When Charlie Johnston took over as the head coach in Childress in 1967, the Bobcats were coming off a 4-33 four year record with as many different coaches. Change was needed and it was needed fast.
The young man from the small farming community of Paducah didn’t fare too well his first season with the Bobcats, as they ended the season 0-10. Johnston quickly turned the program around and over the next 34 years, reeled out a single school win record of 315 wins, 94 losses and 8 ties. Amassing a win/loss record like that is impressive at any level, but to do it at a single school, makes the record more impressive.
Widely known across the entire state, Johnston’s Bobcats were a dominant force in the 70’s. In fact, their 113-17-3 record from 1970-79 set them as the all time winningest team in that decade, regardless of classification. Johnston led his teams to nine district championships and back to back state finals appearances in 1975 and 76.
Throughout his stint as the head coach in Childress, Johnston only recorded three losing seasons, 1967, 1982 and 1996. In 2001, he hung up his hat, retiring as one of the winningest coaches in the state of Texas and has remained the only coach in the Texas panhandle to amass 315 wins at the same school.
He is currently the 8th winningest coach in Texas high school football history.
Johnston was revered by many of his colleagues during his career. In 2012, former Texas Longhorn head coach Mack Brown said of Johnston,
“When I was just starting out as a young coach in the early 1970’s, I learned quickly to respect the reputation of high school football in Texas.” He continued saying, “When I came here and met coaches like Charlie Johnston, I understood why. Nobody did it better than he did at Childress during the decade of the 70’s.”
Brown ended saying, “When he spoke at one of our first high school coaching clinics in Austin, it didn’t take long to see how much other coaches thought of him. He understood the game and cared about the kids. That’s why he was a great coach and better person.”
Johnston continued to earn admiration on and off the field during his career and was presented the first ever Tom Landry Award. He’s also a member of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in Waco and the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame.
In an interview with The Childress Index in 2012, Johnston talked about his career.
“Childress football was not about me. It was about the assistant coaches, the players, the faculty, the parents and the fans,” he said. “When I think of the Bobcats, I think of blue and white. I think of kids who give everything they have. Kids who work hard and have never stepped on the field thinking they could not win.”
Johnston was courted many times during his 35 years at Childress, from larger high schools to colleges. He never left Childress for “the big time” because in his words, “Childress was the big-time. I’m just a country boy and the big cities never impressed me.”
He continued saying, “I loved coaching the kids and knew if I were to go to a bigger school, I would be coaching coaches on how to coach kids.”
Although he made it to the big dance two times in his career, a state championship eluded Johnston, but looking back, it wasn’t the biggest regret of his time on the sidelines.
“My biggest regret was not about wins or losses; it was about not having the time to get to know each kid personally.” He went on to say, “As the head coach, I often had to be the bad guy and didn’t get to spend as much time as I wanted with the kids.”
Those who know Johnston know he would not trade a single moment of his career for a state championship. Trophies gather dust and eventually get moved out of the way to make room for new ones. They are a sign of success, a moment in time where you were one of the best.
For Johnston, his career was not about the number of trophies he collected while at the helm of the Bobcats, it was about the people, players and the game. A extremely humble man, he doesn’t like talking about his coaching record.
“You see, football is about two things; blocking and tackling. If you can block and tackle, everything else falls into place.”
Johnston still resides in Childress and can be found in the stands on Friday nights, watching his former player, Jason Sims, coach the Bobcats and walk the same sidelines he did for 35 years.
I played linebacker for coach Johnston 71 72 73 he was great but don’t forget about coach Smith he was 1 hel of a defense coach he passed from cancer we all respected and love him also go cats