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What: “Undefeated, Untied, and Uninvited”

Author: Kristine Setting Clark

Publisher: Griffin Publishing Group (Irvine)

Price: $21.95

The story of the 1951 University of San Francisco football team is certainly worth documenting. And that’s what Kristine Setting Clark, who got a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a doctorate from the school, has done in this 184-page hardcover book.

The 1951 Dons had 10 future NFL players, five future Pro Bowlers and three future members of the NFL Hall of Fame--a record for one college team. The Hall of Famers were Ollie Matson, Bob St. Clair and Gino Marchetti. And the team publicist was Pete Rozelle, a 1950 USF graduate.

This team is also noteworthy because of one of the greatest snubs in college football history. Because the Dons had two black players--Matson and halfback Burt Toler, who went on to become the NFL’s first black official--they were not invited to play in a bowl game. Actually, the Orange Bowl invited the team, but only if Matson and Toler didn’t play.

After the 1951 season, USF dropped football because the school could no longer afford to field a team.

Clark was inspired to compile this book three years ago after seeing a 1991 NFL Films documentary in which NFL Films President Steve Sabol called the Dons the “most magnificent 11 that no one had ever heard of.”

Clark relies too heavily on reprinted newspaper clippings to tell the story, but the book is well-researched and gets off to a good start with forewords by Marchetti, Matson, St. Clair and Toler. (Toler didn’t play in the NFL because of a career-ending knee injury suffered in the 1952 College All-Star game.)