| Gene Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Sport(s) | Football, basketball |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | 1902 |
| Died | 1989 |
| Place of death | Overland Park, Kansas |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football 1938–1942 Basketball 1928–1933 1938–1943 |
Kansas Wesleyan Wichita Kansas Wesleyan |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 19–16–9 (football) 160–59 (basketball) |
| Statistics | |
| College Football Data Warehouse | |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 KCAC (19240) |
|
| Awards | |
| Kansas Sports Hall of Fame | |
Gene Johnson (1902–1989) was an American football and basketball coach in the United States. Some sources list him as the head coach of the 1938 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]
Contents |
In 1928 at the age of 26, Johnson was named head coach at Wichita University (now called Wichita State University) in Wichita, Kansas. Johnson's leadership helped his teams compiled a record of 74 wins and 24 losses record 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]
After coaching at Wichita University, Johnson left for a distinguished coaching career in the Amateur Athletic Union, coaching the McPherson Globe Refiners to a national title and later coaching the Wichita Vickers.
Johnson 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.
In 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 number of wins for a single season at the school.[5]
Johnson was the tenth head football coach for the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes located in Salina, Kansas and he held that position for five seasons, from 1938 until 1942. His coaching record at Kansas Wesleyan was 19 wins, 16 losses, and 9 ties. As of the conclusion of the 2009 season, this ranks him fifth at Kansas Wesleyan in total wins and seventh at the school in winning percentage (.534). [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]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1938–1942) | |||||||||
| 1938 | Kansas Wesleyan | 2–5–1 | 1–3 | ||||||
| 1939 | Kansas Wesleyan | 2–2–4 | 2–2–2 | ||||||
| 1940 | Kansas Wesleyan | 6–1–2 | 5–0–1 | ||||||
| 1941 | Kansas Wesleyan | 4–3 | 4–2 | ||||||
| 1942 | Kansas Wesleyan | 5–4–2 | 3–2–1 | ||||||
| Kansas Wesleyan: | 19–16–9 | 15–9–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 19–16–9 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|||||