Bob St. Clair, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who was a standout on USF's famed "undefeated, untied and uninvited" 1951 football team, passed away on April 20. He was 84 years old.
"On behalf of the entire USF community, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the St. Clair family on the passing of one of the greatest Dons of all-time," said USF Director of Athletics
Scott Sidwell. "Bob was a great San Franciscan who along with his '51 Dons' teammates, embodied the character and values of our University by taking a courageous stand against racism in the early 50s. He will be greatly missed."
A native San Franciscan, Mr. St. Clair holds the distinction of playing virtually his entire career in the same city and stadium. After attending San Francisco's Polytechnic High School, Mr. St. Clair enrolled at USF and was one of eight future NFL players on the Dons 1951 undefeated football team whose supreme triumph came in choosing not to accept an invitation to a bowl game under the condition the team played without its two African-American players, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler.
In 2005, the University of San Francisco awarded an honorary doctorate degree to the members of the 1951 football team whose dramatic stand against racism stands as perhaps the single greatest symbolic victories in the history of college football.
After USF discontinued football following the 1951 season, Mr. St. Clair finished his collegiate career at the University of Tulsa. He was drafted in the third round (32nd overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in 1953 and played his entire professional career in San Francisco until his retirement prior to the 1964 season. A member of the NFL's All-Decade team of the 1950s, Mr. St. Clair earned first or second team All-NFL honors nine times and was selected to play in five Pro Bowls. A second Achilles tendon injury forced him to retire prior to the 1964 season. He was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 and his familiar number 79 has been retired by the 49ers.
While his playing career was winding down, Mr. St. Clair served as the mayor of Daly City from 1961-62 and later served as San Mateo County supervisor from 1966-74. For many years, he owned a liquor store at 24th and Sanchez in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, which still bares his name.
In 2001, the City of San Francisco renamed the playing field at Kezar Stadium "Bob St. Clair Field" as a tribute to a man who played 17 seasons and 189 home games at the stadium located in Golden Gate Park.
Born in San Francisco on February 18, 1931, Mr. St. Clair was a part of USF's inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 1959. He was also inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF) in 1991 and the West Coast Conference's Hall of Honor in 2010.
Services are pending.
