CARSON -- Seven decades of history convened last Saturday night in the Torodome as Cal State Dominguez Hills unveiled a wall display to honor the late Dr. John L. Johnson, the original Dr. J and the original Toro, who founded the CSUDH Athletics Department and served as its golf coach for over 45 years.

Click here for a photo gallery from the event.

CSUDH Athletic Director Jeff Falkner began the night welcoming the audience with some history behind the display, and speaking on CSUDH and the power of the school centering on its people.  He then introduced current golf head coach Ron Eastman, who succeeded Dr. J as golf coach and served as emcee for the evening.

Eastman, whom Dr. J nicknamed the "$3,000 Man," relayed his own stories about his coach and mentor, ranging from his days as both a student-athlete and an assistant coach and relaying how much Dr. J cared about his players.  He then turned around and gestured towards the championship banners adorning the walls and rafters, pointing out that Dr. J started all this.

He closed with three lessons he will always remember from his days with Dr. J on the golf course: "Never leave a putt short; Never underestimate your opponent; and if you're not having a great day on the golf course, just look down at the sprinkler because it says Toro on it."

Eastman then introduced Dr. J's teammates and players from his UCLA football days in Tony Albany and John White, whose anecdotes continued the celebratory theme of the event.

Albany first introduced White, who shared a letter from teammate Bob O'Connor and relayed a demonstrative story of how he was writhing in pain after suffering a leg injury only to have all the trainers tend to teammate and future NFL Pro Bowler Kermit Alexander, who was poked in the eye.  After the laughs, Albany returned to the dais to share memories about his time with Dr. J.  One included a stat celebrating the fact that, with Dr. J's overall 9-8 record as both a player and coach against USC, he has the most wins over his alma mater's crosstown rival as a player/coach than any other figure in UCLA football history.

He then closed by reading off Dr. J's hand-written bucket list, eliciting a huge round of applause from the standing-room only crowd.

Kinesiology colleague Dr. Mary Lou Cappel spoke next with her own anecdotes, describing Dr. J's  office and how he re-purposed his desktop computer to serve as anything / everything but a device to communicate and surf the web, also wondering aloud if he ever turned his computer on or checked his email. 

Cappel then reflected on his asking her many times over the years if she was enjoying her life.  She later came to realize that short question was an all-inclusive inquiry about her health, her mind, and her spirit, illustrating the care Dr. J had for her and all those with whom he came in contact.  She then closed her tribute by asking the audience the same question.

Former CSUDH baseball head coach and current Intramural Director George Wing spoke next.  Wing, who was both a fellow coach and colleague of Dr. J's in Kinesiology, reflected on the extent of Dr. J's caring, making it just 12 seconds before being visibly overcome with emotion.  Wing spoke about their 2:00 afternoon impromptu meetings, which never began until Dr. J put his feet up, running the gamut of topics.

One memory that stood out for Wing was Dr. J's changing the title of one of his books to "Call Me Coach" while on the phone with his publisher as it was about to go to print, so as to not copy the title of one of Dr. J's contemporaries, John Wooden.

Former CSUDH athletic director Patrick Guillen closed the reception portion of the night, demonstrating how he would greet the legend daily with an enthusiastic "Whaddya say, Dr. J?"  

Guillen spoke about the love Dr. J had for UCLA and CSUDH, and how he was taken under Johnson's wing as a Toro for 20 years before moving onto his current role as the Athletic Director at University of Hawai'i-Hilo.

He continued with memories about Dr. J caring about his fellow coaches and administrators, and most importantly the student-athletes, his contributions to the Hula Bowl, being a southern California icon, and how the Toros came to don cardinal and gold as their colors despite Dr. J being a Bruin.

During a lunch he had last week with current UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero, who served as AD at CSUDH, Guillen was given a tour of UCLA's football facilities on campus, and mentioned the first photo on the left wall was the 1954 National Championship team, with Dr. J in the back row.

Those in attendance included: from UCLA - Albany, Kermit Alexander, Trusse Norris, White; from CSUDH Senior Administration - Dr. William Franklin; from CSUDH Athletics Staff/Coaches - Jen Adeva, Marine Cano, Lauren Chow, Eastman, Falkner, Joe Flanagan, Guillen, Kim Lopez, Mel Miranda, Julian Navarro, Wing, Eric Wong; from CSUDH Kinesiology - Cappel, Wing; CSUDH Golf Alums - Mike Adame, Paul Appleton, PJ Chan, Eastman, Dave Linsangan, Cameron MacDonald, Scott MacDonald, Chris Pham, Greg Puga, Kenny Roberts, Bob Suppelsa, William Yang; CSUDH Alums - Harry Turner.

The crowd then made its way to the Torodome hallway where the display was covered, before Guillen, Wing, Albany and wife Elaine, MacDonald, Turner, Roberts and Dr. Franklin pulled the drapes back to unveil the tribute wall.

Johnson earned his undergraduate, master's and doctorate degrees from UCLA after earning MVP honors in the 1947 Hula Bowl as a star running back for the Bruins.

After beginning his 15-year coaching career in football as an assistant with UCLA in 1949, Johnson became the athletic director at Cal Poly Pomona in 1966 before founding the Athletic Department at Cal State Dominguez Hills two years later, laying the groundwork for the department and the school's first team, which has earned four All-Americans under Dr. J's guidance.

Additionally, Johnson served as a National Football League professional scout from 1965-1990, serving the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers (for legendary coach Vince Lombardi), Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and then-San Diego Chargers, under whom Johnson served his longest stint as a scout.