A sweater in the St. Joe’s Archives Collection is one of the few memorabilia left from the university’s short-lived football team.
The St. Joe’s football team officially began in 1922 and ended in 1939. According to historical accounts, they were never good, and student interest was low.
The sweater is a gray knit cardigan with two crimson lines across the sleeves. The buttons also have crimson details and a crimson lining, with pockets on each side. An emblem of a football with a large “St. J” inside is embroidered on the cardigan as well as the year of the team’s final season: “39-40.”
The sweater belonged to Joseph E. Monte ’42, a sophomore pursuing his bachelor of science in business in the team’s final season. According to the St. Joe’s Class of 1942 yearbook, he was a member of the team and was known for his athletic ability in football, basketball and intramural sports. He played as a back for the team, which, at the time, could have meant multiple positions on the field, essentially any position that is off the line of scrimmage on offense or defense.
From the start of the program, the team operated at a financial loss. Expensive equipment and low attendance added to the woes. In 1925-26, plans were created and some funds were raised to build a massive 70,000 to 80,000-seat stadium, but those never came to fruition.
Don DiJulia ’67, former athletics director of St. Joe’s and now an officer in university advancement, said there were never any serious discussions to bring back the football team. Every five to 10 years, the topic would come back up, he said, but due to the lack of infrastructure in place, it never came to be.
“We didn’t have locker space, office space, etcetera, so the infrastructure just didn’t lend to making that a comfortable, easy transition,” DiJulia said. “It was never a big deal.”
The legacy of the football team lives on, however, in the St Joe’s mascot, the Hawk.
According to various accounts, the mascot name came about, in part, because of the football team’s famous aerial attack. They threw the ball far more often than most football teams at that time.
None of those balls ever made it to the archives. But Monte’s sweater did.
