"It's a great day for hockey"
Team Modern Era selects as their coach...
Robert "Badger Bob" Johnson (
March 4,
1931 –
November 26,
1991) was an
American college and professional
ice hockey coach.
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.
After serving as a
medic during the
Korean War, Johnson began his coaching career at a high school in
Warroad, Minnesota. 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. He became the head hockey coach at
Colorado College in 1963.
In 1966, he moved to the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was head coach until 1981. 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."
He 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.
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 led the team, which was led by superstar
Mario Lemieux, to a
Stanley Cup championship victory over the
Minnesota North Stars, four games to two. He 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!"
In August 1991, as he was preparing the US team for the upcoming Canada Cup tournament, Johnson suffered a
brain aneurysm and was hospitalized, where he was diagnosed with
brain cancer. He turned his Penguins coaching duties over to
Scotty Bowman and began treatment.
Johnson died of brain cancer in
Colorado Springs, Colorado, on
November 26,
1991. 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.
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.
NHL Games Coached - 480
Wins - 232
Losses - 186
Ties - 58
2 Finals appearances (CGY 85-86, PIT 90-91), 1 Stanley Cup (PIT 90-91).