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Virgil Johnson

BIRTHPLACE: Minneapolis, Minn.

BORN: March 14, 1912,

DIED: September 9, 1993

TEAMS/ASSOCIATIONS: Chicago Blackhawks, Minor professional teams

 

Bio

Virgil Johnson came out of Minneapolis South High School where he starred in both hockey and footbal as a defenseman and quarterback, respectively. The ice is where he would make his mark though, as he went on to play 16 years of professional hockey.

Johnson was small in stature at five-foot-eight and 160 pounts, but nonetheless was a master stick checker and backwards skater who could take the puck away from anyone. Fellow United States Hockey Hall of Fame enshrinee John Mariucci remembered him well: "He was one of the smallest defenseman in the league, but very effectice. He was a magician with his stick. He was like a terrier after a rat when he moved in and stole the puck. He could do it against the best stick handlers."

After playing amateur hockey in the Twin Cities area, Johnson spent a large part of his career with the St. Paul Saints of the American Hockey Association. However, during the 1938 season he was called up to play with the Chicago Blackhawks for thier Cinderella season. The Blackhawks took it all that year as Johnson appeared in seven of the Stanley Cup games.

He did not return to the National Hockey League until the 1944 season though, when he played the entire schedule as well as nine Stanley Cup games as the Hawks bowed to Montreal in four straight games in the finals. (In two NHL seasons, Johnson played with four United States Hockey Hall of Fame enshrinees: Karakas, Romnes, Dahlstrom, and Purpur.) After the 1947 season with the Minneapolis Millers of the United States League, he retired from professional hockey to pursue business interests in the Twin Cities.