Otters win in house built by Gagliardi

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, November 3, 2008

“The coolest venue I've ever seen for college football,” says Austin Murphy, senior writer for Sports Illustrated about Clemens Stadium at St. John’s University near St. Cloud. This classic stadium, also referred to as the house built by John Gagliardi, is where the Fergus Falls Otters triumphed Saturday afternoon while winning the Section 8-4A championship game 21-7 over Sauk Rapids-Rice.

“I call it (Clemens Stadium) The Natural Bowl,” Murphy said. “It’s an eye-pleasing amphitheater that’s home to St. John's University, where you will find the most magical football program in the country.”

St. John’s coach Gagliardi is college football's career coaching victories leader with 453 wins.

In 54 seasons at St. John's, Gagliardi has won a conference-record 25 MIAC titles and four national championships. The star player on his first national title team, in 1963, was halfback Bernie Beckman of Wendell who played high school football at Elbow Lake. The Johnnies also won national titles in 1965, 1976 and 2003.

“Lake Wobegon is somewhere close by, I'm told,” said Murphy.

Clemens Stadium, as noted by Otter fans on Saturday, is sheltered by pine trees and lies in the shadow of the concrete Bell Banner at the abbey church that can be seen from as far away as Interstate 94.

The stadium is built into a horseshoe-shaped hillside, surrounded on three sides by many trees, thus giving the stadium its natural beauty and nickname. The hills, not built over with concrete or metal stands, are almost always occupied with fans who bring blankets to sit on.

On many Saturday afternoons, as kickoff nears and 7,500-plus fans fill Clemens Stadium, Sports Illustrated’s Murphy noted what he describes as “the heavenly aroma of Johnny Bread filling the air. Baked by monks that morning, it’s sold at the stadium entrance.”

On Nov. 8, 2003, 13,000-plus fans crowded into Clemens Stadium — many sitting on the hills on the southeast side of the stadium — to witness Gagliardi scratching out his record-setting 409th victory, 29-26, over an excellent Bethel team. Fergus Falls native and former Hillcrest star John Kilde, Jr., played for Bethel that day.

Two games later the Johnnies came from behind to beat dynasty Mount Union in the Division III national title game.

Gagliardi, the son of Italian immigrants, thought at a young age that he would spend his life working in his father’s auto body shop in southern Colorado. He coached college football in Montana before becoming head coach at St. John’s in 1953 at the age of 27.

So what about retirement? Gagliardi has been hearing that question for years, but right now it’s not in the cards. He says he’ll continue doing what he does as long as he’s healthy and as long as he’s producing.

As for the Otters and their fans, winning the football game Saturday at St. John’s will always be remembered as the Natural Bowl where the team won the Section 8-4A championship.