Splinter Johnson

Charles Robert "Splinter" Johnson


Born:
June 16, 1920
Frankfort, IN

Died:
August 6, 2002
Suwannee, FL


Career
1937-38 Frankfort High School - Indiana (High School)
1938-39 Frankfort High School - Indiana (High School)
1939-40 Purdue University (College) Freshmen
1940-41 Hammond Ciesar All-Americans (NBL)
1941-42 Frankfort Nickel Plate (Independent)
1946-47 Frankfort (American Legion)


A photo of the Frankfort High School team of 1938-39 shows Johnson. Therefore he would have gone to Purdue after 1939.

Update 8/17/16
I found his obituary in the Frankfort Times, August 8, 2002.

Born to Lawrence and Pearl Johnson, he went to Frankfort High School and served in the Army during World War 2.

In January of 1939, during a game against Kokomo, Splinter got into a fistfight with Jim Ricketts that escalated quickly as fans poured onto the court, resulting in a punch to the jaw for the referee. Police had to break up the near-riot.


He was married to Julie and had a son and a daughter.

Source:
Kokomo Tribune, January 21, 1939
The Republic (Columbus, Indiana), February 27, 1940
The Times (Hammond), November 24, 1940
Democrat and Chronicle, January 19, 1941
Kokomo Tribune, December 14, 1946

Stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbl/players/j/johnsch01n.html
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=johnssp01