BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
Saturday will be a Great Day for Hockey in Madison. Mark Johnson's No. 10 jersey will be retired at the Kohl Center and it will hang over the ice sheet and rink named in honor of his dad, Bob Johnson. Mike Lucas dug deep in his story vault to recreate these memorable father-son snapshots.
MADISON, Wis. — On the eve of Team USA's game against West Germany in the Lake Placid Winter Olympics — February 19, 1980 — University of Wisconsin hockey coach Bob Johnson was revisiting his own Olympic experience during the 1976 games at Innsbruck, Austria.
Johnson had coached the Americans to a fourth-place finish, no small feat. Although there was little or no media exposure — "There simply wasn't as many writers covering the games in America," Johnson lamented — the team's performance was noteworthy.
Team USA had knocked off Yugoslavia in its qualifying game before losing to the Soviets, 6-2, and the Czechs, 5-0, the world heavyweights. After beating Finland and Poland, the Americans needed a win or a tie against West Germany to claim the bronze medal. They lost, 4-1.
Johnson was still frustrated at the thought of that outcome. Frustrated over not taking his son, Mark, to Innsbruck. He was mainly frustrated over the politics that influenced his decision. At the time, Mark was a gifted senior skater and scorer at Madison Memorial High School.
"He should have been on that Olympic team in '76," Bob Johnson insisted. "But it would have been unfair to Mark. During our exhibition schedule, when we lost, we lost because the coach's kid was on the team. The (University of) Minnesota players were really critical.
"Some of them went so far as to call Mark just another high school player. Can you imagine that? I still have those articles from the Twin Cities papers where they said those things. Mark deserved to be on that team. But the politics were simply too strong."
As he spoke of the injustice, he was interrupted by a phone call from Lake Placid. It was Mark calling to see how his dad was doing. Mark had called the previous day, too. But his dad had been out of his office at Camp Randall Stadium.
Mark was worried — worried because his dad's team was slumping. The Badgers had lost eight of their last 10 games and were in serious jeopardy of failing to qualify for the WCHA playoffs.
"Can you believe that?" Bob Johnson posed incredulously after getting off the line with Mark. "He wanted to know how I was doing. I told him not to worry about me, worry about yourself. I can take care of me."
During their phone conversation, Bob Johnson did most of the talking, per usual.
"The West Germans probably had a big party last night, so they won't be in any mood to play hockey, and that's your edge," Bob told Mark. "You're getting great exposure. I got a call from Aunt Sally in Washington, D.C. She says you're big out there. You're big in Idaho, too. You're big all over."
After he got done laughing, Bob Johnson returned to Dad Mode.
"With all the TV exposure, Mark, get a haircut, will ya?"
After he hung up, Bob Johnson pounded his fist on the table and growled.
"Damn it, I should have taken him to Innsbruck with me."
Team US defeated West Germany setting up the ultimate David vs. Goliath matchup between the college-aged Americans and the grizzled USSR professionals.
"Man, those referees are brutal in Lake Placid," mumbled Bob Johnson, mopping his forehead with his hand in characteristic Badger Bob fashion. His game face was on.
• • • •
On February 22, 1980, Bob Johnson went to bed with a big decision to make. His UW team had just beaten Colorado College, 6-2, in Colorado Springs. But there were other things on his mind.
"I don't expect to sleep much tonight," conceded Johnson, who was seriously contemplating flying to Lake Placid. Who could blame him for leaving?
On the other hand, he felt like he would be shirking his responsibilities because he would be abandoning his Badger players, even though he was confident that his two assistants — Grant Standbrook and Bill Howard — could handle the team in his absence.
"I've spent my entire life in hockey and this was my son's greatest moment," said Bob Johnson, who was savoring the Miracle on Ice — Team USA's stunning 4-3 victory over the Russians.
Mark Johnson scored twice in the upset.
"It really hurts not to be with him right now," he continued. "But my job is to coach the Badgers and I accept that fact as a professional. Still, it doesn't make it any easier."
It was not easy to keep pace with the excitable Johnson while he paced the corridors of the team's hotel in Colorado Springs earlier that historic day.
Attempting to piece together highlights and updates from Lake Placid via radio, television and phone reports, he scrambled from one room to the next, asking if anyone had heard anything more about Team USA and the Russians.
"This has been a very emotional day for me," admitted Bob Johnson after finally seeing the video replays of his son's goals. "I can imagine how Mark feels. This was a moment that he will never experience again.
"Mark probably knows more about the Russians than anybody on the U.S. team. He worked out with them in 1975 when I was coaching in the World Games. He played against them in 1978 and again last year. He has Valerie Karmalov's jersey at home. He idolized the Russians.
"And, then, to have scored twice against them … what a thrill."
Johnson paused and added softly, "I just wish that I was there."
After the Friday night game with Colorado College, one of the officials, Dewey Markus shook Johnson's hand and whispered in his ear, "Bob, you belong with Mark. Don't be foolish. Take off tomorrow and be with him. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
For the first time in his life, Bob Johnson agreed with an official. The decision was made easier by his UW players, who held a team meeting and pleaded with him to go to Lake Placid. Wisconsin athletic director Elroy Hirsch called and told him the same things.
Go. Be with Mark.
Bob Johnson skating at a camp with his two sons Peter and Mark Johnson
Going was one thing. Getting there was another. Johnson grabbed the first available flight out of Denver and wound up — via Atlanta — in Albany, New York. He was hoping to rent a car and drive to Lake Placid, but he discovered that nothing was open in Albany. Not at midnight.
His only option was his thumb. Badger Bob stuck out his and hitched a ride to the local bus station where he waited until 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning to catch the first bus out of town.
"I just tried to keep busy while I waited," he said. "When I got to Albany, I called Peter (his youngest son who didn't make the trip to Colorado College because of an injury) and I kept asking him the score of the Badger game because I knew that he was at home in Madison listening on radio.
"When I left for the bus station, we were ahead, 4-2. When I got there, we were tied, 6-6, going into overtime. I was afraid to make another call. I knew CC was unbeaten this year in overtimes."
But he made the call. Bad news. The Badgers had lost, 7-6.
"It didn't make the wait for that damn bus any shorter," he grumbled.
Upon arriving in the Olympic Village, Johnson couldn't reach his wife, Martha.
"And wouldn't you know it, I was just strolling down a street and I bumped into her," he related. "I ducked into a public restroom, washed my face and we headed for the rink."
The cavalry had arrived. And nobody was more grateful than Mark Johnson, who was on the verge of physical exhaustion between the second and third periods of the gold medal game. Team USA was trailing Finland and Mark was so drained that he was forced to apply cold towels to his neck.
He also requested smelling salts. "I really didn't know if I was going to make it. I thought I was going to pass out," he said. "I told one of my teammates that all I had left was 20 minutes. Not 20 minutes and one second. But 20 minutes.
"As I sat there between the second and third periods, I realized the great sacrifice my dad had made to come and see me play. I knew it was tough for him to leave his team in Colorado Springs. Knowing that he was in the arena pushed me a little harder.
"It gave me enough to make it through the third period. When you're tired, you have to look for something to motivate you. My dad was it. It was a great thrill for me to have him there when we won the gold medal."
Mark Johnson put his own punctuation mark on the golden moment by scoring a short-hander in the third period. As the players celebrated on the ice after rallying to beat Finland, Bob Johnson wiped away tears. For once in his life, he was speechless.
