Hall of Fame
John Johnson is the father of Mountaineer Athletics. Johnson organized and coached – and in some cases played – on the first football and basketball teams at Western State. During Johnson’s two terms at Western (1911-14 and 1919-28) he contributed significantly to the establishment and development of the school’s athletic programs.
Starting in 1911, Johnson organized the first basketball team at what was then known as Colorado State Normal School. He used players from both the High School and the College and often had to get creative to find places to play – such as laying out a court outside so they could practice and then winterizing an unused church to they could practice during the harsh Gunnison winters.
In 1912, Johnson started the Western State football program. The games were played against mostly nearby town teams and in many cases Johnson was the starting fullback of the teams.
Johnson returned to Gunnison in 1919 when he was hired as the Dean of the College. In this position, Johnson promoted the further development of the College’s athletic programs in several sports – including intercollegiate basketball, football, track, boxing and wrestling and several new intramural sports.
In 1921, Johnson helped organize the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference, which is now known as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Johnson helped write the first by-laws and served as the school’s faculty representative.
In 1923, Johnson urged legislature to change the institution’s name to Western State College, and was involved in the proposing and directing of the construction of the “W” on Tenderfoot Mountain overlooking Gunnison. The “W” which is the largest college emblem in the world was constructed to commemorate the changing of the school’s name to Western State.
Johnson persevered in his motions requesting trustees to designate the school a four year graduate school which would grant Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. His and other faculty members requests came to pass and Western State is now the four-year member institution offering graduate degrees we know of today.
Johnson was the Founder and for 30 years the Director of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory at Gothic.