Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Timesland great dies of cancer
Al Johnson, 68, was a basketball star at Jefferson High and Catawba before coaching at area schools.
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Remembering Al johnson
Al Johnson accomplished plenty as an athlete and a coach.
There might have been only one area where he came up short.
"I don't think I once heard him talk about anything he ever did," Northside basketball coach Bill Pope said.
There was plenty to talk about.
Johnson set high school and college basketball scoring records, had a distinguished career as a head coach at Franklin County and Northside, and was among the premier men's fast-pitch softball players in the United States.
One of Timesland's greatest athletes and sportsmen, Johnson, 68, died Monday after a long battle with cancer.
Johnson starred at Roanoke's Jefferson High School, where his 47-point game against Tazewell in the 1959 VHSL Group I (now Group AAA) semifinals in Charlottesville remains a single-game state tournament record.
Johnson had a four-year career at then-NAIA member Catawba College, graduating in 1964 as the school's all-time scoring leader and its single-game record holder with a 41-point game.
Tom Childress, now a senior vice president at the Salisbury, N.C., school, recalled running into Johnson not long before the two became Catawba teammates.
"I was from Mount Airy, N.C., and every year we would begin the season with a trip to Roanoke to play William Fleming and Jefferson," Childress said. "We came up there my junior year, which was his senior year. I remembered Al, because I think we held him to 40."
Sam Moir remembered too. The brother of former Virginia Tech coach Charlie Moir was the Mount Airy High School coach that night and soon got the job at Catawba.
"One of Sam's first recruits was Al Johnson," Childress said.
Charlie Moir, who is now retired in Salem, accompanied his brother on the recruiting trip.
"If I remember correctly, Al lived on Melrose near where Roanoke Country Club is," Charlie Moir said. "My brother had some good teams at Catawba and Al was one of the players who got that program going."
Johnson was inducted into the Catawba College sports hall of fame in 1986. He is 18th on the school's career scoring list with 1,390 points.
"He was sort of ahead of his time," Childress said. "Back then we didn't know what a slasher was, but that's what he did. He was a great basketball player.
"He was just a great athlete. He threw the shot and the discus on the track team and was all-conference. We played intramural softball together, and one day we were all out there horsing around and some guys started talking trash about how far they could hit the ball.
"Al got up on the mound and kind of said, 'OK, we'll see.' I never knew somebody could throw a ball that fast underhanded. At first everybody wanted to get up there. After that, we couldn't find anybody."
Johnson became Franklin County's head basketball coach in 1964, less than six months after graduating from college.
Franklin County reached the 1968 Group 1B state semifinals under Johnson and won the Roanoke Valley District tournament title with three overtime victories in 1972.
Robert Wray, now an athletics administrator in Roanoke and a former AD at William Fleming, played for Johnson at Franklin County from 1967-69.
"It was at a crucial time," Wray said. "Integration in Franklin County had just come in. He made it so easy for our town. It was touchy. People were watching to see how many black faces were on the court, how many white faces were on the court.
"All he said was, 'You play hard, you practice hard, you'll play.' The kids knew that."
Johnson left Franklin County to coach at Northside from 1973-80, taking the Vikings to the 1978 Group AAA semifinals with a postseason run that included a win over a previously unbeaten Patrick Henry team.
Former Northside player Jason Perdue, now a federal probation officer and the boys tennis coach at William Byrd, remembers Johnson vividly.
"The thing I remember is I never beat him one-on-one," Perdue said. "He was an awesome player. His hands were as big as my computer screen. He never put two hands on the ball unless he was going to pass it. He would shoot with one hand and push you off with the other."
Johnson's Catawba scoring records eventually were supassed by Dwight Durante. His VHSL single-game tournament record was tied in 1992 by Michael Evans of Booker T. Washington.
In the eyes of many, Johnson will be unsurpassed.
"Al was the kind of fellow if he was your friend, he was your friend for life," Childress said. "He was our co-captain for two years. When he left Catawba, there was no doubt where he was going. He was going back to that Roanoke-Salem area.
"He's still there."
Johnson is survived by his wife, Robyn, two daughters and one granddaughter. Visitation for Johnson will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Thursday at John M. Oakey & Son Funeral Home in Salem. A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. with an additional period of visitation to follow at 9 p.m.
