South OC Hall-Of-Fame Football Coach Dies After Battle With Alzheimer's

MISSION VIEJO, CA — The South Orange County community is mourning the loss of a Hall of Fame high school football coach and the city's 2017 Hometown Hero Bob Johnson, who died Wednesday following a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Johnson was 80, city officials said.

"As a longtime Diablo Mom and Mission Viejo High School football game attendee for the past two decades, I have seen first-hand the impact Coach Bob Johnson has had on so many student athletes," Mission Viejo Mayor Wendy Bucknum told Patch. "His legacy lives on through the thousands of athletes and students he coached."

In 1999, Johnson started his career coaching the Mission Viejo High School Diablos and led the team to two extensive winning streaks — 41 and 39 games, the second- and third- longest streaks in Orange County football history, the city said.

Johnson was proclaimed a Hometown Hero in 2017 for his contributions. He was also inducted into the California High School Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

Johnson retired after a five-decade coaching career, leaving behind a rich South Orange County legacy of success, determination and inspiration, officials said.

"The City is grateful for the incredible footprint Coach Johnson left on this community and extends its condolences to his family and everyone who was fortunate enough to know him," the city said in a statement.

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