ARNIE JOHNSON

Arnie Johnson was an NAIA  All-American at Bemidji State, a small college in Minnesota. AFter service in World War II, Johnson played one year of AAU ball, and then in the fall of 1946, signed a contract with the Rochester Royals, where he would spend his entire seven-year pro basketball career. Nicknamed “the Bulldozer” by his teammates, Johnson was a tenacious  defender and outstanding rebounder. His defense was relentless, and he was adept at setting  bone-crunching screens for the benefit of his future Hall of Fame teammates, Bob Davies and Red Holzman. The Royals lived up to their nickname. A star-studded roster, season after season produced a team that always competed for the championship,  but season after season was frustrated in their quest for a title by one of the greatest team in history of professional basketball, the Minneapolis Lakers. In three separate seasons, the Royals lost to the Lakers in the finals. Finally, in 1951, Rochester overcame its nemesis, Minneapolis,  in the Division finals and went on to capture the NBA title by defeating the New York Knicks in the Championship series.