Weller Johnson, thanks for the Inspiration

As we celebrate the 50^th year of the passage of Title IX legislation, I can’t help but think of all the remarkable men and women who’ve influenced my life and helped me fulfill my dream of becoming an athlete. I’m particularly reminded of the story of Weller Johnson, a gifted and talented athlete, whose determination to play and compete inspired me. She was my peer role model. I wanted to emulate her success.

It started in 1970 when my family moved from one side of St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood to the other. I was 10 years old and a student at J.J. Hill Elementary School. Recess was my favorite class. It was at J.J. Hill where I met Weller, who was an athletically-gifted girl who loved recess more than I did. Everything she did, whether it was running, jumping, throwing or playing kickball, I tried to do as well. After playing on the playground together for several weeks, Weller asked if I wanted to join the girls flag football team at the Oxford Recreation Center.

It started in 1970 when my family moved from one side of St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood to the other. I was 10 years old and a student at J.J. Hill Elementary School. Recess was my favorite class. It was at J.J. Hill where I met Weller, who was an athletically-gifted girl who loved recess more than I did. Everything she did, whether it was running, jumping, throwing or playing kickball, I tried to do as well. After playing on the playground together for several weeks, Weller asked if I wanted to join the girls flag football team at the Oxford Recreation Center.

“What is football and where is Oxford?” I asked. I didn’t know much about the game and had no idea where Oxford was.

The Oxford Recreation Center was a two-story brick building that included a gym, activity rooms, and football and baseball fields. It was located on the corner of Iglehart Avenue and Lexington Parkway across the street from St. Paul Central High School. Bill Peterson was the Oxford Center director. With permission from my mom, I ventured down to Oxford where I played wide receiver and caught many passes from Weller. Our team played other St. Paul recreation centers that fielded girls teams and had a good season under the leadership of Steve Winfield. This was my first taste of organized sports and it was two years prior to the passage of Title IX.

Being the new kid in the neighborhood, involvement in sports really helped me adapt to my new surroundings. I really felt a strong sense of belonging. So, when the flag football season ended, I played basketball on Oxford’s girls team. Bill Peterson coached us, and his military coaching style was different than anything I had ever experienced. He was as tough on us as he was on the boys he coached.

While running and catching a football came easy for me, basketball did not. I could dribble with my head down and play pretty good defense, but I couldn’t shoot nor make a layup. We played 6-on-6 and I was assigned to the defensive end of the court where I watched Weller shoot jumpers and dribble past defenders with ease in making layups from both sides of the basket. I was awestruck. I told myself that I had to get better so I could play on the offensive end of the court with Weller. I began playing basketball every chance I could with anyone who wanted to compete including my sister, Roxanne, and my cousin, Linda Roberts.

When the basketball season ended, my teammates and I played softball and ran track. Thanks to Bill and many others, including Steve Winfield, Debbie Montgomery, Frank White and Jim Robinson, we had a year-round program of sports equal to that of the boys, and in many instances, we were coached by women. They were Cordelia Mazique, Phyllis Vonn, Lynn Foster and Betrice Williams. This is not a theme that’s heard in stories of female athletes who are my age. The leaders at Oxford were ahead of the times. I am grateful for their guidance and for the countless opportunities to test my athletic abilities.

By the next season, Weller was a star performer on Oxford’s boys football team. She was their starting quarterback and I was the quarterback for the girls flag football team. Also that year, girls were allowed to play 5-on-5 basketball. I proudly ran the court with Weller, Rita Burch, Candace Robinson, Rosie Burch, Anita Lewis, Linda Roberts and a host of others. We all fell in love with the game of basketball and went on the play together at Ramsey Junior High School and Central High School where we won the Class AA Basketball State Championship in 1976.

Another moment of glory for Weller came in 1974 when she played, at the age of 12 years old, on Oxford’s Peewee Baseball team that won the St. Paul City championship. She is the only girl to ever play on an Oxford baseball team. The team’s photo was a part of an exhibit They Played for the Love of the Game at the Ramsey County Historical Society.

Sadly, Weller died two years ago at the age of 59. For me and many others who attended her homegoing, which was held at Oxford, her life story of grit and courage remain an inspiration.