of 1951 San Francisco Dons Dec 28, 2007
They received a bowl bid but with one stipulation: They had to play without their African-American teammates, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, as college football was not fully racially integrated until the 1970s. The team declined the bid and as a result of financial losses, the university had to drop its football program. (Phoenix Business Journal, AZ)
BASHOF Class of 2008 Dec 16, 2007
" Davis tapped Guy in the first round in 1973, a bold move that left Guy nervous on his first day of training camp. But he quickly became acclimated, averaging more than 40 yards per punt in all but one of his 14 NFL seasons. Guy played on all three Raiders teams to win the Super Bowl (1976, '80 and '83 seasons). -- Toler's sporting history is rich and varied. He played linebacker on the USF squad that went 9-0 in '51 but didn't appear in a bowl game because it had two African American players... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Finley has put his stamp on Washington football Nov 20, 2007
Twins Anthony and Chris Marshall - relatives of Ollie Matson, who was a star at Washington and USF before playing in the NFL - possess great football instincts on both sides of the ball. Junior Granville Taylor can grind out yards and play tough defense from his linebacker position. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Comparing Apples to Oranges Nov 3, 2007
Without so much as batting an eye, I could easily include many other under-publicized and underexposed pre-expansion stars like baseball's pitcher and current U.S. Senator Jim Bunning, boxing champion Bobby Foster, golf's Gary Player, soccer star George Best and football great Ollie Matson to this seemingly endless list. Though their numbers pale in comparison to their modern-day counterparts, each of these athletes -- even without the benefit of performance enhancing potions, personal trainers,... (BearReport.com)
Former Bears, USF quarterback Ed Brown dies Aug 9, 2007
He earned the nickname "All-Around Brown" while playing quarterback, kicker and punter for a team that included Pro Football Hall of Famers Gino Marchetti, Ollie Matson and Bob St. Clair. The Dons then received praise for refusing to drop their two black players in order to receive a bowl bid, as was required by most major bowl games at the time. (ESPN -- College Football News)
ED BROWN: 1928-2007Quarterback led undefeated Dons Aug 8, 2007
ED BROWN: 1928-2007 / Quarterback led undefeated Dons (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Hall expected to help Rams with kickoff, punt returns Jul 30, 2007
Hall also needs one more kickoff return for a touchdown to break the record of six he shares with Ollie Matson, Gale Sayers, Travis Williams and Mel Gray. "It's a lot harder to get a kick return to the house than it is a punt return," Hall said. (Mattoon Journal-Gazette, IL)
Gatlin may not keep up in pro football (Dan Daly) May 8, 2007
(The same goes for Pro Football Hall of Famer Ollie Matson, the '52 bronze medalist in the 400 meters. Matson didn't just decide, on a lark, to give the NFL a crack after hanging up his track spikes; he'd been an All-American halfback at the University of San Francisco. (Washington Times, DC)
Rams boost kick-return game, deal for Chiefs' Hall Apr 26, 2007
"The Rams have struggled for years on kick returns. Last season, St. Louis averaged 7.8 yards per punt return. Only five teams were worse. The Rams were 26th in kickoff returns, averaging 21.3 yards.The 28-year-old Hall has returned 11 kickoffs and punts for touchdowns in his seven-year career, including four (two kickoffs, two punts) in 2003. holds the record with 14 kick-return touchdowns, followed by with 12.Hall also needs one more kickoff return for a touchdown to break the record of six he... (ESPN -- Football)
Rams acquire Dante Hall from Chiefs Apr 26, 2007
Hall also needs one more kickoff return for a touchdown to break the record of six he shares with Ollie Matson, Gale Sayers, Travis Williams and Mel Gray. Hall was the NFL's top returner from 2002-2004. (News & Observer -- Sports)
Europass: Digging up the roots Apr 5, 2007
That team included Gino Marchetti, Ollie Matson and Bob St. Clair, all of whom are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A knee injury kept Toler out of the NFL.. (NFL.com)
CSTV XXL Offers Online Stream of Documentary on Undefeated USF 1951 Football Team Feb 14, 2007
The 1951 team featured Hall of Fame players Ollie Matson, Gino Marchetti and Bob St. Clair on the field, and former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle as its public relations director. The show will re-air Friday, February 16 at 10:30 p.m. ET.. (Usfdons.com)
Arnoldy's Dons fought racism Jan 2, 2007
"We were invited to play in the Orange Bowl under the reservation that we leave our two black players at home. One was Ollie Matson and the other was Burl Toler," recalled Marysville's Richard Arnoldy, a freshman on that Dons team ... The Marysville native understands most football fans have heard about the great Ollie Matson, a Hall of Fame running back. (Appeal Democrat, CA)
1951 Dons Were Undefeated, Yet Uninvited Jan 1, 2007
" The '51 Dons, the only college football team to produce three NFL Hall of Famers - Bob St. Clair, Gino Marchetti and Ollie Matson - finished 9-0 and a forgotten 14th in the final Associated Press poll. History mostly remembers them as "Undefeated, Untied and Uninvited," the title of a book written in 2002 about the Dons' perfect season ending so imperfectly, snubbed as a finalist for the Orange Bowl and a pair of other Southern-based bowls - the Sugar and Gator - for refusing to leave their... (Tampa Bay Online, FL -- Sports)
St. Pete's Davis Ready To Move On Dec 28, 2006
The 1951 Dons finished undefeated but were not invited to a bowl game because they refused to leave their two black players, Burl Toler and Ollie Matson, home. "It's better than nothing, of course," Toler said of finally being invited to a bowl game. (Tampa Bay Online, FL -- Sports)
Foes Sharing Same Sideline Dec 26, 2006
" HISTORIC GESTURE: Here in the land of the Golden Gate Bridge, USF stands for the University of San Francisco, not South Florida like in Tampa. Before Wednesday's kickoff at the Emerald Bowl, the 1951 Dons will be honored for making a strong stand. USF went undefeated that season and was invited to the Orange Bowl under one condition: that the team didn't bring its two black players, Burl Toler and Ollie Matson, to Miami. With future NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle working as the team's... (Tampa Bay Online, FL -- Sports)
NOTEBOOKBowl director expects the game to be sold out Dec 24, 2006
" Bowden said he would have accepted the Alabama job if it had been offered to him in 1986, but when he was passed over that time and approached about the job several years later, he turned down the job. Briefly: Both teams visited Alcatraz on Saturday afternoon and will resume practice the next two days. UCLA is practicing at City College of San Francisco, and Florida State is working out at Laney College. ... This is the first time a Pac-10 team is playing in the Emerald Bowl, which is part of... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
1951 USF Football Team to be Honored at Emerald Bowl in San Francisco on December 27th Dec 22, 2006
The 1951 team, often called the best in the history of college football for its stellar players including Ollie Matson, Gino Marchetti, and Bob St. Clair, never received an invitation to a bowl game after its undefeated season. When it was suggested the team bow to segregationist influence and drop its African American players in order to receive a bid, it refused. (Usfdons.com)
Turkey Day Game Star Nov 23, 2006
Not on list: Five of the biggest football names in San Francisco history -- NFL Hall of Famers Ollie Matson (Washington), Dan Fouts (St. Ignatius) and O.J. Simpson (Galileo) -- along with Al Cowlings (Galileo) and Mike Holmgren (Lincoln), never played in the Turkey Day Game. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
USF Legend Burl Toler Honored by San Francisco Unified School District Oct 20, 2006
(San Francisco) - USF Legend of the Hilltop and Hall-of-Famer Burl Toler will be honored for his long association with the San Francisco Unified School District when Benjamin Franklin Middle School will be renamed the "Burl Toler Campus. The ceremony will be held Sunday, October 22 from 11:00 AM to noon at Benjamin Franklin Middle School at 1430 Scott Street. For more information, please contact Cheryl at (415) 355-7323 to RSVP. Toler played prep football in the East Bay at McClymonds High... (Usfdons.com)
Dante Hall takes mom’s advice and gets his 11th TD return Oct 5, 2006
With one more kickoff return, Hall will break the NFL record of six he now shares with Ollie Matson, Gale Sayers, Travis Williams and Mel Gray. Altogether, he needs two more kick returns to tie Brian Mitchell s NFL record of 13. (Camdenton Lake Sun Leader, MO)
AAA football dying from lack of players, fields Sep 26, 2006
"It's hard to believe in a city that produced O.J. (Simpson), Ollie Matson and Dan Fouts, a place with such a long, rich football tradition, that the interest in the game at our level is withering away," Oster said. Balboa coach Keith Minor said six of the eight AAA teams have less than 25 players. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Bigger they are, harder they fall Sep 4, 2006
Mel Gray, Ollie Matson, Gale Sayers and Travis Williams all returned six kickoffs for touchdowns in their NFL careers. So has this returner who plays in the AFC West and who will set a record with his seventh. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Sports)
RAIDERS NOTEBOOKShell much happier with players' effort Aug 19, 2006
" On Friday, Shell downplayed the dismissal, saying -- with a wry smile -- he was just giving his players a little extra time off. Quarterback Aaron Brooks said the players met Thursday night. "We all talked about it and came out for a better time today," Brooks said, blaming Thursday's poor performance on mental and physical fatigue. Brooks went so far as to apologize to beat writers on his way off the field Thursday. Thursday was the last scheduled two-a-day practices. Friday's single practice... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Coolness In The Desert Aug 13, 2006
It will wear off if they don't play well," said Dave Stanton's mother, Marta, who wore a vintage Jake Plummer Cardinal jersey. The optimism generated by the new stadium is unprecedented in the long and not particularly glorious history of the Cardinals, who were formed as a football club in 1898 and became an NFL charter member in 1920. The vagabond franchise left Chicago for St. Louis in 1960 and moved to the desert in 1988. The Cardinals have enjoyed little success through the decades, but the... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Shorter camp may challenge preparation Jul 31, 2006
They are former owner Charles W. Bidwill Sr., quarterback and coach Jimmy Conzelman; halfback and quarterback John "Paddy" Driscoll, running back/defensive back Marshall Goldberg, defensive back Dick "Night Train" Lane, running back Ollie Matson, running back Ernie Nevers and halfback/quarterback Charley Trippi. On Sept. 10 at halftime of the San Francisco game, Hall of Famer Larry Wilson, a former safety, will be placed in the ring of honor. (AZCentral -- Sports)
Proud Dons Of Yesteryear May 21, 2006
The other, Ollie Matson, the powerful fullback who was the leading college rusher in the country in 1951 and won two medals in the 1952 Olympics, is in an assisted-care facility in Los Angeles. That great season was long ago, and age has taken its toll -- some of the men have died, some of the other stars were not well enough to make the trip to San Francisco. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Ten USF players honored for anti-segregation stand May 20, 2006
" The Dons had compiled a 9-0 record and were considered a lock to make the Orange Bowl when news reports surfaced that the Gator, Sugar and Orange bowls, all played in the South, had decided to ban teams with black players. The USF coaching staff asked the team whether they would be willing to leave behind their two black players -- Burl Toler and Ollie Matson -- to improve their chances of securing a slot. The team refused. "It was automatic," Thomas said. "We didn't take a vote. It wasn't... (ESPN -- College Football)
Players honored for refusing to leave black teammates behind May 20, 2006
The USF coaching staff asked the team whether they would be willing to leave behind their two black players - Burl Toler and Ollie Matson - to improve their chances of securing a slot. The team disbelievingly refused. (Fresno Bee -- State)
Read more... May 13, 2006
Nine of its starting players were drafted into the National Football League, five went on to play in the NFL Pro Bowl, and three -- Ollie Matson, Gino Marchetti and Bob St. Clair -- were inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team's sports information director, Pete Rozelle, later became commissioner of the NFL, and was also inducted into the Hall of Fame. (PNN Online)
Football question of the day Jan 10, 2006
I remember that in the early 60's the LA Rams traded their offensive line to Baltimore for Ollie Matson, the NFL premier running back. Matson tanked and so did the Rams. (Blawg)
