1963 Saint John's Johnnies football team

The 1963 Saint John's Johnnies football team was an American football team that compiled a perfect 10–0 record and won the NAIA Football National Championship with a victory over Prairie View A&M in the Camellia Bowl. It was the first of four national championships for the Saint John's Johnnies football program under head coach John Gagliardi.

1963 Saint John's Johnnies football
NAIA national champion
MIAC champion
ConferenceMinnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Record10–0 (7–0 MIAC)
Head coach
Home stadiumSaint John's Stadium
1963 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 Saint John's (MN) $^ 7 –0 –010 –0 –0
Concordia (MN) 6 –1 –07 –2 –0
Augsburg 4 –3 –04 –3 –1
Hamline 3 –4 –04 –4 –1
Gustavus Adolphus 3 –4 –04 –5 –0
St. Thomas (MN) 3 –4 –04 –5 –0
Minnesota–Duluth 2 –5 –03 –6 –0
Macalester 0 –7 –01 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA poll

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 14St. Cloud State*
W 40–0[1]
September 21Hamline
  • Saint John's Stadium
  • Collegeville, MN
W 38–14[2]
September 28at Minnesota–DuluthDuluth, MNW 60–6[3]
October 5Gustavus Adolphusdagger
  • Saint John's Stadium
  • Collegeville, MN
W 34–7[4]
October 12at Augsburg
W 26–6> 7,000[5]
October 19Concordia (MN)
  • Saint John's Stadium
  • Collegeville, MN
W 28–0[6]
October 26at MacalesterSt. Paul, MNW 40–63,500[7]
November 2at St. Thomas (MN)
  • O'Shaughnessy Stadium
  • St Paul, MN
W 32–6 [8]
November 30vs. College of Emporia
W 54–012,348[9]
December 14vs. Prairie View A&M
W 33–2712,220[10][11][12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming

Season overview

The team represented Saint John's University as a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 1963 NAIA football season. In their 11th season under head coach John Gagliardi, the Johnnies compiled a 10–0 record (7–0 against conference opponents), won the MIAC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 335 to 72.

The 1962 Saint John's team had also been unbeaten and untied but did not receive one of the four berths in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics NAIA playoffs. Having strung together consecutive perfect seasons, the 1963 team was invited to the playoffs.[13]

On defense, the team set a national record by giving up an average of only 12.9 rushing yards per game.[14]

Semifinal against Emporia

In their first playoff game, the Johnnies faced undefeated College of Emporia which featured the NAIA's most potent offense with an average of 517.3 yards per game.[15] Saint John's smothered Emporia's highly-touted offense and won by a 54–0 score. Saint John's scored its 54 points in the first three quarters, intercepted four Emporia passes, recovered two fumbles, and blocked a punt.[9]

Camellia Bowl

On December 7, 1963, the Johnnies faced Prairie View A&M in the Camellia Bowl, the NAIA national championship game played in Sacramento, California. Prairie View, which featured future NFL stars Ken Houston and Otis Taylor, came into the game as the undefeated black college national champion.[16] Three months after the March on Washington and two weeks after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Camellia Bowl matched the all-black Prairie View Panthers against the all-white Saint John's Johnnies.[13] The Johnnies trailed at halftime, but moved ahead with two third-quarter touchdowns and won by a 33–27 score.[10] The victory extended Saint John's winning streak to 19 games.[12] It also brought an NAIA Football National Championship to Saint Johns.[17]

Awards and honors

Coach Gagliardi was selected by the United Press International (UPI) as the MIAC Coach of the Year.[18] He was also named small college coach of the year by the Rockne Club of America.[19] The 1963 team won the first of four national championships earned by Gagliardi's teams at Saint John's. Gagliardi's teams also won national championships in 1965, 1976, and 2003. Gagliardi became the winningest coach in college football history and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[20]

Halfback Bernie Beckman was named MIAC Player of the Year, as voted by the MIAC coaches for the UPI.[21]

Saint John's dominated the 1963 All-MIAC football team selected by the conference coaches, filling 12 of 22 spots: Craig Muyres (named as quarterback on offensive team and safety on defensive team); halfback Bernie Beckman (named to the offensive and defensive teams); halfback Bob Spinner; fullback Rich Froehle; end Ken Roering (named to the offensive and defensive teams); tackle John McDowell (named to the offensive and defensive teams); offensive guard Dave Honer; and defensive end Hardy Reyerson.[22]

The 1963 team was inducted into Saint John's J-Club Hall of Honor in 2019.[13]

References
  1. "St. John's Routs St. Cloud 40–0". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. September 15, 1963. p. S4 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "St. John's Burst Rips Hamline". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. September 22, 1963. p. 8S – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "St. John's Annihilates UMD 60–6". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. September 29, 1963. p. 9S – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Mike Augustin (October 7, 1963). "St. John's Survives Severest Test". St. Cloud Times. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Merrill Swanson (October 13, 1963). "St. John's Spoils Augsburg Homecoming With 26–6 Win". Minneapolis Tribune. p. Sports 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Merrill Swanson. "St. John's Defense Cracks Concordia 28–0". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. p. 12S – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Johnnies Win 40–6 to Clinch Title Tie". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. October 27, 1963. p. 8S – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Johnnies Finish Unbeaten, Await Post-Season Bid". The St. Cloud Daily Times. November 4, 1963. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Merrill Swanson (December 1, 1963). "Johnnies Crush Emporia 54–0, Gain Bowl". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. pp. Sports 1, 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Charles Johnson (December 15, 1963). "Johnnies Win National Football Championship 33–27: Whip Prairie View in NAIA Struggle". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. pp. 1S, 8S – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "St. John's Tames Tough Prairie View Via Air, 33–27: Texas Team Muffs Historic Chance to Also Top NAIA". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 21, 1963. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Marco Smolich (December 15, 1963). "St. John's Jars Prairie View 33–27". The Sacramento Bee. pp. F1, F7 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "J-Club Hall of Honor: 1963 Football Team". Saint John's University. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  14. Bob Hall (September 13, 1965). "Defense Paces Johnnies to 16–0 Victory Over River Falls". St. Cloud Times. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "St. John's Rated Fifth Best, But Emporia Game Films Impressive". The Minneapolis Star. November 29, 1963. p. 15B – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "National Champs Carry Big Load Into Playoffs". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 7, 1962. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "65th Annual NAIA Football National Championship Media Guide" (PDF). NAIA. 2021. pp. 53, 56–57.(Saint John's NAIA national championship in 1963)
  18. "Emporia, St. John's Respect Records". The Minneapolis Star. November 26, 1963. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Elliott named coach of year by Rockne Club". Globe-Gazette. January 16, 1964. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "John Gagliardi, Winningest College Football Coach, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Associated Press. October 8, 2018. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  21. "Beckman Is UPI Player Of Year". St. Cloud Times. November 27, 1963. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Johnnies Dominate All-MIAC Team: Fill 12 of 22 Positions". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. November 24, 1963. p. 4S – via Newspapers.com.
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