By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - When the Saint John's University basketball team defeated Macalester 75-71 in last Sunday's MIAC championship game, the Johnnies added yet another conference trophy to their vast collection.

But the first really recognized conference championship in school history (a disputed claim to a title of some sort was made in 1908) – and what stood for 53 years as the only one – was wrapped up 106 years ago this week on March 5, 1916. 

That was when the 1915-16 SJU squad defeated the St. Cloud Normal School (now St. Cloud State) 36-21 on the road to earn a share of the Minnesota-Dakota Conference title – a league the Johnnies had only joined two years before.

"The morning of March 5 dawned bright and ended in a blaze of glory the same evening when by defeating the St. Cloud Normals, Saint John's sallied forth from the Gym not only victors of the game, but champions of the Minnesota Conference," The Record reported at the time.

The Johnnies – who began that season by shelling Melrose High School 138-10 – finished their season 9-1. The only loss was a 25-18 setback at the hands of Fargo College (which closed in 1922).

But Carleton tied SJU for first place. And since the schedule had not matched the two teams that season, the Knights and Johnnies shared the championship.

"Which one is better is a much-mooted question," The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune wrote in its March 12, 1916 edition. "It is the opinion of many that St. John's would have won on their own floor, while they would have been helpless before the Carleton basket tossers at Northfield, or on a neutral floor."

The two teams accounted for all five spots on the Tribune's All-State first team – with three of the five going to the Johnnies: forward Bernard Karels (right), center Louis Mohs and guard Urban Knaeble.

Of the three it was Mohs who went on to the widest fame. Saint John's offered a two-year degree option at the time, and he went on to finish his four-year degree at St. Thomas where he was again a star athlete. He played in the early years of the NFL, then went into the newspaper business.

It was while serving as circulation manager of the old Minneapolis Times that he hired a youngster named Sid Hartman in the circulation department – starting the legendary columnist on a long career that ended only with his death at age 100 in 2020.

Mohs (left) was later hired by fellow St. Thomas graduate Bob Short to serve as the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers after the team relocated from Minneapolis to Southern California in 1960. He remained in that position through the 1966-67 season, helping the transplanted franchise find a fan base in its new city.

"He was certainly someone who was instrumental to getting that franchise established in Los Angeles," Lakers great Jerry West told the St. Cloud Times in 2016. "He did all the little things that needed to be done to put a franchise on the court that was successful."

But the biggest star on the 1915-16 SJU team was no doubt Karel, who had been named all-state the year before as well. During the 1915-16 season, he scored 219 points in just nine games played – an average of 24.3 ppg.

"Karels and Badger (of Carleton) are considered the two most reliable basket shooters in the conference," The Tribune wrote. "Karels leads all other forwards in numbers of baskets made."

The Record, meanwhile, sang his praises in its season recap that ran in the April, 1916 edition.

"Many consider him not only one of the best players ever seen at St. John's, but also one of the most accurate, troublesome and sensational 'shots' in the Northwest," the paper wrote. 

"Through his wonderful aggressive work he has far surpassed the enviable record set by Blume of Hamline University fame in the basketball arena. No matter who the guard pitched against him, our right forward invariably got the better of the argument. He was the team's mainstay. He could not only toss goals from the field in an admirable manner, but was also a very able man to toss points for the team from the foul line."

The conference championship that season was the program's last until head coach Jim Smith and his team captured the program's first MIAC crown in 1969. 

And The Record wrote glowingly of the team in its season recap.

"The season at St. John's was a successful one, yes, perhaps the most successful in the history of St. John's," the paper wrote. "The team suffered only one defeat and won nine games, six on the home floor and three on strange floors.

"We had a heavy and fast team, and both qualities were used to advantage. The team was in good condition nearly all season and no one was seriously injured."

40 years ago (1982) – Sophomore Jim Goodman '84 advanced to the NCAA Division III national wrestling meet in Clayton, N.Y., as a wild-card entrant in the 167-pound weight class.

50 years ago (1972) – A wild melee broke out near the end of the St. John's/St. Thomas basketball game played March 3 at Guild Hall. Police officers battled a group of fans who spilled onto the court and mace was used to restore order after a disagreement between Johnnies coach Jim Smith and St. Thomas coach Tom Feely.

"At this time a mass of irate St. Thomas fans, sitting under the scoreboard basket adjacent to the St. John's bench, attacked the St. John's players," The Record reported. "Four policeman intervened in an attempt to break up the brawl. Mace was used. One policeman was struck from behind and hit the floor. A few St. John's fans around the SJU bench entered the fight. At the other end of the floor, the Johnny rat section sat peacefully observing the hysteria. A group of rat leaders sitting on floor level went out on the court and signaled for the rats to stay put. They did."

No fighting too place between opposing players, The Record reported. And the actions of the Rat Pack – who did not come onto the court during the altercation - were widely praised.

"Our fans deserve commendation for their behavior and restraint," read a statement issued by SJU President Fr. Michael Blecker.