Panther legend Don Johnson has a rich history with Eastern Illinois University and it starts from the roots.
Johnson grew up in Charleston. He attended Charleston High School, where he succeeded both athletically and academically. He started his college football career as a scholarship player at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He cut his football career with the Illini short when he chose to enlist for active duty in the United States Navy in October 1943.
Johnson was discharged on Friday, April 6, 1946. After a quick weekend of decision making, he enrolled at Eastern Illinois University on Monday, April 9th, and went out for the Track & Field team that same afternoon. He ran the 100 and 220 meter sprints and occasionally ran relays for the Panther Track team under Coach Maynard “Pat” O'Brien.
One of his fondest campus memories revolves around the married students' housing, an area the students called “Trailerville”. Johnson and his wife, also a student at Eastern Illinois University, were married in December 1946. “All of us were married couples… we were young and we made really great friends,” Johnson says. “One of my favorite memories about that place is walking to the candy store that was right there with some of the neighbor kids.”
He also loved the campus atmosphere. “EIU only had 1,500 students enrolled at the time. You could pretty well get to know everybody on campus. It was a really great feeling,” he says. As a returning student and a veteran, most students would find the transition difficult. But not Don Johnson. “My professors were great—so supportive. I couldn't have asked for anything better,” he says. He remembers playing bridge with professors and friends in the Student Union. He attributes the friendly community that was Eastern Illinois University as an unforgettable experience in his life.
Johnson is an EIU Hall of Fame member for Track & Field. He set a school record in the spring of 1948 during a meet at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale on the all-leather track by running the 220 meter race in 22.4 seconds.
Johnson is also a Hall of Fame inductee for his football career with the Panthers. In 1948, Johnson's senior year, he was named IIAC's leading scorer. “It's nothing compared to the guys these days, but I was honored and it was a big deal back then,” he says. His most memorable game was against Western Illinois University in his senior season. “We kept running a play, a 22 outside trap,” he explains. “It worked. We must have run it nine straight times.” Another part of the game Johnson remembers is a call made by the referee. “They called my number and I ran into the line. The play started and somewhere the whistle blew. Everybody stopped but for some reason I kept running. I still don't know why I kept going,” he laughs. “They counted my points. It was great. It was the turning point of that game, too.” Final score? 13-7 in favor of the Panthers.
One person Johnson credits as an exemplary role model during his years as a Panther student athlete is Coach Pat O'Brien, for whom O'Brien Field is commemorated. Coach O'Brien set a coaching precedent as a leader whom Johnson and his teammates greatly respected. His example showed players that there was a way to approach every situation, positive or negative. “I was very fortunate in the example he set for me,” Johnson says.
After graduation, Johnson took a job at Taylorville Junior High School in Taylorville, Illinois. He coached football and track and taught social studies for eight years. During a tornado, the Johnsons' house was damaged and Don and his wife decided to move west. “We caught some tornado damage, so we decided to take our chance with earthquakes,” Johnson says about their decision to move to California. He taught for one year at Old Tuscon High School in Tuscon, Arizona, and one year at both Oceanside and Fallbrook High Schools in California. He then took a job at Carlsbad High School, where he remained until his retirement in 1985.
At Carlsbad, Johnson taught a myriad of social studies courses including world history, geography and economics. His most memorable subjects, however, were marriage and family electives. He coached track and football as both assistant and head coach. He also coached JV golf for a season. “Some of the JV golfers were better golfers than I was,” Johnson admits as he remembers that season.
In 1972, Don Johnson was nominated for California High School Teacher of the Year. He says he was somewhat surprised when he received the nomination while teaching marriage and family courses. “We all do the best we can,” he says when asked about the nomination. “There are thousands of top notch teachers who never even get mentioned all over the country.” Johnson retired from teaching in 1985, leaving an indelible, positive mark on countless students over four decades.
In 1987, Eastern Illinois University inducted Don Johnson into the Athletics Hall of Fame for Track & Field and football. Johnson considers this one of the biggest events in his life. “I'll put it this way: any time you're 62 years old and you get a call for something like that, you're like a little kid in a candy shop,” he laughs.
University athletics are still important to Johnson. He is impressed by how far Eastern has come. “I tell everyone around that my little 'ol school has three head coaches, a quarterback, and six to ten assistant coaches in the NFL,” he says. He tries to follow the track team rather closely. One of the achievements he is most impressed is that EIU hosts the IHSA State Finals track meet every year.
To Johnson, college athletics today seem like a different world entirely. “We participated mostly with schools in Illinois. Now they travel all over,” he says.
Don Johnson has come a long way since graduating in 1949. He has had an incredible teaching and coaching career, a happy life with a loving wife and children, and a largely decorated athletic career with the Panthers that is still acknowledged today. Don Johnson is easily one of the most memorable Panthers around.
