Randy Johnson, beloved coach, friend
The storied schoolboy from School Lane in Lewes, Randy Johnson has departed life’s playground, felled by a massive stroke that resulted in his death Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, the winter solstice, a day the earth stood still. Randy was 66 years old.
Randy is preceded in death by his father, Clifford Johnson; mother, Ann West; stepmother, Jean Johnson; brothers, Michael Johnson and Bud Johnson; stepbrothers, Artie Watts and David Watts; and stepsister, Andrea Watts. Randy is survived by his brother, Jay Johnson (Kevin Mullican); sister, Kathy Johnson; niece, Amanda Johnson; nephews, Karl Chalabala, Casey Warner, Patrick Johnson, Joshua Watts and Andrew Johnson; a special core group of friends, you know who you are; and of course, his Caravel Academy and Delaware Magic families.
Randy, Cape Class of 1977, was a legendary athlete and coach forever loyal to Cape Henlopen High School, Caravel Academy and his travel team, the Delaware Magic.
Randy is legendary among his lifelong friends and coaches in Lewes. During his senior year in high school, he earned six varsity letters, doubling down each season. In the fall, it was soccer and kicking for the football team; in winter, he wrestled and pole vaulted; and in the spring, it was baseball and track. He is the answer to the Cape trivia question: “What athlete earned two individual state titles three days apart in two different sports?” Randy won the indoor state title on Thursday night at the University of Delaware, jumping 13 feet, then came back and won the 138-pound state wrestling title contested at Cape Henlopen on a Saturday night. Randy’s coaches, Dave Frederick and Bill Collick, nicknamed him “The Knick-Knacker” because if a sport was contested, Randy was going to find a way to win. A key to understanding Randy: He was interested in winning, and those who lost were just collateral damage.
The fall following his high school graduation, Randy jumped into the inaugural Lewes Marathon because some friends who actually trained all summer were doing it. He ran 3:40. Randy just seemed made of rubber and never stiffened up.
Moving into coaching softball at Caravel, he worked his side job as a driver’s ed teacher at Caravel and Red Lion, and before that at Salesianum. Randy found the game designed for his knick-knacking personality. He used small ball and strategies, powered by strong pitching and timely hitting. He was the zen master in the dugout.
Caravel won state titles under Randy in 2010, 2011, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. His Caravel team also lost in five championship games. If Randy brooded in defeat, none of his lifelong boyhood friends ever saw it.
“Randy had coaches working with him that understood the game. He changed softball for the better. It will not be the same without him,” said Allison Sullivan, coach of the Delaware Magic travel softball team from 2002 to the present.
Randy was an assistant wrestling coach for his friend and mentor Bill Collick at Delaware State in the early ’80s, often running the program until coach Collick finished with football.
When Randy’s high school track coach, Dave Frederick, was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, he organized a van trip of Cape athletes to attend the ceremony. Two years ago, when the softball field at Cape was proclaimed Bill Cordrey Field, Randy was there to help celebrate the honor.
Another insight into Randy’s hierarchy of values was the Cape girls’ lacrosse team’s first appearance in the state title game versus St. Andrew’s. Randy stayed on the Saints’ side of the field because his childhood friend Carl Saliba’s daughter, Grace, was on the St. Andrew’s team. He lived his life surrounded by his hometown friendships; he was the revered character in the center of the circle.
Sesame Street by the Sea and beautiful Lewes with Cape Henlopen bringing kids together from Slaughter Neck to west of Milton and down to the Indian River Inlet bridge. Friendships forged to last beyond anyone's lifetime. The knick-knacker had the talent to cobble all that together and make it meaningful and forever lasting. Randy was out to win, but not to beat you. Godspeed, good friend, the Knick-Knacker, coach Randy Johnson.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Caravel Academy Softball Program, 2801 Del Laws Road, Bear, DE 19701 or Delaware Magic, PO Box 1581, Bear, DE 19701.
