Johnnie Johnson was born on September 22, 1940 to Mildred Francis Majors and Harry Edward Johnson in Santa Rosa, CA. Johnnie was raised in Petaluma, and then lived in Santa Rosa and Chester, CA. He graduated from Petaluma High School, attended University of San Francisco, and graduated from Long Beach State College. He got his Masters at San Francisco State.
Johnnie taught U.S. History and Physical Education, but his true passion was coaching basketball. Johnnie coached and or taught at Cal State Hayward, Rohnert Park Junior High, Piner High School, Montgomery High School, College of Marin, Shasta College, Lassen College, Hawaii Pacific College, Sacramento Kings Summer Pro-Am Team, various Native American teams, Lassen High, Diamond View Middle, Westwood High, Chester High, and Meadow Elementary.
Johnnie was a tremendous basketball player himself, as he played locally for University of San Francisco and Long Beach State College. Internationally, he played for the Washington Generals and Hollywood Stars against the Harlem Clowns, now known as the Harlem Globe Trotters, and eventually played for the Baltimore Bullets, now known as the Washington Wizards.
