Editor’s Note: This column complements the conclusion of The Denver Post’s five-part series on Colorado baseball icons. We profiled Scott Bullock, Jenny Cavnar, Chris Hanks, Jim Danley and Bob Bote.
Drafted into the Army in 1969 during the Vietnam War, Marc Johnson’s first baseball coaching job was managing the 2nd Armored Division for two years on a base in Fort Hood, Texas.
There, the longtime Cherry Creek coach first got an opportunity to show what he could do running a team.
“We had a really good baseball team, because there were guys drafted from all over who were in the Army at that time,” Johnson said. “I learned a lot, as I wasn’t a whole lot older than the players at 22, and most of those guys were 18 to 20. Four or five of them went on to play professional baseball, so just like I was at Cherry Creek, I was fortunate to be surrounded by some very gifted athletes.”
The talent pipeline at Cherry Creek, where Johnson has been at the helm since 1972, isn’t the only reason for the Bruins’ success. Johnson is, arguably, Colorado’s preeminent baseball icon, having won eight state championships.
He became so by building a baseball behemoth at a football school. The Bruins were 4-14 in Johnson’s first season, but haven’t had a losing record since. Johnson quickly made it his mission to recruit “all the school’s best athletes” to play baseball. The result has been 32 league titles and 806 wins, one shy of Eaton’s Jim Danley for Colorado’s all-time mark.
Individual success has mirrored team dominance in Greenwood Village. By Johnson’s best estimate, Cherry Creek has pumped out some 400 collegians during his tenure and around 80 draft picks, six of whom have been selected in the first round. The program has also produced eight big leaguers.
It’s a dynasty that, sometime in the near future, will be looking for someone to fill Johnson’s enormous shoes. The 75-year-old knows he’s “getting very, very close” to the end of his prep coaching career.
“I know a lot of how long I can go is going to be determined on health,” Johnson said. “I feel really good right now, and I’d love to coach another year or two.”
The Norfolk, Neb., native is but one example why our five-part icon series could’ve been a lot longer. Here are eight other Colorado baseball icons you should know.
Tom Severtson
He got his coaching start as a graduate assistant under Tom Petroff at the University of Northern Colorado. The Denver native began coaching at his alma mater, Denver East, in 1981 and stayed for 17 years. The Angels’ 1994 state title is the last time a Denver Public League team won a baseball championship. Petroff, who was an accomplished professional fastpitch softball player, ended his career with eight seasons at Regis Jesuit, where the Raiders were twice state runner-up. The 71-year-old’s career record is 348-100.
Steve Eaton
Eaton made his name coaching at Gateway (1983-92), Chaparral (1997-08) and now Cherokee Trail, where he’s been the head coach the past three years. With a career record of 352-146-1, Eaton’s a seven-time conference coach of the year who has his last name on the fields at Gateway (JR Eaton Field was named for his disabled son, who died in 1993) and Chaparral (Steve Eaton Field in honor of the program’s founding coach). The 63-year-old is an Aurora native and 1974 Aurora Central graduate.
Jim Capra
His career began as the head coach at Alamosa for a couple seasons, but he made his name as the longtime boss at Arvada West from 1987-2012. The 63-year-old Edgewater native, who’s been the coach at his alma mater Division II Adams State since 2013, racked up over 300 prep wins. He coached a dominant Wildcats team in the early 1990s that won the 1994 state title and featured future Hall of Fame pitcher Roy Halladay.
Chuck Gillman
He began coaching in 1981 as an assistant at Littleton, the start of a long career that saw the 68-year-old lead multiple programs around the area. Gillman’s first head coaching job was at Bishop Machebeuf. He then went on to coach for nine years at Thomas Jefferson and 16 at Columbine. The Decatur, Ga., native racked up 377 wins along the way as the Rebels were a perennial Jeffco force. Columbine won the Class 5A title in 2006 when Gillman’s son CJ scored on a suicide squeeze in the eighth inning.
Tom Petroff
One of a select few coaches to lead two different schools to the College World Series. The Lansing, Mich., native began his career as the freshman coach at Michigan State in 1955. He guided Northern Colorado to six NCAA Division I playoff appearances from 1970-1985, including a berth in the 1974 College World Series. He coached the U.S. team in the 1984 Olympics and was the head coach for the Netherlands at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. The 93-year-old resides in Chambersburg, Penn.
Dick Monfort
Well known as the owner of the Colorado Rockies, Monfort has done a lot for baseball in Colorado, both professionally and on a local level in his hometown of Greeley. The 66-year-old Greeley West graduate received the United Way of Weld County Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2008 for his continued philanthropy in the area, and he’s done extensive community outreach through the Monfort Family Foundation.
And to conclude, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Bill Fanning and Robert “Bus” Campbell their respective dues. Fanning, who died in 2013 at age 91, was a Western Slope staple and member of the National High School Sports Hall of Fame. After playing baseball at CU, Fanning coached Grand Junction for 35 years, with a record of 467-172, including three state titles. Meanwhile, Campbell coached 115 pitchers who later played in the majors, including Halladay, and was the pitching coach for the dominant Boulder Collegians from 1969-1980. Campbell died in 2008 at age 87.
