Saint Anselm College Football
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The History of Saint Anselm College Football

After 58 years, the excitement of football returned to Saint Anselm College in 1999.  The new team began play as a member of the NCAA Division II Eastern Football Conference, the largest non-scholarship Division II football conference in the nation. The Hawks put together a solid and respectable first season, garnering a 4-5 overall record and a 4-4 mark in EFC play.

The history of Saint Anselm Football is actually a longer and more illustrious one that many may think. In the late 1930s, football on the Hilltop was very popular in the community, drawing thousands for each home game played in Manchester. Saint Anselm gained national prominence with success against the likes of Boston College, Holy Cross, New Hampshire and Catholic University.

Organized football was played at Saint Anselm as far back as 1894, just five years after the founding of the college in 1889. That first season the Blue & White, as they were known, defeated the Boston College team twice, 22-0 and 10-0.

Throughout the 1890s and into the first decade of the new century, Saint Anselm regularly played the likes of New Hampshire University (later U.N.H.), Lowell Textile as well as a number of area academies and prep schools.

In 1932, Saint Anselm gained recognition among the premier varsity programs in the Eastern region. The squad went a perfect 6-0 that year, including a 7-6 victory over powerful Holy Cross that left many stunned, though pleasantly surprised. It would be a harbinger of things to come.

The Saint Anselm football team, 1894

In 1933, now known as the Hawks, the team finished 4-2 against what would become traditional opponents such as Northeastern, Massachusetts State (later U.Mass-Amherst) and Brooklyn College. Other rivalries would develop through the late thirties with Providence, Springfield, Ithaca, Norwich and on occasion, Middlebury College. The team would also entertain far away guests such as Western Maryland, Saint Mary's of Texas and the University of Scranton.

The heyday of Hawk football was the period from 1936-1940, when the team notched five straight winning seasons including undefeated campaigns in 1936 and 1938. A 39-13 upset over bowl-bound Catholic University played at Fenway Park made front page news in the Boston Globe, while scoreless ties against Holy Cross in 1936, and Boston College in 1938, drew widespread acclaim. Saint Anselm had established itself as a New England small college football power.

In the early 1930s, the team played on campus at the 2,000 seat Alumni Field built by college workers, students and monks. The Hawks later moved to Manchester, playing many home games at Textile Field (later Gill Stadium) and played in the state's first nighttime match.

The Hawks practice in 1938

Popular throughout Manchester and southern New Hampshire and stocked with local talent, Saint Anselm football was widely followed by the surrounding communities. There even was a train known as the "Hawk Express" that carried fans from Manchester to Worcester for Saint Anselm games against Holy Cross.

Further, the night before the last home game each year, a bonfire and parade down Manchester's Elm Street honored local gridsters for their efforts that season.

While numerous standout players represented the Hawks, no player's exploits have lived on in memory as those of the great Ray McLean, a running back who went on to enjoy a successful National Football League career with the Chicago Bears and coaching stints with the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers.

Ever since the announcement that football will return to the Hilltop, students, alumni and the community have been caught up in growing anticipation. That interest grew as Saint Anselm began a detailed examination of its football past, producing an exhibit on the history of football at Saint Anselm which was presented both at the Manchester Historic Association and the Saint Anselm Chapel Arts Center. The exhibit drew large numbers of visitors, including most of the remaining members of the last Saint Anselm football teams.

The exhibit, entitled "Rallying 'Round the Hilltop: A History of Saint Anselm College Football," ran for eight weeks in Manchester, drawing strong, enthusiastic support before moving to the college campus.

The exhibit featured rare items, from original helmets and uniforms to game day programs and photos, all paying tribute to a rich and storied history of football at Saint Anselm. The exhibition will be on view once again in 1999, in time for the college's first varsity season.

These pages have been created and maintained by Ken Belbin '95, Director of Sports Information
and Andrew Bennett '96, Public Relations - Web Site Designer