Ken Johann’s death stirs memories of impact on UNLV soccer

The last time I saw Ken Johann, UNLV's uber soccer booster, was at Johann Field — named for his son, Peter — on Oct. 18. The Rebels were playing Incarnate Word from Texas. Fellow humongous soccer supporter Tim McGarry, a former Rebels player who in recent years has continued what Johann started as a benefactor, asked if I had wandered over to say hello.

"No," I said. "And please don't tell him I'm here. The first thing he'll do is complain about our lack of coverage."

Alas, before long, I was called over to say hello. Ken Johann was in a wheelchair. The first thing he did was complain about our lack of coverage.

It also would anger him when the sprinklers were left on at Johann Field overnight. He would call the sports department to complain. He had a strident, raspy voice that seemed to come straight from a coal mine or a dock. He swore a lot. He always meant well. You kids get off my lawn, but here's a soccer ball.

Here was a man, as they said on the old David Letterman show, that was both gruff and lovable.

He died Thursday at age 92 and was laid to rest Tuesday afternoon. In the morning, a few friends and a lot of former UNLV soccer players gathered at St. Anne's church on the old Bishop Gorman campus to pay their respects and to tell Ken Johann stories.

Some imitated his raspy voice. Everybody pretty much said he was gruff but lovable, and that there was no better friend to the UNLV soccer program.

When Peter Johann was killed in a hang-gliding accident in 1974, Ken Johann started a soccer scholarship program in his son's name, though his son was not a soccer player. They've been awarding that scholarship for 40 years. Tim McGarry said he would see that the legacy continues.

"UNLV has lost a great man and a huge supporter of the men's soccer program," Rebels coach Rich Ryerson said upon hearing the news. "He was a part of the fabric of the program for the last 43 years, and he will be sorely missed."

Ryerson and Barry Barto, the former Philadelphia Atom and dean of UNLV soccer coaches, served as pallbearers. Former Rebels teammates Ryerson and Jeff Wale feted Johann with emotional eulogies.

Ryerson told a story about his friend riding out a big thunderstorm, and of hearing a big crash, and of discovering a small boulder in his garden the next day.

Ken Johann believed that small boulder had fallen from outer space. And if he could prove it, he said he would sponsor a whole bunch of soccer scholarships, and that the Rebels soon would become national champions. Because a rock that had fallen from outer space would pay for a new stadium and the other stuff that impresses recruits.

Johann and Ryerson went to see a gemologist. The gemologist said it was river rock. They went to see a geology professor on campus. The geology professor said it was river rock.

That river rock is now a doorstop in Rich Ryerson's office.

The Rebels still are seeking their first national championship. But two years ago, they finally made it back to the regionals.

Here are other things I learned about gruff but lovable Ken Johann on Tuesday:

He shined shoes in the New York subway; he caught two home run balls off Mel Ott's bat on the same day; he was in the Merchant Marines and the Navy; he was married to Alice for 55 years; he was a successful real estate developer; he invited 21 intimates for deep sea fishing off the coast of Newport Beach, Calif.; he wore Hawaiian shirts and funky hats and hung mistletoe in his home all year long, just in case; he chain-smoked Winston cigarettes that came with a warning from the surgeon general written in a foreign language.

Those Winstons were imported from Moldova. Johann would have them flown in because he got a heck of a deal.

Everybody said the UNLV soccer program had gotten a heck of deal from having known Ken Johann. And then they were off to Woodlawn Cemetery to say final goodbyes.

They already were missing the raspy voice and the swear words, except for maybe the guy who was responsible for the sprinklers at Johann Field after everybody had gone home.

— Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him: @ronkantowski