1956 St. Thomas Tommies football team

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
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

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. 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. 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. Ray Canton (October 23, 1956). "Persistence Gets Toms' Captain Grid Career -- and Wife". Minneapolis Tribune. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
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