Wisconsin Women's Head Coach Mark Johnson One Of Four 2003 UW Athletic Hall Of Fame Inductees
April 26, 2003
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin women's ice hockey coach and former men's hockey great Mark Johnson is one of four 2003 inductees into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, the Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation announced on Thursday. Johnson, along with the rest of the 2003 class, will be inducted in a gala celebration on Thursday, June 12, 2003, at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee.
One of the University of Wisconsin's most decorated athletes in any sport, Mark Johnson helped the Badgers to the 1977 NCAA Championship as a frosh. The program's all-time leading goal scorer went on to lead the 1980 "Miracle On Ice" U.S. Olympic Team in scoring, notching two goals against the former Soviet Union and the game-winning goal against Finland to clinch the gold medal.
Johnson followed the momentus event with a stellar 11-year NHL career that included stops with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota North Stars, Hartford Whalers, St. Louis Blues and New Jersey Devils. Johnson captained and made an all-star game appearance with the Whalers.
Johnson is a 1991 charter member of the National W Club Hall of Fame, a 1999 inductee into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame and was recently selected as one of the WCHA's "Top 50 Players in 50 Years." Johnson followed in the footsteps of his father, legendary Wisconsin men's head coach Bob Johnson, and in 1993 began a successful coaching career with U.S national teams and the University of Wisconsin men's and women's hockey programs.
Johnson, 45, earned his bachelor of science degree in kinesiology from Wisconsin in 1994. He resides in Madison with his wife Leslie and his five children: Douglas, Christopher, Patrick, Mikayla and Megan.
Other members of the 2003 class include Frederick "Fuzzy" Thurston, a guard with the Green Bay Packers' first two Super Bowl champion teams, "Stormin" Gorman Thomas, a Milwaukee Brewer who led Major League Baseball in home runs from 1978*1982, and Tommy Bartlett, water sports showman who laid the cornerstone for Wisconsin Dells tourism.
The 2003 Class represents the first in which Wisconsin fans were able to select a Hall of Fame member through balloting at Wisconsin's 120 U.S. Bank locations and via online voting.
More than 110 athletes have been inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame since its beginning in 1951. The Hall honors individuals who have made significant contributions to athletics in Wisconsin and elsewhere. A complete list of Hall of Fame members and ticket information for the Induction Ceremony and Dinner are located at SportsInWisconsin.com. For more information, call 608-226-4780.
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