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Bob Johnson
Bob Johnson
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1992 (Builder)
	Johnson in 1990
Born	March 4, 1931; Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	November 26, 1991 (aged 60); Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
	Coaching career
Playing career
1950–1951	North Dakota
1951–1952	Minneapolis Millers
1952–1954	Minnesota
1957–1958	Minnesota Culbertsons
Position(s)	Forward
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1956–1957	Warroad High
1957–1963	Roosevelt High
1963–1966	Colorado College
1966–1975	Wisconsin
1973	US National Team
1974	US National Team
1975	US National Team
1975–1976	US Olympic Team
1976–1982	Wisconsin
1981	Team USA
1982–1987	Calgary Flames
1984	Team USA
1987	Team USA
1990–1991	Pittsburgh Penguins
Head coaching record
Overall	394–224–27 (.632)
Tournaments	9–5 (.643)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	1970 WCHA tournament champion; 1972 WCHA tournament champion; 1973 WCHA tournament champion; 1973 NCAA National Champion; 1977 WCHA regular season champion; 1977 WCHA tournament champion; 1977 NCAA national champion; 1978 WCHA tournament champion; 1981 NCAA national champion; 1982 WCHA tournament champion; 1991 Stanley Cup
Awards
	1977 WCHA Coach of the Year; 1987 Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame; 1991 United States Hockey Hall of Fame; 2000 Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award

Robert Norman "Badger Bob" Johnson (March 4, 1931 – November 26, 1991) was an American college, international, and professional ice hockey coach. He coached the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team from 1966 to 1982, where he led the Badgers to seven appearances at the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championships, including three titles. During his time as the head coach at Wisconsin, Johnson also coached the United States men's national ice hockey team at the 1976 Winter Olympics and seven other major championships, including the Canada Cup and IIHF World Championships. He then coached the Calgary Flames for five seasons that included a Stanley Cup Finals loss in 1986. Johnson achieved the peak of his professional coaching career in his only season as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990–91, when the Penguins won the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, becoming the second American-born coach to win it and the first in 53 years. In August 1991, following hospitalization due to a brain aneurysm, Johnson was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died on November 26 of the same year.

Johnson was well known amongst players and fans for his enthusiasm and unflappable optimism, immortalized through his famous catchphrase "It's a great day for hockey!"

Youth and amateur coaching career

Johnson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He attended Minneapolis Central High School and the University of Minnesota, where he played hockey under legendary coach John Mariucci.

In 1956, he and Ken Johannson were hired by Warroad High School in northwestern Minnesota as teachers and coaches of the boys' hockey team. They had previously been roommates at the University of North Dakota, and neither knew the other was hired to run the team.^[2] He later coached hockey at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. He would teach his history class using a hockey stick as a pointer to the chalkboard. Johnson became the head hockey coach at Colorado College in 1963.

In 1966, Johnson moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was head coach until 1982. He led the Badgers to seven NCAA tournaments, winning three championships in 1973, 1977, and 1981. It was at Wisconsin where Johnson earned the nickname, "Badger Bob."

Johnson also coached the 1976 Winter Olympic hockey team, the 1981, 1984, and 1987 U.S. teams in the Canada Cup tournament, and the 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1981 U.S. national teams.

NHL coaching career

In 1982, Johnson began his National Hockey League career when he became the head coach of the Calgary Flames, a position he held for five seasons. In the 1985–86 season, he coached the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost 4 games to 1 to the Montreal Canadiens. From 1987 until 1990, he served as the President of USA Hockey. Then in 1990, he was named the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his first season, he coached the team, which was led by superstar Mario Lemieux, to a 1991 Stanley Cup Finals championship victory over the Minnesota North Stars, four games to two. That would be his only season coaching the Penguins.

Brain cancer and death

In August 1991, as he was preparing the U.S. team for the upcoming Canada Cup tournament, Johnson suffered a brain aneurysm^[3] and was hospitalized, where he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He was then flown on a private plane to Colorado with Dr. Dan Thompson of Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. He began treatment and turned the day-to-day supervision of the Penguins over to his three assistant coaches and Scotty Bowman, the team's director of player development and recruitment, who was named interim head coach.^[4]^[5]^[6] Though the team was "coached by committee", Johnson continued to oversee them from his hospital room by way of videotape and remained in contact by fax machine.^[7]

On November 26, 1991, Johnson died of brain cancer in Colorado Springs, Colorado.^[8]^[9] After his death, his catchphrase was emblazoned on a banner hanging over the ice at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and was painted at the bluelines on the ice in Pittsburgh's Civic Arena. In memoriam, it remained on the ice there for the remainder of the season. In addition, Penguins players would wear a patch on the left sleeve of their jerseys with the word "BADGER" under his birth and death years. Pittsburgh also put his name on the Stanley Cup a second time after their second straight Cup victory in 1992. "He's such a tremendous person...We would like to win it again for him,"^[10] said Mark Recchi, a member of the team in 1991.

At the team's 1992 victory celebration at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Bowman's first remark was that "the coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins will always be – Bob Johnson".^[11]

The team used "A Great Day For Hockey" as their marketing slogan for the 2008–09 season. On June 12, 2009, exactly 19 years to the day of Johnson's hiring, the Pittsburgh Penguins won their third Stanley Cup. Furthermore, the Penguins won their fourth Stanley Cup, 26 years to the day that Johnson was hired, on June 12, 2016. "A Great Day For Hockey" now adorns the entrance of the PPG Paints Arena, the current home arena of the Penguins.^{[citation needed]}

At the time of his death Johnson's 234 NHL victories were a record for an American born coach.^{[citation needed]} Dan Bylsma, John Tortorella, Peter Laviolette and Mike Sullivan have since eclipsed this mark.

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Colorado College Tigers (WCHA) (1963–1966)
1963–64	Colorado College	11–14–1	4–11–1	6th
1964–65	Colorado College	7–17–1	2–14–0	7th
1965–66	Colorado College	9–18–2	4–12–2	7th	WCHA first round
Colorado College:		27–49–4	10–37–3
Wisconsin Badgers Independent (1966–1969)
1966–67	Wisconsin	16–10–0
1967–68	Wisconsin	21–10–0
1968–69	Wisconsin	22–10–2
Wisconsin:		59–30–2
Wisconsin Badgers (WCHA) (1969–1975)
1969–70	Wisconsin	23–11–0	12–10–0	4th	NCAA consolation game (win)
1970–71	Wisconsin	20–13–1	13–9–0	3rd	WCHA East Regional semifinals
1971–72	Wisconsin	27–10–1	20–8–0	2nd	NCAA consolation game (win)
1972–73	Wisconsin	29–9–2	18–9–1	3rd	NCAA national champion
1973–74	Wisconsin	18–13–5	12–11–5	5th	WCHA first round
1974–75	Wisconsin	24–12–2	19–11–2	4th	WCHA first round
Wisconsin:		141–68–11	94–58–8
Wisconsin Badgers (WCHA) (1976–1982)
1976–77	Wisconsin	37–7–1	26–5–1	1st	NCAA national champion
1977–78	Wisconsin	28–12–3	21–9–2	2nd	NCAA consolation game (loss)
1978–79	Wisconsin	25–13–3	19–11–2	4th	WCHA second round
1979–80	Wisconsin	15–20–1	12–18–0	9th
1980–81	Wisconsin	27–14–1	17–11–0	t-2nd	NCAA national champion
1981–82	Wisconsin	35–11–1	18–7–1	2nd	NCAA runner-up
Wisconsin:		167–77–10	113–61–6
Total:		394–224–27
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

NHL


Team	Year	Regular season						Postseason
Team	Year	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	Points	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
CGY	1982-83	80	32	34	14	78	2nd in Smythe	4	5	.445	Lost in Division Finals (EDM)
CGY	1983-84	80	34	32	14	82	2nd in Smythe	6	5	.545	Lost in Division Finals (EDM)
CGY	1984-85	80	41	27	12	94	3rd in Smythe	1	3	.250	Lost in Division Semifinals (WPG)
CGY	1985-86	80	40	31	9	89	2nd in Smythe	12	10	.545	Lost in Stanley Cup Finals (MTL)
CGY	1986-87	80	46	31	3	95	2nd in Smythe	2	4	.333	Lost in Division Semifinals (WPG)
CGY total		400	193	155	52	—		25	27	.481
PIT	1990-91	80	41	33	5	88	1st in Patrick	16	8	.667	Won Stanley Cup
PIT total		80	41	33	5	—		16	8	.667
Total		480	234	188	58			41	35	.539

Honors

Johnson was inducted into the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987, United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. On November 2, 2012, the Wisconsin Badgers Men's Hockey team dedicated their home ice rink to Johnson, dubbing it "Bob Johnson Rink".

Personal life

Johnson is also the father of 1980 Olympic hockey gold medalist and current Wisconsin women's hockey coach Mark Johnson and former Wisconsin assistant coach and Toronto Maple Leafs scout Peter Johnson. He is the grandfather of former Wisconsin hockey player Patrick Johnson, former Denver Pioneer hockey player Scott McConnell, Augsburg College men's assistant hockey coach Chris Johnson, women's hockey player Mikayla Johnson, and women's soccer player Meghan Johnson.^{[citation needed]}

Johnson umpired baseball games in Minnesota with fellow hockey coach Dave Peterson.^[12]

References

^ "Robert "Bob" Johnson".
^ Feldman, Jason (December 5, 2018). "Hockey: Johannson lived to give back to the game he loved". Associated Press News. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
^ "Penguins' Johnson has brain tumor removed". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^ "Penguins name Bowman interim coach - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^ "Penguins name Bowman interim coachWaiting until just..." Baltimore Sun. October 2, 1991. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^ Lapointe, Joe (October 20, 1991). "HOCKEY; A Familiar N.H.L. Voice Is Running the Penguins". The New York Times. p. 4. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^ Lapointe, Joe (October 20, 1991). "HOCKEY; A Familiar N.H.L. Voice Is Running the Penguins". The New York Times. p. 4. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^ Moody, Chuck (November 26, 1991). "Penguins coach dies of brain tumors - UPI Archives". United Press International. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^ Yannis, Alex (November 27, 1991). "Bob Johnson, Top Hockey Coach In Pros and College, Is Dead at 60". The New York Times. p. B10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^ LaPointe, Joe (September 29, 1991). "1991–1992 NHL SEASON; Johnson's Down, but Not Out Of the Picture". The New York Times.
^ Against the Odds – Part 7 on YouTube
^ "Dave Peterson–Coach 1955-1982". Southwest High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2023.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
Pittsburgh media coverage of tributes for Johnson

Sporting positions
Preceded by Al MacNeil	Head coach of the Calgary Flames 1982–87	Succeeded by Terry Crisp
Preceded by Craig Patrick	Head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins 1990–91	Succeeded by Scotty Bowman
Awards and achievements
Preceded by John MacInnes	WCHA Coach of the Year 1976–77	Succeeded by Marshall Johnston
Preceded by John MacInnes/Glen Sonmor	Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award 2000	Succeeded by Bob Peters