J-Club Hall of Honor

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – When the first full class of inductees was welcomed into the Saint John's University J-Club Hall of Honor in a ceremony held in October 2019, then-club president Vic Moore '72 greeted those in attendance with the following words:

"Welcome to history being made. We begin to write the book on the story of Johnnies' athletics tonight."

Other historic events, however, have since had a bearing on when the next chapter in that story will be written.

As a result of concerns and restrictions still in place due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, what had been intended to be the Hall of Honor's 2020 class of inductees will now become the Class of 2021.

The 2020 enshrinement ceremony, which was scheduled for Sept. 26 (Homecoming Saturday), has been postponed. The latest class of 12 individuals and one team, which mirrors the 12 individuals and one team inducted last year, are now scheduled to be honored at a ceremony sometime in the fall of 2021.

Each member of the 2021 Hall of Honor class will be highlighted this fall on gojohnnies.com, beginning Aug. 26. 

The Hall of Honor's two charter inductees – legendary SJU football and basketball head coaches John Gagliardi and Jim Smith – were each enshrined in separate ceremonies during the 2018-19 academic year.

The class of 2021, like its predecessor a year ago, includes a wide-range of national champions, All-Americans and other leading men - each of whom played huge roles in establishing the successful athletic tradition that exists at SJU today.

"We're really lucky to have so many decades of Johnnie athletes waiting to be enshrined in the Hall of Honor," said current J-Club President Tom Freeman '08, who began his term July 1.

"When you look at this year's class, these guys again are no-brainers. And I think you'll be able to say that about every class for the next few years to come. These are all people whose contributions to the success of Johnnie athletics has been incredible. Their achievements and their standing speaks for itself."

They were selected by a vote of the J-Club's board of directors, who considered nominations which can be made by any club member.

Founded in 1959, the J-Club is a dues-based booster organization of former Johnnie student-athletes, parents and fans, and plays a key role in support of the SJU varsity programs, intramurals and club sports. Alumni and friends can donate directly to the J-Club during the SJU athletic department's second annual 24-hour, online giving campaign – the aptly named Johnnie Strong - Go Johnnies Challenge – on Thursday, Sept. 3. - Johnnie Strong - Go Johnnies Challenge

Those honored (listed alphabetically) include: 

-John Deters '92: Deters was a 7-time All-America diver and the 1991 NCAA Division III champion on the 1-meter board. At the conference level, Deters was a 6-time MIAC champion and an 8-time All-MIAC honoree (top three at the conference meet).

-George Durenberger '28: SJU's first three-time All-MIAC honoree (1925-27 in football), Durenberger coached multiple sports at his alma mater and served as the Johnnies' athletic director for 42 years (1931-72). During that time, he presided over the addition of a number of new sports and the construction of several new facilities. The men's MIAC all-sports trophy is named in his honor.

-Chuck Froehle '57: Froehle was SJU's first four-time All-MIAC football honoree and three-time All-American, and was one of the key components on Gagliardi's early teams.

-Jim Gathje '86: Gathje won three MIAC titles and earned All-America honors seven times in both cross country and track and field. He won back-to-back NCAA Division III championships in the steeplechase in 1985 and 1986, and his time of 8:43.93 from '86 is still the Division III national meet record in the event.

-Vedie Himsl '38: Himsl led the Johnnies to back-to-back MIAC baseball titles in 1936 and 1937, and still holds the program record for strikeouts in a game with 20. He is the only Johnnie to play or coach baseball in the Major Leagues, as he served as the Chicago Cubs' first manager in the experimental 1961 College of Coaches and transitioned to scouting in 1965. Himsl retired in 1985 as the Cubs' director of scouting and was a scouting consultant within the organization through 1999.  

-Jim Lehman '56: Lehman, like Froehle, was another star on Gagliardi's early football teams in Collegeville. He was a two-time All-American at halfback and scored 16 touchdowns in nine games in 1955.

-Terry Leiendecker '84: A four-time All-MIAC goalkeeper, Leiendecker was an All-American in 1982 and allowed only 28 goals in nearly 6,000 minutes of play during his standout career with the Johnnie soccer team. He went on to represent the U.S. in the World University Games in 1984 and play with the Minnesota Strikers of the North American Soccer League.

-Joe Mucha '66: Mucha was an All-American center on the Johnnie basketball team in 1965-66 and was also a member of SJU's 1963 and 1965 NAIA national champion football teams. He currently serves as a member of the SJU Board of Trustees.

-Jeff Norman '78: Norman orchestrated Gagliardi's quadruple-option offense for three seasons at quarterback and served as the team's kicker, where he booted the game-winning field goal as time expired for the 1976 NCAA Division III national championship. He earned All-America honors in 1977 and batted .331 with 11 home runs for the SJU baseball team. 

-Joe Schoolmeesters '09: Schoolmeesters was a two-time All-American golfer and a three-time MIAC Player of the Year. He helped lead the Johnnies to back-to-back NCAA Division III national titles in 2007 and 2008, and posted a 73.93 scoring average in 103 career rounds.

-Gary Svendsen '72: Svendsen was a three-time MIAC champion and a two-time National Catholic Invitational champion wrestler. He also won the 1972 NAIA national title at 134 pounds and finished his career with a program-record .921 winning percentage (105-9 record).

-1965 football team: The second national championship in three seasons for SJU and legendary head coach John Gagliardi, the Johnnies defeated Linfield (Ore.) 33-0 in that year's NAIA national championship game. SJU allowed a total of 20 points in nine regular-season games, including six shutouts, and surrendered 112.1 yards per game.

Moore will be awarded the J-Club Distinguished Service Award. He was a three-sport athlete (football, basketball, baseball) at SJU and has remained deeply involved with Johnnie athletics in the decades since his graduation, including serving on the SJU Alumni Association board and as J-Club President the past five years.