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Biography of Earvin Johnson, Jr.Name: Earvin Johnson, Jr.Birth Date: 1959 Death Date: N/A Place of Birth: Lansing, Michigan, United States Nationality: American Gender: Male Occupations: basketball player Earvin Johnson, Jr. Joining the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association in 1979, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jr. (born 1959) became one of basketball's most popular stars.In November 1991, Magic Johnson stunned the sportsworld with his announcement that he was infected with the human immune deficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes the disease acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Johnson announced that he was retiring from professional basketball but returned in 1992 and again in 1996. He turned his enthusiasm and leadership skills to business. Among his successes, he developed movie theaters and shopping malls in poor and neglected sections of large cities where no one else would invest.Johnson was born in 1959 in Lansing, Michigan. He first played organized basketball at Everett High School. In 1977 Johnson and the Everett team won the Michigan state high school championship. Johnson then attended Michigan State University. As a sophomore, he averaged 17.1 points per game and was named an …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…drugs, including protese inhibitors. His wife Cookie gave the credit to God stating, "The Lord has definitely healed Earvin. Doctors think it's the medicine. We claim it in the name of Jesus." The Johnsons attended the West Angles Church of God in Christ, to which he donated million in 1995. Associated Organizations Further Reading Two early biographies, Magic with Richard Levin (1983) and Magic's Touch with Roy S. Johnson (1989) are interesting but were written before the devastating discovery that ended Johnson's career. An important and well written biography is Magic Johnson: My Life (1992). Deeply moving, the book contains a message to young persons that shows Johnson's sincere concern for them. For more about the Olympic "Dream Team" readers should see The Golden Boys by Cameron Smith (1992).Also see Blatt, Howard, Magic! Against the Odds (Pocket Books, 1996); "The Magic and the Money," Forbes, December 16, 1996, p. 264-266; and Monroe, Sylvester, "Post-game show," Time, March 17, 1997, p. 38-39. |