Santa Clara Broncos football

The Santa Clara Broncos football program was the intercollegiate American football team for Santa Clara University located in Santa Clara, California. Santa Clara played its first football game against St. Mary's College in San Francisco in 1896. Santa Clara compiled an all-time record of .580.

The team was known as ‘The S.C.U. Elevens’ from 1896 to 1907, The football program went on hiatus from 1908 to 1918. The football program returned as the Santa Clara "Missionites" in 1919, and were newly named the ‘Broncos’ in 1923.

After the 1992 season, the Santa Clara football program was discontinued due to new NCAA regulations which mandated all sports be played at the same level at each university, as well as due to the high cost of funding football. Santa Clara had fielded all Division I teams with the exception of the Division II football team, and elected not to field a team at the Division I-AA level.

Santa Clara played in three major bowl games and won all three: 1937 Sugar Bowl, 1938 Sugar Bowl, and 1950 Orange Bowl.

Conference affiliations

 * 1896–1952, 1959–1981, Independent
 * 1973–81, Division II Independent
 * 1982–91, Western Football Conference
 * 1992, Division II Independent

NCAA Division II
The Broncos made one appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs. They had a combined record of 1–1.

AP Poll Rankings

 * 1937 Final Poll No. 6
 * 1938 Final Poll No. 9

St. Mary’s
'The Little Big Game' was played annually between the 2 rival Catholic institutions located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The name was reference to 'The Big Game' rivalry between larger Bay Area universities, Stanford and Berkeley.

San Francisco
Rivalry with a 3rd San Francisco Bay Area Jesuit Institution.

Nello Falaschi
Quarterback, Nello "Flash" Falaschi led the Broncos to a 21–14 upset over LSU in the 1937 Sugar Bowl. Little Santa Clara was a decided underdog going against Louisiana State.

Buck Shaw
Buck Shaw's teams compiled a record of 47–10–4, including a span of 16 consecutive wins. The 1937 Santa Clara team allowed only nine points over a nine-game campaign. Highlighting Shaw's tenure at the Bronco helm were a pair of Sugar Bowl victories over heavily-favored Louisiana State, 21–14, in 1937, and 6–0, in 1938.

Tom Fears
Tom Fears was a two-way end who played for Santa Clara in 1941–1942. While with the 7–2 1942 Santa Clara Broncos football team, Fears helped Santa Clara defeat Utah and three Pacific Coast Conference schools in a row in Stanford, Cal and Oregon State. During that 1942 season Fears won All-Pacific Coast honors before joining the Air Force in World War II.

Len Casanova
Leonard Casanova was a skilled Punter for Santa Clara in 1923. Standing on his own one-yard line, he punted a ball that went out of bounds on rival St. Mary's one yard line. Total distance, 98 yards. His career as head coach began in 1946 and covered four years at Santa Clara, one at Pittsburgh, 16 at Oregon. His 1949 Santa Clara Broncos football team team beat Bear Bryant's Kentucky in the 1950 Orange Bowl.

Brent Jones
Brent Jones helped the Broncos to two Western Football Conference championships and was named to the all-conference team three times.

Pro Football Hall of Fame
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Fears was the son of a Mexican mother, Carmen Valdés, and an American father, mining engineer Charles William Fears. Selected as a defensive back by the Los Angeles Rams in the eleventh round (103rd overall) of the 1945 NFL Draft, he is distinguished as being the first Mexican-born player to be drafted into the National Football League. Fears quickly made his mark as a wide receiver, while also displaying his versatility by playing on defense. During his first three seasons at the professional level, he led all NFL receivers in catches, and broke the league's single-season record with 77 catches in 1949.

National awards

 * Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
 * Len Casanova (1990)


 * Bart Starr Award
 * Brent Jones (1998)


 * Division II Football Team of the Quarter Century (1975–2000)
 * Brent Jones

Conference awards

 * Western Football Conference Coach of the Year
 * Terry Malley (1985)


 * Western Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year
 * Brent Jones (1985)

All Americans

 * Francis "Hands" Slavich, DE- 1932 (AP-1st Team, UP-1st Team, INS-3rd Team)
 * Frank Sobrero, HB- 1933 (UP-2nd Team)
 * Paglia, FB- 1933 (UP-2nd Team)
 * Nello Falaschi, Quarterback- 1936 (INS-1st Team, AA-1st Team, AAB-1st Team) (College Football HOF)
 * Nello Falaschi, Half Back- 1936 (WC-1st Team, AP-3rd Team) (College Football HOF)
 * Phil Dougherty, G 1937 (INS-1st Team)
 * Phil Dougherty, C 1937 (CP-3rd Team)
 * Alvord Wolff, Tackle- 1937 (NEA-3rd Team)
 * Alvord Wolff, Tackle- 1938 Consensus 1st Team (AP-1st, UP-1st, NEA-1st, 1ns-1st, NW-1st, SN-1st, PW-1st, ID-2nd)
 * '''John Schiechl, C- 1939 Consensus 1st Team (AAB-1st, AP-1st, CO-1st, CP-1st, NEA-1st, WC-1st, UP-2nd, NYS-2nd, INS-2nd)
 * Bill Anahu, DE- 1939 (INS-2nd Team)
 * Alyn Beals, DE- 1941 (NEA-3rd Team)
 * Alyn Beals, DE- 1942 (CP-2nd Team)
 * Jesse Freitas, QB- 1942 (AP-3rd Team)
 * Vern Sterling, G- 1948 (AP-3rd Team, FWAA-3rd)
 * Vern Sterling, G 1949 (FWAA-3rd Team, PLAY-1st)
 * Vern Sterling, C 1949 (AP-3rd Team)
 * Dan Pastorini, Quarterback- 1970 (1st/2nd Little All American)
 * Brent Jones, TE/WR -1985 (AP-1st Team) (College Football HOF)

Notable alumni

 * Bryan Barker
 * Dick Bassi
 * Alyn Beals
 * Mike Carey
 * Ken Casanega
 * Len Casanova
 * Steve Cisowski
 * Doug Cosbie
 * Pete Davis
 * Phil Dougherty
 * Nello Falaschi
 * Dan Farrell
 * Eddie Forrest
 * Jesse Freitas
 * Visco Grgich
 * Hall Haynes
 * Jerry Hennessy
 * John Hock
 * Gary Hoffman
 * Martin Jenkins
 * Brent Jones
 * Mike Kellogg
 * Pat Malley
 * Gern Nagler
 * Mike Nott
 * Dan Pastorini
 * John Schiechl
 * Alvord Wolff
 * Ellery Williams