Hall of Fame
PETTYJOHN SYNOPSIS:
· Two-Time All-PSAC Football Player (’90 [1st], ’91 [1st])
· One-Time All-ECAC Football Player (’91 [1st])
· One-Time Don Hansen’s Football Gazette All-American (’91 [HM])
Bill Pettyjohn was a four-year varsity letterman at tailback on the Red Raider football team from 1988-1991 who graduated as the single-season and career rushing leader at Shippensburg. He is one of the most accomplished running backs in school history.
Pettyjohn ranks second only to John Kuhn ‘04 at Shippensburg with 2,480 career rushing yards. He ran for 1,101 rushing yards as a senior in 1991 – becoming just the third athlete in school history to surpass 1,000 yards in a season while setting a new single-season record that lasted for 11 seasons until it was broken by Kuhn.
During a banner senior season in which Shippensburg advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, Pettyjohn earned All-PSAC and All-ECAC first-team honors in addition to honorable mention by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. Pettyjohn surpassed the 17-year-old single-season rushing record of hall of famer Rick Diggs and also set a school record with 16 touchdowns in a single season.
In Shippensburg’s two NCAA playoff games during the 1991 season, Pettyjohn added 181 yards and two touchdowns to his single-season totals.
As a junior, Pettyjohn established his All-PSAC pace with 933 rushing yards and 177 receiving yards while scoring seven touchdowns. He averaged an impressive 6.0 yards per carry during his junior season on 155 rushing attempts – including a season-long scamper of 60 yards.
His most impressive achievement came in the final game of his junior season. Facing a nationally-ranked New Haven squad that was seeking a NCAA playoff berth, Pettyjohn ran for 291 yards on 37 attempts – a single-game record that still stands at Shippensburg and ranks 13th in PSAC history.
Pettyjohn became a regular during his sophomore season in 1989 – running for 376 yards and scoring three touchdowns. As a reserve during his freshman season, Pettyjohn totaled 70 rushing yards and 18 receiving yards.
A native of Chester – Pettyjohn was gifted academically and twice received the John E. Hubley Scholar-Athlete Award for possessing the highest grade-point average on the football team. He majored in criminal justice.
Following his graduation, Pettyjohn has worked for 19 years at the Glen Mills School for Boys as a counselor and intermediate level teacher. He was recently promoted to the position of admissions coordinator for the Philadelphia region.
Pettyjohn has been married for the last 15 years to his wife, Erica, whom he met as a freshman at Shippensburg. The couple lives in Bear, Delaware and is the proud parents of daughter Tanisha and son TJ.
