Beloit College

Lack of stature in a game dominated by big men has never hampered Johnny Erickson’s career.  In two short decades, he has risen in basketball circles from Little All-American player to successful coach to enthusiastic executive.  Although failing to letter in high school, John won five basketball B’s at Beloit college –playing three full campaigns and two halfs seasons—and was the first Buccaneer to score 1,000 points.  He also wielded a wicked tennis racquet, capturing singles championships in Midwest Conference and State AAU meets and representing Beloit in three NCAA tourneys.  Prep basketball coaching stints at Stevens Point and Beloit preceded his entry into the collegiate ranks at Lake Forest.  In 1959, he became an assistant at the University of Wisconsin and the following year was named the Badgers’ head coach.  His teams finished in the Big Ten’s first division three times in nine years, taking second in 1962.  In 1968, he was appointed general manager of the new Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association.  An inspiration to youth as advisory board member for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, John Erickson also has been termed “one of the best public relations men Wisconsin ever had.”