Dave Johnson, who retired from WTOP, will be inducted into the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony at Nationals Park on Sunday.
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Dave Johnson inducted into DC Sports Hall of Fame
When Dave Johnson is spotted by fans at a D.C. United game at Audi Field, it usually draws a big crowd.
Johnson, who yells “Goal!” when players score while commentating on Major League Soccer games, is as popular as some of the players, said former WTOP anchor Bruce Allan, who worked in studio with Johnson for about 30 years.
“When the fans see him in the parking lot, or walking to their car… they go crazy,” Alan says. “He can’t escape the crowd. Everybody loves him. Everybody loves him.”
But where others see a crowd, Johnson, the longtime radio play-by-play announcer for the Washington Wizards, sees something else: a community, one built on a unique form of communication he’s mastered over decades: an always-at-hand microphone.
“Broadcasting, for me, is a way to connect with a lot of people and share a journey, a positive journey,” Johnson said. “And that’s the beauty of sports. It’s a joyous journey. Yes, you lose and you feel frustrated, but you fight through it together.”
Johnson, who retired from WTOP in 2022 after serving as athletic director and receiving a buyout, will be inducted into the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame at a ceremony at Nationals Park on Sunday, where he will be honored alongside Nationals legend Ryan Zimmerman, University of Maryland basketball player Vicki Barrett, “father of black basketball” E.B. Henderson and D.C. United defender Eddie Pope.
In announcing the award, the DC Sports Hall of Fame praised Johnson, who serves as play-by-play commentator for both the Washington Wizards and DC United, as “perhaps the region’s most popular and versatile sports commentator.”
Dream Career — Controlled by the Alarm Clock
For Johnson, a long and varied career spanning two major sports teams and a Washington, D.C., news radio station has been the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
“I grew up a Washington Diplomats fan. They were the football team back then,” he recalled. “I grew up a Washington Bullets fan. And I grew up listening to WTOP with my mom.”
He joined the station in 1989 and stayed there for three years before returning in 1995, eventually becoming sports director and morning sports anchor.
For years he worked a crucial morning driving schedule known for its grueling hours.
I was up by 3am most days so an alarm clock was a necessity.
“The time I set my alarm is one thing, the time I wake up is another,” he joked, “so that’s always been a struggle for me for the last 30 years.”
Still, other opportunities came his way: He began working as the play-by-play announcer for D.C. United when the franchise launched in 1996, then became the radio play-by-play announcer for the Wizards in 1997. With the rise of social media, he became the enthusiastic leader of online “radio parties” that united fans of basketball teams.
Johnson’s triple duty often required him to crisscross the country, going from hotel room to plane to WTOP broadcast studio within a matter of hours.
“He came straight to the station after taking a little nap on the plane,” Alan recalled. “He had a hectic schedule, but he got it done. And he was always funny. … He had us all laughing in the studio.”
Reflecting on the demanding schedule he’s maintained over the years, Johnson freely admits that “you never get used to it,” but adds that “there’s an energy when you come in and I’ve always thrived on that energy.”
Johnson said there were positives too.
His early-morning shifts allowed him to pick up his son from daycare during the day — where he was often the only father — and his pre-dawn work schedule also synced up perfectly with his preschooler’s sleep habits, ensuring that both he and his toddler would get a regular nap.
“So in a lot of ways, I’ve experienced more than someone who works a 9-to-5 job,” Johnson said.
Live broadcasting is an art form
Due to broadcast contract negotiations, Johnson’s longtime role as D.C. United’s television play-by-play announcer will end in 2022, but he will continue to do radio announcements for the team under a deal with iHeartRadio.
For Johnson, radio commentary is a completely different discipline to television commentary, almost a form of art.
“I want the listener to imagine what’s going on and feel all the sensations of what’s going on, because they can’t see it. … I’m trying really hard to paint a picture, and the words are the colors,” he said.
Johnson, who grew up in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and always had his finger on the radio dial, said his career in radio sports commentary began as a child.
“What I’m doing now is what I was doing when I was 6 years old,” he says. “I was a sportscaster for my mom. I was just trying to entertain her. That’s all I was trying to do. It became a part of my life. But I didn’t start out thinking, ‘I hope I can get into the Hall of Fame one day.’ I was just enjoying the connection that I had with my mom as a kid.”
Johnson’s mother, Mary Lou, battled multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. At the time, there were few treatments for the disease, and she used a wheelchair while Johnson was growing up.
She died from complications from the disease in 1979, when Johnson was 15 years old.
“We know what this disease is.”
The disease that brought loss in his childhood came back into Johnson’s life in 2019, when he was diagnosed with MS himself.
There is no cure for MS, and there is only one FDA-approved treatment for Johnson’s type of MS (primary progressive MS).
“Well, I’m not getting better. That’s what MS is,” Johnson said. “But I’m walking and talking. I don’t say this flippantly or belittle it. That’s my ongoing goal. Every person’s fight against MS is their own fight against MS.”
Johnson said she is grateful for the progress being made to combat the disease, which her mother did not suffer from.
“Without those things, I’d probably be in a wheelchair right now,” he said. “I’m not exaggerating, but I know what it’s like.”
Johnson, normally a sarcastic voice, said he was coming to terms with the moment and staying positive.
“Did I fall? But I get up. Dropped something? Yeah, but I pick it up. Does it bother me? No, because I don’t think about it. I have a new normal. … It’s not that I can’t do anything I want to do. I’ve never wanted to run a marathon. I’ve never wanted to ski in the Alps. So I’m able to live a great life.”
In addition to his passionate Wizards and D.C. United fan communities, Johnson is now involved with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and said he considers this his final fight in life to put an end to the disease.
It’s another way to connect with people and another community to cultivate.
For Johnson, a good life is one of connection and community.
“I can’t wait for the next game, the next event, the next opportunity to socialize,” he said.
WTOP’s Neil Augenstein contributed to this report.
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