Gene Johnson (1988) - California Athletics Hall of Fame

Gene Johnson

Induction:
1988
Class:
1963

Held the Cal high jump record of 7-0.50 for 14 years … was the first person in the world to jump over 7 feet using the Western roll style of jumping … was the fourth American to ever jump 7 feet, behind Charles Dumas, John Thomas and Joseph Faust … in the high jump, ranked No. 4 in the world in 1962 and No. 3 in the world in 1963 … won the national AAU title in that event in 1963 … placed second in US/USSR dual meet in Moscow in '63, behind world record holder Valery Brumel … undefeated in Cal dual-meet competition in 1962 and '64, winning AAWU league high jump titles those same years … placed second in the NCAA high jump in '62 and '64 … won the high jump gold medal with a mark of 6-11 at the 1963 Pan Am Games in Brazil … graduated from Cal with a degree in criminology.