Tennessee Sports Hall of Famer and legendary LeMoyne-Owen College Coach Jerry C. Johnson left a lasting legacy on America. In his 46 years over the Magicians, there have come eight NBA players, six high school or junior high school coaches, seven college coaches, four principals, a city councilman, and a mayor of Memphis, Dr. Willie W. Herenton. Even his former player, David "Smokey" Gaines succeeded Coach Johnson, taking the reins of the Lemoyne-Owen Magicians in 2005. After LeMoyne-Owen, Gaines played for the Harlem Globetrotters and the Kentucky Colonels of the old ABA league before the merger with the NBA. Later, Gaines was one of the pioneering African American coaches at so-called majority institutions when he became the head coach at the University of Detroit and at San Diego State.The Alumnae of LeMoyne-Owen College celebrated the college's legendary head basketball coach Jerry C. Johnson's 92nd birthday. The event was a weekend of fun and learning, June 18 & 19, and included a golf scramble at Tunica National Golf Course as well as a coaches clinic at Harrah's Casino Convention Center. The Celebration Dinner was held at the Holiday Inn Express on Democrat Road at Airways Boulevard. Proceeds from this event will fund the Magician's Club which provides scholarships for the college's athletes.
Coach Johnson retired from the college's basketball program in 2005 after more than 46 seasons. When he was 86, he ranked first among active NCAA Division II coaches with 818 victories in 45 seasons. He has lost just 400 games in that time, and is the second winningest coach in Division II NCAA history behind another legend, Clarence "Big House" Gaines (Winston-Salem State).
Coach Jerry C. Johnson is the only coach in Tennessee history to win a national basketball championship. Since his retirement, he has received numerous honors for his outstanding career. Coach Johnson was inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ((SIAC) Hall of Fame, the Fayetteville State University Hall of Fame, and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. The coach of the year award for the SIAC is now The Jerry C. Johnson Coach of the Year Award. And in 1991, LeMoyne-Owen College awarded Johnson an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. He ended his career with 821 victories.
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Former coach at LeMoyne honored |
