I’ll admit I drew a total blank when I saw Marietta perched atop St. John’s schedule as the Johnnies’ first victim of 2007. Ideally, the goal of my posts here will be to amaze and enlighten with a dazzling array of Johnnie-centric statistics. It’s not every Saturday, however, that we invite a virtual unknown behind the Pine Curtain. Strictly adhering to teachings of the great philosopher G.I. Joe—“Knowing is half the battle”—here are a few Marietta facts that you won’t find in this week’s game notes:
Count the Rings: Marietta is no stranger to playing successful programs. St. John’s is 12th school with an NCAA National Championship pedigree that Marietta has played. The Pioneers’ composite record against Allegheny, Baldwin-Wallace, Central (IA), Dayton, Marshall, Michigan, Michigan St., Mount Union, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wittenberg is a paltry 36-107-5 (.260). By comparison, the Johnnies have compiled a winning record (18-9, .667) against the 9 NCAA Champions they have played—Albion, Augustana, Central (IA), Dayton, Linfield, Mount Union, North Dakota, Pacific Lutheran, and UW-La Crosse.
Thanks for Coming: As far as I can tell, the 965 miles between Marietta, OH and Collegeville, MN is the furthest the Pioneers have ever traveled for a football game. In fact, the total mileage traveled to all 5 of Marietta’s road games last year was only 883 miles. The last time St. John’s hosted a team that made a longer trip was December 13, 2003, when the Johnnies destroyed RPI 38-10 to earn a date with Mount Union.
Re-Blazing the Trail: Marietta is one of at least 31 colleges to use “Pioneers” as their nickname. There are 7 other packs of Pioneers playing Division III football this year—Carroll (WI), Grinnell, Lewis & Clark, UW-Platteville, Utica, William Patterson, and Widener—making it one of the most common nicknames in the country.
Cause or Effect?: The Pioneers have won their last 7 season openers (and 12 of their last 13). The combined season records of the 7 vanquished opponents? 23-47 (.329). Obviously, this streak will be in serious jeopardy in Collegeville.
Thanks for Nothing: Marietta College has never produced an NFL player but 7 Pioneers did go on to play Major League baseball. Twins fans can thank the Pioneers for rubber-armed batting practice pitcher Terry Mulholland. Ban Johnson, the founder of the American League, Kent Tekulve, who threw sidearm in over 1,000 MLB games, and Jim Tracy, current manager of the Pirates, also graduated from Marietta.
If Losing Builds Character…: Marietta’s only undefeated season was 1942, a 2-0 effort with both wins coming against something called the University of Rio Grande. For a stretch in the early 1980s, however, they nearly perfected the art of the winless season. The Pioneers didn’t win a game 1981, 1982, or 1983, part of a string of 41 winless games. In 1981, they were shut out in 7 of 9 games and outscored 314-16.
Here’s hoping the Pioneers can build a little more character on Sunday. Be sure to check back later in the week as I hope to discuss some regular season stats that could give us an idea of how far the Johnnies will go this postseason.
