This Day in Hockey History – March 4, 1931 – Birth of Badger Bob

Mar 4, 2020

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Hockey at the high school, college, international, and professional levels all got a boost on March 4, 1931, when future coach Robert “Badger Bob” Johnson was born at Minneapolis, Minnesota. After his own high school and college playing career, he moved on to coaching the former in Minnesota and the latter in Wisconsin. He spent two decades guiding Team U.S.A. while taking six seasons of his final decade to lead two NHL teams to the Stanley Cup Final. He remains the only one to coach both NCAA and NHL champions.

Growing up in Minneapolis, it wasn’t any wonder that Johnson played for the University of Minnesota Gophers. There, he was coached by the “Godfather of Minnesota Hockey,” John Mariucci, who led the Gophers until he became the first assistant GM for the Minnesota North Stars. As of 1983, the John Mariucci Award has been given annually to the state’s high school coach of the year. Had Johnson still been coaching at that level, he likely would have received the award. After graduating from the university and serving as a medic during the Korean War, Johnson returned to Minnesota to teach and coach at Warroad and then at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. In 1960, he wrote a thesis on coaching high school hockey that already showed how his theories were ahead of his time.

Johnson’s career as a college coach began in 1963 with the Colorado College Tigers. There, he had a record of 29-51-3 and defeated his future team in all four matchups. He was named Coach of the Year for two of the three that he spent there.

The fateful day came on April 1, 1966, when the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced that Johnson would return to the Midwest as the Badgers’ head coach. At the time, he was quoted as saying, “Wisconsin seems to me to be a natural area for hockey. It’s a great game and once a boy learns the ropes he falls in love with it. Once they get going, they’ll feel it’s the only winter sport to play.’’

At the same press release, Johnson said, “I see no reason why we can’t keep the program moving all the way to the top.” And so he did. During his tenure in Madison, until 1981, “Badger Bob” led his team to their first conference title and Frozen Four appearance in 1970 and to the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Champions seven times. They brought home their first title in 1973 and followed with the titles of 1977 and 1981. He was named the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1977, the year his son Mark was on the championship team. Johnson’s record at UW was 367-125-23. The father-son duo would both be inducted into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame, with Mark entering in 1991 and “Badger Bob” in 1992. In addition to the university’s hall, Johnson was also inducted into the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987.

Steve Alley, a player from the 1977 team, commented, “Bob was always selling hockey, everywhere he went, he was selling hockey and if it wasn’t to the players, it was to the fans.” He continued, “He was one of hockey’s legends, truly a legend. … He’s known around the world as Badger Bob.’’ Theran Welsh of the 1981 team (and an All-American defenseman) noted, “Bob’s passion for ice hockey was significant. I don’t remember being around him when he wasn’t talking hockey.’’ As Welsh recalled, Johnson would tell them, “Let’s face it, you’re not all goal-scorers. But you have ability and if you have the right passion and the right attitude, you can make a contribution to a team. What are you going to do?”

The Badgers dedicated the Bob Johnson Rink at the Kohl Center in Madison on November 2, 2012. Mark Johnson, coach of the UW women’s hockey team, recognized at the time that his father’s “legacy is going to live on forever. … They will see his name on the ice and they will remember who he was, what he did and what he accomplished here.’’

While crafting championship college teams, American-born Johnson also represented his country internationally. Between 1973 and 1987, he coached at four World Championships, in three Canada Cup tournaments, and at the 1976 Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria. Though Team U.S.A. did not medal there, his son Mark’s team experienced a miracle at the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid, N.Y. Throughout the end of the 1980s, Johnson held the position of President or Executive Director of USA Hockey. In recognition of all this dedication, Johnson was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.

Almost immediately after winning his third NCAA championship, in 1982, Johnson made the leap into the NHL. There, he coached the Calgary Flames for five seasons (the franchise’s longest length of service) with a record of 193-155-52. Under his leadership, they made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 1986, only to lose to the Montreal Canadians in five games. While Johnson worked for USA Hockey, in 1989 the Flames went on to win their only Stanley Cup.

Johnson’s assistant, Bob Murdoch (who went on to earn the Jack Adams Trophy in 1990), recalled how the coach would come in saying, “Great day for hockey! These people here in Calgary, they’re unbelievable. They recognize you and they want to talk hockey.” Murdoch joked, “Well, you took a step back from Bob. He had a Flames’ cap on. A Flames’ jacket on. Flames’ pants on. Flames running shoes on. He was a walking billboard for the Calgary Flames. And he was so pleased people would recognize him. … You couldn’t help BUT recognize him.” Still, Murdoch described, “Badger was the most optimistic, energetic person I ever met in the game. … He was genuine. I mean, that energy, that positive attitude, that was him. He never changed. Just so innovative. I know I was a much better coach after having worked with Bob. … His legacy is just his love of the game and his contribution to the game. He was absolutely consumed by hockey. He lived it, breathed it. He slept, ate and dreamed hockey. He didn’t know any other way.”

After his three years with USA Hockey, in 1990 Johnson returned to the NHL to coach the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his first and only season with them, their 41-33-6 record led them into the playoffs. With Johnson at the helm, the franchise won its very first Stanley Cup, by defeating his home-state’s Minnesota North Stars in six games. It had been 53 years since the only other American-born coach had led a team to the mountain top. Johnson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1992.

The Penguins would repeat their Stanley Cup victory the following season (and engrave his name again), but tragically, Johnson would not be around to witness it. While preparing for another Canada Cup tournament, he suffered a brain aneurysm that August and succumbed to brain cancer November 26, 1991. His gravestone bore his famous catchphrase, “It’s a Great Day for Hockey.” A banner with the phrase was hung at the rink in Madison. Pittsburgh kept the phrase on the blue lines at the Civic Center that season while players wore “Badger” on their sleeves. A fitting dedication for a man who spent nearly all of his 60 years dedicated to the sport of hockey at every level.