KU great Bill ‘Skinny’ Johnson’s jersey No. 33 hung in Allen Fieldhouse rafters

Former Kansas basketball center Bill “Skinny” Johnson, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977 and College Basketball Hall in 2006, had his jersey No. 33 hung in the southeast rafters of Allen Fieldhouse at halftime of Monday’s KU-Cincinnati game.

Certainly it took a while for the Jayhawk athletic department to recognize Johnson, a KU star from the 1930s who died in 1980.

His family members hold no ill will for the delay.

Johnson’s son, Bill, Jr., flew in from California for the ceremony. Other relatives on hand included Skinny’s daughter, JoAnn Johnson Trenary, who lives in Lawrence, plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Skinny Johnson. In all, 18 relatives were on hand for the halftime ceremony.

“Bill Self has been talking about (how) this is an event that should have happened a long time ago. We don’t really look at it that way,” Bill Johnson Jr. said. “We think this is an incredible event and it could only happen at KU because KU has history, a great tradition. They care about what happened back in the 1930s and KU has Bill Self, who cares what happened back then.”

He indicated his family includes four generations of Jayhawk students.

At halftime, Johnson’s No. 33 was unfurled on a banner in next to some other Jayhawks who competed long ago.

Those players: Fred Pralle (1936-38), Howard Engleman (1939-41), Charlie B. Black (1942-47) and Ray Evans (1943-47).

“It’s done too late, but certainly deserving,” KU coach Bill Self said before the game during his pregame radio interview. “They’ve got a ton of family here and friends who live in Lawrence. This place means a lot to them. In all the jersey retirements we’ve been part of, I don’t know if I’ve talked to a family more proud.”

Johnson, a 6-foot-4 native of Oklahoma City, referred to as “rail-thin” in his Naismith Hall of Fame profile, led the Jayhawks to three-consecutive Big Six Conference titles under legendary KU coach Phog Allen.

He was first-team all-Big Six Conference in 1932 and 1933 and second team in 1931. He helped KU to a 41-12 record during his three seasons in Lawrence including a 22-8 mark in the Big 6.

In 1932-33, he led the team with a 10.7 scoring average

“William ‘Skinny’ Johnson was an athletic big man of the early 1930s who was nicknamed due to his thin physique. A giant in basketball of his era, Johnson was a great leaper who helped his team control the game by winning a majority of the center jumps that took place after each basket was scored,” reads a description of Johnson at hofbbplayers.com. “Skinny was also a scorer, averaging over 10 points per game one season back in the early days of basketball when scores were very low.”

The rule requiring jump balls after every basket was changed in 1937.

After college, Johnson played AAU basketball, leading Southern Kansas to the AAU championship each year from 1934-1936. As a coach, Skinny led Cleveland Chiropractic College to a 16-2 record and the Naismith Industrial League and Kansas City Independent Tournament titles.

Johnson served in the U.S. National Reserve from 1943-1946.

Of his dad, Bill Johnson Jr., said: “My dad was a bigger than life character. Boy would he have enjoyed tonight. If he was here you would not believe how big his smile would be.”