For helping shape the state sports landscape, Marques Johnson, Herbert V. Kohler Jr., Ron Wolf will be honored

Marques Johnson, Ron Wolf and Herbert V. Kohler Jr., three men who helped shape the sports landscape in Wisconsin in vastly different ways, have been selected for induction into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.

The three comprise the 69th anniversary class and will be inducted Jan. 24, 2019, at a site to be determined in downtown Milwaukee.

Johnson, Wolf and Kohler will join 140 of Wisconsin’s greatest athletic icons in the Hall of Fame, including Vince Lombardi, Hank Aaron, Al McGuire, Bud Selig, Bart Starr, Robin Yount and Bonnie Blair.

The Bucks selected Johnson third in the 1977 NBA draft and he was a four-time all-star in Milwaukee, averaging 21.7 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists during his seven years with the team.

Johnson helped the Bucks win five consecutive Central Division titles from 1980-’84 and is considered a pioneering “point forward” because of his ability to score as a forward and shooting guard.

“What a tremendous honor to be inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame,” Johnson said in a statement. “When I think of the all-time greats that have graced the Wisconsin sports scene, to be included in that number is humbling.”

As general manager of the Green Bay Packers from 1991-’01, Wolf orchestrated the team’s turnaround from a moribund franchise into one of the best in the NFL. In a two-year span, he hired Mike Holmgren as head coach, traded for Brett Favre and signed free agent Reggie White.

Wolf was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

Kohler, chairman of the Kohler Co., elevated golf in Wisconsin by building four upscale courses, two of which – Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits – would host major championships.

The Straits, annually ranked among America’s best public courses, has played host to the PGA Championship three times and will be the site of the 2020 Ryder Cup.

Kohler showed that destination golf could succeed in Wisconsin and other courses followed, including Erin Hills, site of the 2017 U.S. Open, and the Sand Valley Resort near Wisconsin Rapids.

“It is quite an honor to be considered and inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, particularly alongside Marques Johnson and Ron Wolf, both of whom I have cheered for quite aggressively,” Kohler said. “Rather loudly for Marques, silently but emphatically for Ron.”

Interested organizations can contact the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame at (414) 727-3605 to purchase tables. Select tables will afford guests the opportunity to mingle with Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame members.