Many students might not know the name James Johnson, but from 1949 to 1952 James Johnson dominated the athletic scene at Eastern.

“He was a tremendous athlete and very, very smart,” said Roger Dettro, a teammate of Johnson. “He was that one person that you wanted to know. He was friendly, and he loved to have a good time. He was a tremendous individual,” Dettro said.

Johnson passed away during the weekend at the age of 80.

Dettro and Johnson played basketball and track together. They both contributed to Eastern’s undefeated regular season in 1951, and became good friends because of their involvement with sports.

“He was one of the best,” Dettro said. “He was a true leader and a great gentleman. It was a great honor for me to be his friend.”

While attending Eastern, Johnson lettered in cross country, track and basketball. He was twice named All-Conference First Team and accumulated 981 career points, which ranks among Eastern’s all-time top 20 scorers.

He also worked at Eastern as assistant dean of student personnel for 21 years before retiring in 1991.

“He was a wonderful person,” said Vicki Hampton, a business professor. “You could talk to him. He knew the campus and knew the students by name. He was just wonderful to work with.”

Hampton knew Johnson while working at the information technology area at the computer center.

Along with being in the all-time top 20 scorers, Johnson also held Eastern’s school record for the 220 yard dash from 1951 to 1968. His record time was also clocked at 21.6 seconds.

“Jim was liked everywhere on campus,” said Tom Katsimpalis, another teammate of Johnson. “He had a tenacious work ethic. On the basketball court, he was a real hustler.”

Johnson was born in Brazil, Ind. and married Lelia Ross in 1948. They would go onto raise two sons and a daughter.

“You don’t meet people like Jim that often,” Katsimpalis said.