Hall of Fame
Receiver/Halfback/End
USF Career Years: 1948-1952
Hometown: San Francisco
High School: Polytechnic High School
Merrill Peacock was born on April 24, 1927 in San Francisco, and he attended Polytechnic High School. He played for their football team as a running back earning All-City Honors with 28 catches for 742 yards (26.5 YPR). He became a record-holder in low hurdles in 1944-1945 and was inducted into the San Francisco Preparatory Hall of Fame. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Following the war, Peacock enrolled at USF where, in 1951, he started as a defensive end alongside Burl Toler and with Pro Football Hall of Famers Ollie Matson, Bob St. Clair, and Gino Marchetti.
Under Head Coach Joe Kuharich, the Dons went undefeated at 9-0 in the 1951 season. With two African-American players on the team, Toler and Ollie Matson, they were not invited to any postseason bowl games. The owner of the Gator Bowl Sam Wolfson had made an agreement with the Orange and Sugar Bowls to omit teams with black players. When the Orange Bowl extended an invitation to them, on the condition that the two African-American players be excluded, the team unanimously declined and from then on they were called the “undefeated, untied, and uninvited.” “Nobody on that team ever said that they regretted the decision that we had made," Marchetti said to ESPN. "It was 100 percent in favor of not playing, so we didn't go. I went home and went back to work.” Although the Dons had been denied a bowl berth, the entire team was recognized at the 2008 Fiesta Bowl at long last making an appearance in a bowl game.
Unfortunately without post-season funding, USF was forced to shut down its football program the following year. Attendance at the Kezar Stadium games had declined 80% since the arrival of the 49ers in 1946. The squad featured nine future NFL players, including Pro Football Hall of Fame members Matson, Marchetti, and St.Clair, and five earned Pro Bowl selections at some point in their career. The team’s Sports Information Director, Pete Rozelle, served as NFL Commissioner for 29 years.
Following his years at USF, he joined his Dons’ coach Joe Kuharich, and briefly played with the Chicago Cardinals in 1952. He later became a Bay Area building contractor for thirty years. He was a member of the San Francisco Masonic Lodge.
One of his football opponents from Saint Ignatius College Preparatory, Bob Moore, said of him: “I think he was the greatest halfback ever to come out of San Francisco, and that includes O.J. Simpson. He was one helluva back. We just hated (to play against) him (CT Insider).”
