Sports event to honor retired coach Jerry Johnson

Thursday-Saturday, the Memphis Alumni Chapter of LeMoyne -Owen College, 807 Walker in East Memphis, will host its JCJ Sports Weekend honoring retired coach Jerry C. Johnson.

Johnson is a living legend, amassing more than 800 wins during his 46-year career as head coach of the LeMoyne -Owen College men’s basketball team.

A renaming ceremony kicks off the Jerry C. Johnson Sports Weekend that will include a celebrity golf scramble, a reception and private showing of the documentary “First Forgotten Champions: The Legacy of Jerry Johnson,” a coaches’ clinic, and the Suits & Sneakers Birthday Celebration to celebrate Johnson’s 94th birthday.

To honor his coaching and contributions to the college, officials of the historically black college will rename the campus’ C. Arthur Bruce Hall to the C. Arthur Bruce Hall/Jerry C. Johnson Gymnasium on Thursday at 10 a.m. on the campus.

Other highlights of the JCJ Sports Weekend include an invitation- only premiere of “First Forgotten Champions: The Legacy of Jerry Johnson,” the celebrity golf scramble on Friday at 8 a.m. at Tunica National Golf Course, a coaches clinic on Saturday at 9 a.m., and the Suits and Sneakers Birthday Celebration: “It’s a Party — Fun … Food … Games” on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both Saturday events will take place in the newly renamed Jerry C. Johnson Gymnasium.

Head coach Frank Haith of the University of Missouri has been invited to be the featured speaker for the coaches’ clinic along with several other NCAA coaches.

Memphis Alumni Chapter president Jeffrey T. Higgs said proceeds from the 2012 JCJ Sports Weekend will kick off the Jerry Johnson Scholarship Endowment Fund. The coaches clinic is free. Registration for the celebrity golf scramble is $125 per player and $500 for a team of four. Tickets for the Suits and Sneakers Birthday Celebration, which will offer dancing, casino tables, sports activities, stadium foods and dessert as well as a 20-minute excerpt from “First Forgotten Champions,” are $100 per person.

For tickets and other details, call (901) 435-1235.

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