The 1938 Saint Mary's Gaels football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a private Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate ...

during the 1938 college football season. In their 18th season under head coach

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, the Gaels compiled a record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 106 to 41. The season ended in January with a victory over

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

in the Cotton Bowl, led by sophomore back Mike Klotovich. The Gaels were unranked in the

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for the entire season; the final poll was released in early December. They did not win a game on Saturday all season; all of the regular season wins were played on Sunday and the two losses were road games.

Schedule

* Five games were played on Sunday (Gonzaga, Loyola, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Clara)

Season overview

At California

On September 24, the Gaels opened their 1938 season with a close 12–7 loss to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

before a crowd of 50,000 in

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. The preceding year's Cal team were undefeated and ended second-ranked in the final AP poll. The Gaels dominated the game for three quarters and led at the start of the fourth quarter.

Gonzaga

On Sunday, October 2, the Gaels defeated Gonzaga at

Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It is the former home of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders (first AFL s ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. St. Mary's touchdowns were scored by Mike Klotovich, Ed Heffernan, and Mike Pierrie.

At Loyola

On Sunday, October 9, the Gaels defeated the Loyola Lions at the

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. Fullback Herb Smith scored the only touchdown.

Portland

On Sunday, October 16, the Gaels defeated Portland at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

Vs. San Francisco

On Sunday, October 23, the Gaels defeated the

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before 20,000 in the rain at Kezar. San Francisco took a lead into the fourth quarter, but the Gaels' scored two touchdowns, first on a pass from Klotovich to Aronson and later on a 53-yard run by Klotovich.

At Fordham

The Gaels' November 5 game against tenth-ranked Fordham drew 44,274 to the Polo Grounds in

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. A Fordham field goal in the second quarter counted for the game's only points, as Fordham defeated St. Mary's

Vs. Santa Clara

Eight days after losing a close game to Fordham, the Gaels upset previously undefeated Santa Clara before 60,000 at Kezar in San Francisco. It ended Santa Clara's winning streak, dating back to the 1936 season. Fullback Herb Smith scored the Gaels' touchdown.

Cotton Bowl

After the regular season, the Gaels were invited to play unbeaten and #11-ranked

in the Cotton Bowl in

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on January 2, 1939. The Gaels took a lead into the fourth quarter and held on to defeat the Red Raiders before 40,000. St. Mary's touchdowns were scored by Ed Heffernan and Michael Klotovich and by Whitey Smith on an interception return for a touchdown.

References

{{Saint Mary's Gaels football navbox Saint Mary's Saint Mary's Gaels football seasons Cotton Bowl Classic champion seasons

Saint Mary's Gaels football : ''For information on all Saint Mary's College of California sports, see Saint Mary's Gaels'' The Saint Mary's Gaels football program was the intercollegiate American football team for Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. ...