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Johnnie-Tommie Football Marks 116 Years of History
The 1901 Saint John’s football team capped its 4-0 season with a 16-6 victory over St. Thomas on Thanksgiving Day. The 87th renewal of the Saint John’s vs. St. Thomas football rivalry will be played Sept. 23 at Target Field in Minneapolis before a crowd guaranteed to smash the NCAA Division III single-game attendance record.
was freshman tackle Ignatius O’Shaughnessy, who according to published reports was expelled in January 1902 for skipping Sunday Vespers and instead attending a keg party in the woods.
The first football meeting between the Johnnies and Tommies – 116 years ago – was a bit more modest.
O’Shaughnessy transferred to St. Thomas and went on to become an oil tycoon who made extensive contributions to the Tommies. Their current football stadium bears his name.
In 1901, the Johnnies capped their first season that included games against collegiate opponents with a 16-6 upset victory over the Tommies on Thanksgiving Day at Lexington Park in St. Paul. “When the news of the victory reached Saint John’s, the campus went wild,” wrote Fr. Dunstan Tucker ’25, SOT ’29, OSB, and Fr. Martin Schirber SOT ’35, OSB, in their 1979 book “Scoreboard: A History of Athletics at Saint John’s University.” Chuck Houska 1902 ran for two touchdowns (they were worth five points back then) and William Kilty 1902 added a touchdown and an extra point for the Johnnies, whose win capped a 4-0 season. Another standout for Saint John’s in the Nov. 28, 1901 game
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Saint John’s leads the all-time series with St. Thomas 51-34-1. But that first victory was enough to prompt a writer in the December 1901 edition of The Record to basically claim Minnesota college football superiority for SJU. “In defeating St. Thomas it holds the ball over all Minneapolis and St. Paul teams,” said The Record article. “Through four hard-fought battles it has carried the Cardinal and Blue to victory, and, still unconquered, is willing again to put on the armor to maintain her championship rights.” If you believe you have items of historical record that might be a good addition to the SJU Archives, contact CSB/SJU Archivist Peggy Landwehr Roske ’77. She can be reached by email at proske@csbsju.edu or by phone at 320-363-2129.