Alden “Aldie” Johnson – Lincoln
Coach. Lincoln High School never had a friendlier face or a better representative of the fabled Red and Black Links than this long-time successful Nebraska high school coach. For forty-one years of a coaching profession which included stints at Waverly, Minden and finally Lincoln High, he set high standards of character and athletic improvement. His […]
Shona Jones Smith – Hastings
Athlete. Shona Jones Smith didn’t wait until high school to start winning gold medals. In grades 7 and 8 she was an age group AAU national champion in cross country. In high school cross country she was undefeated all four years, which of course made her a four-time Class A state champion. Competing in track […]
Willis Jones – Beatrice
Coach. Willis Jones, according to noted sportswriter Gregg McBride was one of the top 10 prep football backs in the state. At Minden High he lettered seven times in three sports earning all-state honors in football and basketball and quarterbacked the Whippets to an undefeated season as a senior. After a service stint, he enrolled […]
Larry Jacobson – Omaha
Coach. Larry was a four year letterman at Homer High School participating in football, basketball and track. He was his team’s leading rusher in football for two years and was selected to the all-state football team his senior year. Graduating in 1956, he attended Kearney State College where he lettered in football and track all […]
John Johnette – Omaha Burke
Coach. John Johnette, Omaha Burke’s first basketball coach, led the Bulldogs to state championships in 1977 and 1986. He compiled a 292-251 record in 25 years as Burke qualified for the state tournament 13 times. On the baseball diamond, Johnette coached from 1963 to 1970 and ended on a high note with a state championship […]
Charles “Deacon” Jones – Boys Town
Athlete. An NCAA cross country champion, Charles “Deacon” Jones set the American record in the steeplechase in 1957 and competed in the Olympics in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 1956 and 1960. However, his first rewriting of the record books came while representing Boys Town where he set a national high school record in an AAU […]
Rex Jones – Chadron
Contributor. Rex Jones retired in 2002 after a 50-year career in Nebraska athletics that saw him rise from the playing fields to the board room. Jones played quarterback on an undefeated Chadron High School football team of 1954, played for an undefeated Chadron State football team in 1958 and coached an undefeated Rushville football team […]
