Stewart "Stew" Johnson (born August 19, 1944) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A 6'8" (2.03 m) tall forward/ center from

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...

, that was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, Johnson was selected by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

in the third round of the 1966 NBA draft. However, Johnson never played in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...

, joining the rival

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

instead.

College career

Johnson broke the color barrier as the first black varsity basketball player for a four-year program in the southeastern United States (not including

historically black colleges and universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...

), as he suited up for Murray State University of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cha ...

in 1963. In his three seasons of varsity basketball at Murray State, he played in 76 games and averaged 16.8 points averaged 12.9 rebounds while shooting for a .417 field goal percentage and a .731 free throw percentage. He scored a total of 1,275 points in his career. A two-time All-OVC selection, Johnson averaged 20.0 points and 14.1 rebounds as a junior, as his rebounding average ranked second in conference statistics. Johnson was a regular on three consecutive winning Racer teams, as he helped Murray State to an OVC championship in 1963-64. He served as team co-captain his senior season. He is a member of the Murray State Athletics Hall of Fame, inducted in 1979.

Playing career

NABL

Johnson spent the 1966–67 season in the North American Basketball League with Benton Harbor/Twin City Sailors and the Holland Carvers.

ABA

Johnson played nine seasons (1967–1976) in the ABA with seven different franchises: the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

(1967),

New Jersey Americans New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

(1967–69),

Houston Mavericks The Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in the upstart league's first two seasons, from 1967 to 1969. Their home arena was the Sam Houston Coliseum. In 1947–48, there was an unrela ...

(1968–69), Pittsburgh Pipers / Condors (1969–1971),

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

(1971–72),

San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

(1972–1974), Memphis Sounds (1974–75), Baltimore Claws (1975–76, who played only 3 preseason games),

San Diego Sails The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

(1975) and

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

(1975–76) In his ABA career Johnson scored 10,538 career points. He was known for his sweet shooting stroke. He had the ability to drain long jumpers and had range out to the three-point arc. He filled in admirably at center for the '71-'72 Cougar team after Jim McDaniels ignored his contract with the Cougars and jumped to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...

. He also made three ABA All-Star Game appearances (

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

), twice as a member of the

and once as a member of the Memphis Sounds. He set the ABA single-game scoring record when he erupted for 62 points against

The Floridians ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

on March 6, 1971; his record lasted almost a year until

Zelmo Beaty Zelmo "Big Z" Beaty ( ; October 25, 1939 – August 27, 2013) was an American basketball player. He played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and four in the rival American Basketball Association (ABA). A three-time ABA A ...

scored 63 points against the

Pittsburgh Condors The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team pla ...

on February 21, 1972. Johnson made the playoffs in three straight years from 1973 to 1975, scoring 238 points in 15 games. His 10,538 points are 9th all time in ABA history, behind only Louie Dampier,

Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per ...

, Ron Boone,

Mel Daniels Melvin Joe Daniels (July 20, 1944 – October 30, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Minnesota Muskies, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sounds, and in the National Bas ...

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

Freddie Lewis Frederick L. Lewis (born July 1, 1943) is a retired American basketball player. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA). He is the only player to start his career in the NBA ...

, Donnie Freeman, and

Mack Calvin Mack Calvin (born July 27, 1947) is an American former basketball player. A five-time ABA All-Star, Calvin recorded the second most assists in ABA history, and was later named to the ABA All-Time Team. High school career Calvin was born in Fort W ...

, with four of them being in the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

. Johnson finished 2nd all time in field goal attempts (10,854), 5th in field goals made (4,586), 7th in games played (647), 1st in turnover percentage (8.68%) 12th in minutes played (19,201), but also 2nd in field goals missed (6,268).

AABA

In January 1978, Johnson joined the Indiana Wizards of the All-American Basketball Alliance league. The league folded in February, less than a month after it started. In 8 games, Johnson scored 117 points for an average of 14,6 points per game.

Iceland

In 1978 Johnson joined Icelandic Division I club Ármann as player-coach. In December of that year, Johnson was assaulted in a nightclub where a glass was thrown at his face, severely injuring his right eye. He recovered enough to return to the floor before the season ended but the club was unable to achieve promotion to the Úrvalsdeild. After spending the next two seasons with River Plate in

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...

, Johnson returned to Iceland in 1981 and joined KR as player-coach. He led the Úrvalsdeild in scoring in 1983 while finishing second in 1982. His Icelandic career came to an end in 1983 when foreign players where barred from playing in the Icelandic leagues. Johnson also coached KR's women's team for two seasons and led them to both the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

and Icelandic Basketball Cup in 1982 and 1983.Besta körfuknattleikslið kvenna á íslandi
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References

External links

Úrvalsdeild career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Stew 1944 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in Iceland American men's basketball players Ármann men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Carolina Cougars players Houston Mavericks players KR men's basketball coaches KR men's basketball players KR women's basketball coaches Memphis Sounds players Murray State Racers men's basketball players New Jersey Americans players New York Knicks draft picks New York Nets players People from Clairton, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Condors players Pittsburgh Pipers players Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players San Diego Conquistadors players San Diego Sails players SP Federale Lugano players Úrvalsdeild karla (basketball) coaches Úrvalsdeild karla (basketball) players Úrvalsdeild kvenna basketball coaches