COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - It was athletics that first drew Thom Woodward to Saint John's University. 

Football, specifically.

"I was an impressionable sophomore in high school in Central New Jersey in the fall of 1963 when I picked up a copy of The Sporting News and read that Saint John's in Minnesota had won a (NAIA) national championship," Woodward recalls. "Then, as a senior in 1965, I read in The Sporting News that they'd won it again.

"I thought maybe I'd be able to play small-college football out there. I discussed it with my parents and they were OK with it. So I enrolled. The first day I saw the campus was the start of football practice my freshman year (in 1966)."

Woodward played for the Johnnies for two seasons. He has been involved with SJU athletics in some form or fashion almost ever since.



He worked as an aspiring sportswriter at the St. Cloud Times, and in New Jersey and Illinois, for a few years after his graduation in 1970. But in 1973, he returned to his alma mater as the school's news service director, overseeing SJU sports information. It was in that capacity that Woodward followed the SJU football team on the road during the run to the 1976 Division III national title.

"Lee Hanley, who had been the chief public information officer and editor of the Saint John's Magazine, had gotten some new assignments," Woodward said. "So they needed someone to come in and pick up the public information role."

Woodward moved on to a position in institutional advancement in 1980, serving as director of alumni relations and taking a leading role with the J-Club as secretary.  With approval from the J-Club board, membership went beyond former Johnnie student-athletes to include alumni, parents and friends; marketing featured J-Club lapel pins, luggage tags and clothing as well as the traditional pass for two to home athletic contests.  

The staff administrator coordinating J-Club activities, Woodward was on the point in establishing the Gagliardi Trophy in 1993. The award is named in honor of legendary former Johnnies head football coach John Gagliardi and presented annually to the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division III. It was sponsored by Jostens for many years before Stearns Bank came aboard as the sponsor last season.

"As John was approaching his 300th victory (which came during the 1993 season), Brad Eustice, a former Johnnie football player who was the president of the J-Club at the time, asked why there wasn't a player of the year award in Division III," Woodward said. "So we thought why not create one and have John's name attached to it. The way the stars all aligned was amazing. At the time, Jostens was looking for a way to get their name out to Division III colleges. So they came on board as a presenting sponsor.

"Then I called (John's friend and legendary former Minnesota Vikings head coach) Bud Grant and asked him if he'd be on the committee to help us select the winner because we didn't want the J-Club to be the judge and jury. He said yes, which allowed me to drop his name with other people who all came aboard. We presented the first award to Mount Union quarterback (Jim Ballard) in 1993, the first year the Stagg Bowl was played in Salem, Va., and we've been doing it ever since." 

Woodward also designed the SJU No. 1 logo used for more than 20 years on printed programs, playing fields and uniforms.

"I never intended it to be braggadocios," he said. "It was meant to be a reminder that Johnnies should strive to be number one – to be the best student, best athlete, best son, best husband and father, best employee and employer, and best citizen."

In addition to his role in institutional advancement, from which he retired in 2010, Woodward was an assistant baseball coach at SJU for 18 seasons – the last several on a volunteer basis. He also served as the program's recruiting coordinator for several years.

He stepped away in 2023, though he still helps in various capacities. Christened "Woody Way," the corridor leading from the new Johnnie baseball clubhouse directly into the home dugout is in recognition of his tenure with the team and donations he and his wife Jeanne have made (right).  

Mike Fahey
Mike Fahey, meanwhile, was a distance runner in cross country and track and field before his graduation from SJU in 1975. He went on to a long and successful career as the elected county attorney, and as a district court judge in Scott County. But he remained connected to Johnnie athletics, serving as J-Club president and on the board of directors.
 
He also played a role in helping establish the Gagliardi Trophy and was one of the architects of the Father Wilfred Theisen Student-Athlete of the Year Award, presented annually by the J-Club to SJU's top senior athlete. In addition, he was a strong supporter of the creation of the J-Club Hall of Honor in 2018.
 
Not only that, but he organized picnics to welcome first-year students to both Saint John's and Saint Ben's.
 
"He has such a strong connection to (SJU)," his daughter Maura Fahey said. "He loved going up there and being part of the community. He's really a community-oriented person in a lot of things in his life. He's not extroverted or talkative. But he enjoys being around other people and making connections, and he found that at Saint John's."
 
Indeed, Fahey might be best known as "Johnnie Red," one of the founders of the Johnnie football tailgate – helping turn it into the massive SJU community get-together it has since become. He began bringing special spiced hamburgers, made famous by their popularity at the annual German celebration Stiftungsfest in Norwood Young America, to grill before games.

Things grew from there.

"He bought the meat, buns, condiments, charcoal and small portable grill and would set up shop outside home and away stadiums, wearing a Johnnie Red shirt, sweatshirt or jacket, start cooking away and offer his largesse to all that passed by," recalls Rob Wicker '64, who assembles the popular Unofficial Underground News, chronicling the Johnnie football experience. "Frequent SJU fans began looking for him and gathered before games. Eventually, as others joined him in providing other delights to the ever-growing crowd, it became the now-famous SJU tailgate."
 
Former SJU football player Ryan Bielat '03 got to know Fahey as a fellow poster on the D3football.com message boards, then began attending his tailgate during SJU's run to the NCAA Division III national title in 2003.
 
"I know he had organized some tailgating in prior seasons, but with the success the Johnnies had that year – combined with the message boards as a way to connect with other fans – it really started to gain traction. Mike was always welcoming to Johnnie fans and visitors alike. We'd gather in Science Lot 1 to eat, play games and discuss (that day's matchup).
 
"When I think back to those days, I'm just reminded of what an ambassador for SJU Mike was. He really wanted to share his love for SJU with everyone."
 
A battle with Alzheimer's disease has limited Fahey's ability to attend games in person in recent years, but his daughter says his love for the school and Johnnies athletics remains strong.
 
"He still follows along and stays engaged," she said. "His love for SJU hasn't faded."

2024 Hall of Honor Class 
The 2024 class of student-athletes, coaches and volunteers will be inducted into the Saint John's University J-Club Hall of Honor in a ceremony scheduled for Homecoming Saturday - Oct. 5 - in Guild Hall (Old Gym). 

The dinner and enshrinement ceremony begins at 5:15 p.m. in Guild Hall (Old Gym). A Homecoming Celebration social will take place outside the venue following the Johnnies' football game against Augsburg in Clemens Stadium prior to the dinner and program. 

Registration is $75 per person before Sept. 29 ($100 per person after) and includes dinner and beverages. Children ages 6-12 are $35 and those five and under are free. All proceeds go to the J-Club to support SJU athletics.

To register to attend, click here. 

-2024 J-Club Hall of Honor Class: Bill Laliberte '70
-2024 J-Club Hall of Honor Class: Stacy Christensen '76
-2024 J-Club Hall of Honor Class: Ernie England '81
-2024 J-Club Hall of Honor Class: Al Eisele '58
-2024 J-Club Hall of Honor Class: Chuck Ceronsky '70
-2024 J-Club Hall of Honor Class: 1978-79 Basketball Team
-SJU's J-Club Hall of Honor to Induct 13 on Oct. 5