Johnson, Wolf, Kohler, to join state Athletic Hall of Fame

Marques Johnson, Ron Wolf and Herbert V. Kohler Jr., three men who helped shape the sports landscape in Wisconsin in vastly different ways, have been selected for induction into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.

The three comprise the 69th anniversary class and will be inducted Jan. 24, 2019, at a site to be determined in downtown Milwaukee.

Johnson, Wolf and Kohler will join 140 of Wisconsin’s greatest athletic icons in the Hall of Fame,.

The Bucks selected Johnson third in the 1977 NBA draft and he was a fourtime all-star in Milwaukee, averaging 21.7 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists during his seven years with the team.

Johnson helped the Bucks win five consecutive Central Division titles from 1980-’84 and is considered a pioneering “point forward” because of his ability to score as a forward and shooting guard.

As general manager of the Green Bay Packers from 1991-’01, Wolf orchestrated the team’s turnaround from a moribund franchise into one of the best in the NFL. In a two-year span, he hired Mike Holmgren as head coach, traded for Brett Favre and signed free agent Reggie White.

Wolf was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

Kohler, chairman of the Kohler Co., elevated golf in Wisconsin by building four upscale courses, two of which – Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits – would host major championships.

The Straits, annually ranked among America’s best public courses, has played host to the PGA Championship three times and will be the site of the 2020 Ryder Cup.

Kohler showed that destination golf could succeed in Wisconsin and other courses followed, including Erin Hills, site of the 2017 U.S. Open, and the Sand Valley Resort near Wisconsin Rapids.