By The Bemidji Pioneer
Published 7:06 a.m. on Dec. 30, 2018
Long before his basketball jersey ever said so, Arnie Johnson was destined for royalty.
In the Bemidji winters of yesteryear, Johnson pioneered the first Bemidji State Teachers College dynasty. And nine years later, he and the Rochester Royals were kings of the basketball world.
Meet Arnie Johnson: the only Beaver in NBA history.
"He was built like a big man, but he had the speed of a fast man. He could do so many different things, and yet he was so humble," said Doug Brei, a local sports historian in Rochester, N.Y. "He wasn't the type of guy who was flashy or would get a lot of press. But in a lot of ways, Arnie Johnson was really the heart and soul of the Royals."
Nicknamed "The Bulldozer" and remembered as an unsung hero of Rochester's championship days, Johnson was a respected 6-foot-5, 240-pound small forward and one of the most likeable players in the NBA. His defense was dauntless, his rebounding tenacious and his screens perfected for the benefit of his future Hall of Fame teammates.
"He was known as one of the most selfless guys on the planet," Brei said of Johnson, who died in 2000 at the age of 80. "Everything was about the team. ... If (his teammates) were still alive, everybody would come back and mention Arnie Johnson's value."
Johnson forged an unprecedented path from present-day Memorial Hall in Bemidji to Edgerton Park Sports Arena in Rochester. He was the first BSU alumnus to reach the professional basketball ranks, where he became an integral piece to an NBA heavyweight.
"He was very respectful and a hard worker," said Arvin Odegaard, Johnson's nephew and Rochester resident. "He was a tough player and really tough on the boards. He wasn't necessarily a real high scorer, but he was a great rebounder and playmaker."
From 1938-42, Johnson reigned from the shores of Lake Bemidji. His professional career spanned from 1946-53 in New York, and, generations later, he's still the only of his kind. Johnson's path to the pros has never been duplicated by a BSU basketball player, and yet, just 29 years after Dr. James Naismith invented the game of "Basket Ball," Johnson's road to immortality began.
An heir apparent
After his father immigrated from Sweden, Johnson established his roots in northern Minnesota. Born in Gonvick to Albert and Ida Johnson on May 16, 1920, Arnie was one of four children and a product of Gonvick High School, where he was a captain and four-time letter winner on the basketball team.
Johnson graduated and joined the squad at BSU (then called BSTC) less than two decades after its inception. He scored 788 points as the Beavers went 52-24 under head coach R. B. "Jack" Frost, also posting a 46-16 mark during Johnson's final three years – the dawn of a program-record 15 straight winning seasons.
"He was a legend in Bemidji State," said Marilyn Lenuson, Johnson's cousin. "His pictures were all over the place."
With Johnson as Bemidji's Paul Bunyan-sized centerpiece, Bemidji Teachers won three straight Northern Teachers College Conference championships and, in turn, secured three consecutive berths to the NAIA national tournament.
The Feb. 25, 1942, edition of The Northern Student newspaper (BSTC's student publication) attributed much of Bemidji State's success to "'Big Arne' Johnson, who time and again has pulled the Beavers from a tough one by his consistent high scoring."
The Bemidji Daily Pioneer also chronicled Johnson's heroics during the Beavers' 1942 national tournament upset over defending champions San Diego State. Bemidji Teachers prevailed 41-32 with Johnson "directing the heavy traffic under the baskets and controlling rebounds. He kept the backboards wiped clean with his rebound finesse and, meantime, managed to score 16 points himself."
Mastery of Minnesota hardwoods cemented Johnson's legacy at Bemidji State Teachers College, and he extended his empire on a national scale late in his senior season.
First, Johnson scored the winning basket in a 38-36 comeback thriller over Mankato Teachers, which clinched the conference title and another bid to the national tournament. The Beavers then beat Panzer College (N.J.) 46-37 in the NAIA tourney opener and snapped Panzer's 44-game winning streak – longest in the nation – behind Johnson's game-high 17 points.
BSTC's run continued when they overthrew the defending champs of San Diego State. The season ended in a 46-32 loss to Warrensburg Teachers (now University of Central Missouri) in the quarterfinals, but Johnson's national showcases still warranted groundbreaking recognition.
"Co-Captain Arne Johnson has a bright new gold wristwatch and the greatest honor ever accorded a Bemidji State Teachers College athlete," the Daily Pioneer wrote on March 16, 1942. "He is ALL-AMERICAN!"
Blue bloods of yore
Despite Johnson's collegiate feats, they didn't lead to immediate professional success. First, there was a war to win.
Johnson served at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo., during World War II, where he helped wounded soldiers with their rehabilitation. He was also a prized jewel on the Buckley Field Gunners basketball battalion.
"Every fort had a basketball team," Odegaard said. "Of course, Arnie was in such demand that every post commander wanted him transferred to their post because he was so good compared to the other fellas."
Following the war, Rochester came calling in 1946. Chuck Taylor, the namesake of the classic Converse sneakers, spotted Johnson at an AAU tournament in Denver, and he told Royals owner/coach Les Harrison about him. Harrison sent Johnson travel money for a tryout, and legend has it, Brei said, Johnson hitchhiked from Gonvick to Chicago in case he didn't make the team and needed money for a train ticket home.
But as it turned out, the ride to Rochester was a royal road.
"Les Harrison had heard about this fellow from Minnesota," Odegaard said. "Once he met Arnie and saw what he could do, he hired him right off the bat."
"He arrived with us at a perfect time, and he was exactly what we needed," Brei added. "He was known to be able to throw his weight around, but at the same time, not just be that big, brawny guy. He was surprisingly fast for his size and had great shooting touch."
Johnson first scored a championship in 1946-47, his rookie season, as Rochester went 31-13 and won the National Basketball League title (which, that year, was awarded to the team with the best regular season record).
The Royals jumped from the NBL to the Basketball Association of America for the 1948-49 season, which evolved into the National Basketball Association after the 1949 NBL-BAA merger. The infant NBA was dominated by superstar George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers, but a friendship still formed to bridge two archrival franchises.
"Arnie and George Mikan were such good friends. They were very close," said JoAnn Birkeland, Johnson's niece and a Gonvick local. "The Lakers had wanted to get Arnie so bad so that he could play with Mikan, but Rochester wouldn't let him go."
"George always respected him. He was a tough guy on the court," Odegaard added. "Minneapolis wanted to purchase Arnie from the Royals. They were willing to pay $10,000 for him, but Les Harrison refused that."
Harrison's decision proved to be a wise investment.
Odegaard said Johnson's salary was $7,000 a year, average among the league. But in 1950, The New York Times dubbed Johnson an "efficiency expert" and the Rochester Times-Union said he was "one of the best players in the circuit. ... When Johnson plays for keeps there isn't anything better in the (NBA)."
Most of Rochester's title conquests failed because of the Minneapolis dynasty, which captured five of six NBA championships from 1949-54. But, in 1951, the Royals claimed their birthright when they trounced the Lakers 3-1 in the Western Division finals and met the New York Knicks in the Finals.
In the best-of-seven series, Rochester surged ahead three games to none. The Knickerbockers won the next three games, however, tying the series in spite of a Herculean 27 points and 15 rebounds from Johnson in Game 6.
So on April 21, 1951, a sellout crowd of 4,200 packed inside Edgerton Park Sports Arena to witness history. In the NBA's first-ever Game 7, Johnson produced an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double that contributed to a 79-75 last-minute victory. Fans stormed the court in celebration, and the Royals were knighted as basketball's kings.
"That group of Royals was something special. That was really the last time Rochester was big-time," Brei said. "I think it's the last little bit of major-league magic that Rochester has ties to."
A noble departure
Johnson averaged 12.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the 1951 Finals. It was the pinnacle moment of his professional basketball career, which closed following the 1952-53 season – 15 years after he first suited up for Bemidji State.
Johnson tallied 3,735 total points over his seven years, including 2,617 points in the NBA throughout his final four seasons (8.8 ppg). Johnson's Royals went 324-163 during his reign.
"To make it that far in the league and do real well was quite an accomplishment. Especially from a small town in Minnesota," Odegaard said. "It's tremendous. And it's good for Gonvick, too."
Johnson stayed in Rochester after his playing days. Harrison told the Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester's local newspaper, "We're losing a fine team man, a ball player's ball player, which is about the highest compliment I can pay him. ... I'm really sorry to see him retire."
The Rochester Royals left town in 1957. They've now settled out west as the Sacramento Kings, and with roots dating back to the 1923 semi-professional Rochester Seagrams, they're the oldest franchise in the NBA. Their 67-year championship drought is one of the longest in all four of the top major U.S. sports leagues.
"Once Arnie Johnson was gone, we kind of lost our mojo," Brei said. "He was such an important part of that team."
Johnson was a 1978 inductee to the Bemidji State Athletics Hall of Fame and a 1986 inductee to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Hall of Fame. He is one of two members of both inaugural classes.
Johnson died on June 6, 2000, in Rochester. He and his wife, Nancy, didn't have any children. Instead, Johnson lives on through his Hall of Fame plaque displayed outside the BSU Gymnasium, his framed All-American jersey overlooking Beaver home games and an unrivaled legacy that's fit for a king.
"He just did what it took, whatever it took, to win," Brei said. "Guys like that shouldn't be lost to history."
Written by Micah Friez
