While the summer session was yet in its infancy, Mr. James J. Needles, Director of Athletcs, shocked followers of the Dons by announcing that the University of San Francisco had dropped intercollegiate football and would not field a team in the fall. Reasons for the first lapse in football on the hilltop since its inception more than twenty-five years ago were many. Firstly, last year's team had left only five men on the hilltop. These were Tate Landry the 230-pound Louisiana tackle, John "Butch" Parker, a 200 lbs. All-West tackle from Arizona who was the lone Don in the East-West game and was a senior, Don Campbell freshman halfback from Ohio, Johnny Orsini, pint-sized quarterback, going into his Sophomore year, and Wally Wellbrinck giant tackle from San Francisco. The remainder of a team would have had to be drawn from the student body, but when only 17 reported to official practice in the fall, the idea was abandoned. Needles himself, especially after the resignation of Head Coach Al Tassi, was unwilling to see a light inexperienced group badly beaten by bigger more rugged service teams. Nevertheless the call was sounded and 17 members of the student body came out to supplement the five veterans. Among these 17 were John Richardson All-City End from St. Ignatius High, Gaylord Quandt from Lowell High, who was also an All-City man, Dan Sullivan a rugged guard at St. Ignatius, Pete Carroll a three-letter man from Eureka High, Gene Marty, Ken Sullivan, Frank Bouey, Dan McGill, Bob Vance, and a number of others, the majority of whom were inexperienced. After a number of practices, this 1944 edition of the Dons was forced to give up the hopes that they entertained of ever playing a game. Since then, Tate Landry has left the University and is playing professional football with the San Francisco team. There seems to be little or no hope for a revival of football in 1945 if the war continues. The local papers have stated time and again that Head Coach Al Tassi will not return to USF after the war. Those who take stock in this rumor are placing the names of St. Ignatius' wonder coach Alex Schwarz, as well as Stockton's Larry Siemering on the list of post-war possibilities (TheFoghorn).
