Eugene Raymond Johnson (February 14, 1902 – December 27, 1989) was an American football and basketball coach. He was born and raised in Hartford, KS and is a graduate of Hartford High School. Some sources list him as the head coach of the 1936 United States Olympic basketball team[1] and other sources give that honor to Jimmy Needles and state that Johnson was the assistant coach.[2] His innovations in basketball include being credited with creating the full court press.[3]
 Johnson from the 1930 Parnassus | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 14, 1902 Emporia, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | December 27, 1989 (aged 87) Overland Park, Kansas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| ? | College of Emporia |
| Basketball | |
| ? | Emporia State |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Basketball | |
| 1928–1933 | Wichita State |
| 1938–1943 | Kansas Wesleyan |
| 1955–1957 | Wichita Vickers |
| 1957–1958 | Kansas City Kaycees |
| 1959–1960 | Buchan Bakers |
| Football | |
| 1938–1942 | Kansas Wesleyan |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 160–59 (basketball) 19–16–9 (football) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football KCAC (1940) | |
Basketball
editWichita
editIn 1928, at the age of 26, Johnson was named head coach at Wichita University (now called Wichita State University) in Wichita, Kansas. Johnson's teams compiled a record of 74 wins and 24 losses in his five years as head coach of the "Shockers". He led the Shockers to a Central Intercollegiate Conference co-championship in 1933 (his last season at the school) and the team finished second three times and third once.[4]
McPherson Globe Refiners (AAU)
editAfter coaching at Wichita University, Johnson left for a coaching career in the Amateur Athletic Union, coaching the McPherson Globe Refiners to a national title and later coaching the Wichita Vickers.
USA Olympic Basketball
editJohnson was an assistant coach of the first United States Olympic basketball team in 1936. Several of his players in his AAU teams, including his brother Francis Johnson.[clarification needed]
Kansas Wesleyan
editIn 1938, Johnson went to Kansas Wesleyan University to become the head basketball coach. He led the team to several conference championships and as of 2005 holds the second-most wins for a single season at the school.[5]
College football
editJohnson was the tenth head football coach at Kansas Wesleyan, serving for five seasons, from 1938 until 1942, and compiling a record of 19–16–9. [6]
In 1940, the team was declared conference champions of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference by outscoring their opponents for the season 131 to 46 and by winning every home game.[7]
NIBL
editIn 1955–56 and 1956–57 Johnson coached the Wichita Vickers of the AAU National Industrial Basketball League. In 1957–58, he coached the Kansas City Kaycees and in 1959–60 he coached the NIBL Seattle Buchan Bakers.[8][9]
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1938–1942) | |||||||||
| 1938 | Kansas Wesleyan | 2–6–1 | 1–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 1939 | Kansas Wesleyan | 2–2–4 | 2–2–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1940 | Kansas Wesleyan | 6–1–2 | 5–0–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1941 | Kansas Wesleyan | 4–3 | 4–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1942 | Kansas Wesleyan | 5–4–2 | 3–1–2 | 3rd | |||||
| Kansas Wesleyan: | 19–16–9 | 15–9–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 19–16–9 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ Topeka Capital-Journal "Foster among inductees" By Kevin Haskin, May 23, 2004
- ^ The golden age of amateur basketball: the AAU Tournament 1921-1968 By Adolph H. Grundman, page 47
- ^ Wichita State University Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Gene Johnson (Basketball Coach, 1928-33)
- ^ Kansas Sports Hall of Fame[permanent dead link] Gene Johnson
- ^ Kansas Wesleyan University Archived September 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine 2005 Basketball Media Guide.
- ^ College Football Data Warehouse Archived October 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes coaching records
- ^ College Football Data Warehouse Archived 2012-10-19 at the Wayback Machine Kansas Wesleyan University Football Results - 1940
- ^ "National Industrial Basketball League Rosters".
- ^ "Seattle Buchan Bakers Rosters".