Westfield High School swimming coach Bruce Johnson climbs out of the pool after his team won the Westfield versus Cherry Hill East NJSIAA Public A boys swimming final held at the College of New Jersey in Ewing on Saturday. 3/01/03 STAR-LEDGER/ED MURRAY HSSPORTS SLHe was a championship swimming coach, an author and a historian while mixing in 50 years as a sports writer.
Johnson led the Blue Devils to unprecedented success in the pool. Westfield won 13 county titles, 10 sectional champions and six state crowns., the tenure as swim coach was “one of the highlights of my life.” “To me Bruce was more than just a coach, he embodied the sport itself, Whittington said. “His knowledge, not only of the kids he coaches but the entire state was staggering. I remember talking to him about a meet that was 10 years back at the time and he knew it and could tell you what happened as if it was yesterday.”“He was the resource before the age of computers,” Sullivan said. “He was a walking encyclopedia.