Backesto Park courts named for tennis pro
The late coach, who once served as an assistant to Arthur Ashe, is honored
Thousands of San Jose kids learned to play tennis under the tutelage of the late Don Johnson, a dedicated coach who served as an assistant to tennis champ Arthur Ashe. Johnson died at age 72 in 2014, but the city of San Jose honored his legacy Saturday by naming the popular courts at Backesto Park for the man known as “The Tennis Machine.”
Family and former students were invited to Saturday’s ceremony, where signs were unveiled at the Don Johnson Tennis Courts bearing the coach’s image and a summary of his life and career. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and San Jose Fire Chief Curtis Jacobson joined Johnson’s wife, Cynthia, and sister-inlaw, Evelyn, to celebrate the coach’s enormous impact on San Jose youth.
Johnson grew up in Brooklyn and began playing tennis at age 12, turning pro in the late 1960s. He worked as Ashe’s assistant from 1970 to 1977, helping establish the National Junior Tennis League program in the city. When he moved to San Jose in the 1970s, he brought the youth tennis concept with him. For three decades, he introduced the game to young players, including many low-income kids, on the Almaden Strings, Los Paseos Lobsters, Glen Oaks Racketeers and the Backesto Backhanders.
In 2003, Johnson was inducted into the African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame, and the following year, he became the first African-American inducted to the USTA Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame.
THE SMELL OF VICTORY >> John Campbell and Morgan Sanders from AMRRural/Metro Ambulance in Santa Clara County earned some bragging rights at the Gilroy Garlic Festival by winning the live Champions for Charity cooking challenge on Friday. The pair bested three other teams of first responders — including last year’s champs, Herb Alpers and Tom Evans from Cal Fire — with an appetizer, entree and dessert in the garlicky competition.
Each team competed for a different valley nonprofit, and Campbell and Sanders will donate their $3,000 prize to Alzheimer’s Association.
Speaking of aromatic victories, amateur chef Naylet LaRochelle from Miami took the garlic crown, and the $5,000 prize that goes with it, by winning the Great Garlic Cook-Off on Saturday with her original recipe, “Smoky Salsa Roja Shrimp and Roasted Garlic Cotija Grits.” That sounds like a dish that would have mouths watering from San Jose to Florida.
MEET THE NEIGHBORS >> Summer’s flying by quickly, but with the arrival of Aug. 1, it’s also time for National Night Out — the annual effort backed by law enforcement agencies across the country that encourages people to get to know their neighbors. Throughout San Jose and the South Bay, there are dozens of neighborhood events planned, from barbecues and ice cream parties to bigger gatherings like the one with live music and family activities planned for St. James Park in San Jose.
Most events start around 6 p.m., and groups who registered their event in advance could get a visit from police officers or firefighters who serve their community. But even if there isn’t a planned get-together in your neighborhood, it’s still a good night to go outside and say hi to the people around you.