J-Club inducts 11 new members into Hall of Honor
Over the weekend, 11 Johnnies were inducted into the J-Club Hall of Honor at the homecoming football game. The J-Club is a volunteer organization of
Over the weekend, 11 Johnnies were inducted into the J-Club Hall of Honor at the homecoming football game.
The J-Club is a volunteer organization of former Johnnies and St. John’s athletic supporters. Established in 2018, the J-Club Hall of Honor selects outstanding student-athletes and teams that have made significant contributions to both SJU athletics and St. John’s community at large.
Inductees should demonstrate extraordinary character, leadership skills and teamwork to honor the Johnnie tradition. The Hall of Honor was created because the J-Club wanted to showcase some of the great stories of St. John’s athletics. The 2022 inductees include Minga Batsukh ‘11, Troy Bigalke ‘01, Fred Cremer ‘67, Matt Erredge ‘99, Jon Habben ‘79, Dave Lamm ‘68, Mike Lilly ‘78, Cyril Paul ‘59, Tim Schmitz ‘78, Br. Mark Kelly (OSB) as well as the 1976 Football Team.
“This class of gentlemen who went in builds upon the amazing legacy and tradition of athletics here at St. John’s,” St. John’s Athletic Director Bob Alpers said. “Their stories are incredibly powerful, and it shows us how many wonderful people we’ve had come through this place.”
Batskuh was a three-time NCAA wrestling national champion and remains the only SJU student to win three national championships in school history. Bigalke was a prominent SJU basketball player, earning Conference Player of the Year his junior and senior seasons–one in a handful of Johnnies to do this in program history. Cremer, an All-American offensive and defensive lineman for SJU, was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1967.
Erredge was an exceptional SJU hockey player, who ended his career with 91 goals and 171 points, which still stands as the program record. Habben earned eight MIAC titles for SJU swimming and qualified for the national meet four times in his career. Lamm was an SJU track and field sprinter, a five-time MIAC outdoor champion and an NAIA All-American.
Lilly was a remarkable SJU soccer player, earning All-MIAC accolades four times, who scored 62 goals in his collegiate career, which remains the highest in school history. Paul was an outstanding SJU track and field sprinter who came to St. John’s in his mid-twenties after he began and ended his career as a police officer in the Bahamas. Schmitz, one of the best running backs in SJU history, was also drafted by the Vikings after his collegiate career. Kelly was an active member of the monastery and SJU grounds crew and was also a great friend of legendary football coach John Gagliardi. He was one of the biggest advocates for state-of-the-art artificial turf at Clemens Stadium.
The 1976 Johnnie football team earned the team’s third national title and the first one at the NCAA DIII level. All Hall of Honor inductees will be commemorated at the main entrance of the Warner Palaestra.
