I attended my first St. John’s football game on September 7, 1974. It was a 46–14 victory for the Johnnies over the University of Minnesota Morris. Over the next four years I did not miss a home football game. One of the highlights of my time at SJU was the 1976 Stagg Bowl victory over Towson State. My favorite class was “Theory of Football” with the not yet legendary Coach Gagliardi. I remained a committed Johnnie fan after graduation in 1978. With the demands of career, marriage and four children taking priority, trips to Collegeville became much less frequent. Residing in Denver and Seattle from 1993 through 1998 made it quite difficult to follow the Johnnies in the time before the internet. Most often it meant searching the scores in the Sunday newspaper sports section.
I became a Stiftungsfestivities regular in 2004 and have since had the pleasure of making many new friends and renewing several old friendships.
In 1999 trips to Collegeville resumed on a regular basis with a return to Minnesota. In December of 2001 I first met Johnnie Red in the parking lot of the Fargo Dome. I have had the pleasure of multiple Johnnie football road trips, including the 2000 and 2003 Stagg Bowls. I became a Stiftungsfestivities regular in 2004 and have since had the pleasure of making many new friends and renewing several old friendships. I became the unofficial Stiftungsfestivities photographer in 2005. I also provide photographs to d3football.com.
Tim Ward, SJU 1978
Retired Old Rat
