2008 Woodie Awards
Famed football coach "Slip" Madigan honored as part of exhibit at Oakland
Sean Kent
Issue date: 10/10/06 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
To most current students, the name Madigan means nothing more than a gymnasium in a distant corner of the Saint Mary's campus. However it is the man, Edward "Slip" Madigan, who is being honored by the Oakland Museum of California in their current exhibit, "Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers."
The magnitude of some of Madigan's accomplishments is lost on the current student body, considering there are no longer any Marauding Moragans foaotball teams.
But if you've ever spent some time in Dryden Hall and caught yourself looking at the black-and-white pictures that adorn its walls, you've probably seen some of Madigan's well publicized exploits.
In fact, it was the coach's outgoing personality and dual role as a promoter that helped make all of the Gaels' successes known throughout the country.
Before "Slip" Madigan made his debut as Saint Mary's head football coach in 1921, the lowly Gaels finished their 1920 season with a 126-0 loss to the nearby Cal Golden Bears. Obviously looking for a change of pace, the Saint Mary's Athletic Department hired the Notre Dame alumnus and Knute Rockne disciple with the simple idea of turning the Gaels into a winning team.
Madigan would do more than that during his tenure, putting "the little Catholic school from Moraga," as Saint Mary's was often referred to, on the national athletic map. The museum's exhibit focuses not only on Madigan's on-the-field statistics, but also on the way he elevated Bay Area athletics to achieve national prominence.
Madigan transformed the virtually unknown Saint Mary's squad into such a perennial powerhouse that many large, prominent California schools started to opt not to play them.
This is understandable considering that "little" Saint Mary's beat potent USC in 1924 and took down Cal in 1926, just five years after being obliterated by the Bears. However, wins over UCLA and Oregon and a tie with Cal in 1928 propelled the Gaels to a ninth place national ranking.
The magnitude of some of Madigan's accomplishments is lost on the current student body, considering there are no longer any Marauding Moragans foaotball teams.
But if you've ever spent some time in Dryden Hall and caught yourself looking at the black-and-white pictures that adorn its walls, you've probably seen some of Madigan's well publicized exploits.
In fact, it was the coach's outgoing personality and dual role as a promoter that helped make all of the Gaels' successes known throughout the country.
Before "Slip" Madigan made his debut as Saint Mary's head football coach in 1921, the lowly Gaels finished their 1920 season with a 126-0 loss to the nearby Cal Golden Bears. Obviously looking for a change of pace, the Saint Mary's Athletic Department hired the Notre Dame alumnus and Knute Rockne disciple with the simple idea of turning the Gaels into a winning team.
Madigan would do more than that during his tenure, putting "the little Catholic school from Moraga," as Saint Mary's was often referred to, on the national athletic map. The museum's exhibit focuses not only on Madigan's on-the-field statistics, but also on the way he elevated Bay Area athletics to achieve national prominence.
Madigan transformed the virtually unknown Saint Mary's squad into such a perennial powerhouse that many large, prominent California schools started to opt not to play them.
This is understandable considering that "little" Saint Mary's beat potent USC in 1924 and took down Cal in 1926, just five years after being obliterated by the Bears. However, wins over UCLA and Oregon and a tie with Cal in 1928 propelled the Gaels to a ninth place national ranking.