John Gary (Johnny) Oppert  - 1991 

Johnny was born September 28, 1937, in Dothan, Alabama, and grew up there.  He graduated from Dothan High School in 1955 as an honor graduate and a member of the National honor Society.  He was an outstanding baseball player and attended Howard College (now Samford University) and played both baseball and basketball under Coach Virgil Ledbetter.  He led the team in hitting in his junior year with a .411 average as the Howard College team led the nation in hitting for colleges. He was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kapa honorary leadership fraternity and received the scholar-athlete award as the senior athlete with the highest grade point average.  He led the Howard College baseball team to a 53-14 record in his four years of competition which still stands as the most outstanding era in the school’s history.  Upon graduation in 1959 he signed a professional baseball contract with the Los Angles Dodgers and played four years in their minor league farm system. In 1962 he received the Silver Glove Award which goes to the minor league player that has the highest fielding percentage at his position.  He established a new record for second basemen by compiling a .992 average with only 4 errors in 500 chances. 

His coaching career began at Wicksburg high School, where he led the basketball team to three state tournament trips in four years. It marked the first ever appearance at the state tournament for the school.  He then taught two years at Girard Junior High School in Dothan, where his teams qualified for the state tournament each year. 

In 1965, Wallace College was established and he became the Athletic Director and head Basketball Coach.  He organized the athletic program which began with basketball in the first year and added the baseball team in the second year.  He coached both of these sports for several years.  He was instrumental on the organization of the state junior college conference and was chosen as one of the three coaches in the state to review athletics along with administrators and legislators so that improvements and recommendations could be implemented.  He has served as Chairman of the Basketball Coaches Committee on two occasions and was Chairman of the Southern Division Coaches for several years.  His teams have won five Southern Division Championships and he has been named as Coach of the Year five times.  He has also served as the All-Star Coach six times. 

He coached junior college tennis, golf and baseball in addition to serving as Chairman of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department.  He is currently in his 26^th year at Wallace College. 

He and his wife, Carol, have been married for 28 years and have two children, Paige Darden, a speech pathologist in Mountain Brook, and John Gary, Jr., who works in Dothan at Mack Electric Company.  He attends First Baptist Church of Dothan where he teaches a men’s Sunday school class and he is an ordained deacon.