You did not have to watch a University of
Winnipeg Wesmen women’s basketball
game for very long to realize that Angie
Johnson was the best player on the floor.
In a nutshell, Angie was gifted. She was
strong and smart and skilled, but she was
also aggressive and competitive and that’s
what set her apart. She loved to win and she
played as if every game would be her last.
She started her high school athletic career
at Gordon Bell and when her family
moved to the “’burbs” she graduated
from John Taylor Collegiate. She was
such a remarkable high school athlete
that she not only had a shot at Canada’s
national basketball team, but at a volleyball
tournament in her senior year, she was
noticed by a national volleyball team
assistant coach, who offered her a shot at
international glory in her “other” sport.
She politely declined.
After high school she played for coach
Vic Pruden at the University of Winnipeg
and while she was winning athlete-of-the year
honours at U of W, she also played
for Darlene Currie, then Jack Donohue,
then Don McCrae, with Canada’s national
basketball squad.
She played in the 1972 World University
Games in Moscow, the 1973 World
championships in Cali, Colombia, the 1975
Pan Am Games in Mexico City and the 1976
Olympics in Montreal. She was also part of
one of the first contingents of Canadian
athletes ever to compete in China.
“It was a great experience, but under the
circumstances, I look back on having
missed a lot,” she said. “I loved the travel we
did, but when you’re with a national team,
it’s usually airport-to-gym-to-hotel-to-gym-to-airport. As I recall, the only time we really
got to see the country we were in was during
the time we spent in China. I’ll never forget
it. It was an honour to be with that team.”
Today, Angie (Johnson) Straub is a widow
living on a four-acre property in Victoria.
She has two grown children, son Adam,
26, and daughter Danica, 20, and is taking
some time off from teaching to care for her
parents.
Now 54, she played basketball competitively
into her early 50s and said recently, “If it
weren’t for my knees and a nagging foot
injury, I’d love to play again this year.”
