John Henry Johnson
| John Henry Johnson | |
|---|---|
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Positions: Fullback / Halfback |
Jersey number (s): 35 |
| born November 24, 1929 in Waterproof , Louisiana | |
| died on June 3, 2011 in Tracy , California | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1953 - 1966 | |
| NFL Draft : 1953 / Round: 2 / Pick: 18th | |
| College : Arizona State University (ASU) | |
| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Games (NFL / AFL) | 143 |
| Touchdown | 55 |
| Gaining space through running play | 6,803 yards |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
John Henry Johnson (born November 24, 1929 in Waterproof , Louisiana - † June 3, 2011 in Tracy , California ) was an American American football player. He played as fullback / halfback with the San Francisco 49ers , Detroit Lions and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL).
youth
John Henry Johnson was born in Louisiana, but grew up in Pittsburg , California, where he also attended high school . Even at school he stood out as an excellent football and basketball player . He was also able to convince as a track and field athlete and won the California School Championship in the discus throw . Johnson already wore the number 35 back as a football player in high school, which he would later wear as a professional player. The number has since been banned by Pittsburg High School and his player's jersey has been hung in the school's weight room.
Player career
College career
Johnson studied after graduating from Saint Mary's College of California , where he continued his career as a football player. After college had stopped playing the football team, he moved to Arizona State University and ran for a year for the Arizona State Sun Devils . In 1952 his team won the league championship. He received an award from his college for his athletic achievements that year.
Professional career
John Henry Johnson was drafted 18th in the second round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1953 . However, there was no contract between the Steelers and Johnson. The Calgary Stampeders , who played in a forerunner of the Canadian Football League (CFL), offered him a higher salary and Johnson decided to accept the offer. Johnson became a top performer with the Stampeders. His gain of space of 648 yards in 107 attempts was the best value in the team. After a year in Calgary , Johnson joined the Buck Shaw- trained San Francisco 49ers. Together with quarterback YA Tittle , halfback Hugh McElhenny and fullback Joe Perry , he formed the so-called The Million Dollar Backfield in the 49ers . Although McElhenny was only able to play six games in 1954, the three Runinngbacks managed to gain space of 2245 yards that year. Johnson contributed 681 yards and was statistically the second best running back in the NFL behind Perry. Before the 1957 season, Johnson joined the Detroit Lions. Johnson played in Detroit mostly as a fullback, but was also repeatedly used as a pass recipient by quarterback Bobby Layne . The Lions were able to win eight of twelve games in the 1957 regular season and thus qualified for the play-offs . In the divisional play-off game , the Lions then met the former Johnson team and were able to defeat them with 31:27. Johnson was used as a ball carrier five times in the game. The win was followed by a second success in the NFL championship game against the Cleveland Browns . Johnson carried the ball seven times in his team's 59:14 win and was also able to catch a pass.
Johnson joined the Pittsburgh Steelers supervised by Buddy Parker in 1960 , with whom Bobby Layne was also under contract since 1959. In 1962, Johnson was able to gain 1,141 yards of space through running play. This made him the first Steelers player to run more than 1,000 yards in one season. In 1964 he managed to reach the 1,000 yard mark again. He managed to gain 1,048 yards of space that year. Johnson could not win a title with the team from Pittsburgh . However, he succeeded in 1964 in a game against the Cleveland Browns as the first player of the Steelers with running game to achieve a gain of 200 yards. He also got three touchdowns in the game . In 1966 John Henry Johnson moved to the American Football League (AFL) and ran from then on for the Houston Oilers . Johnson retired after a year of play in Houston .
After the career
Johnson returned to Pittsburgh after his career, where he worked for an energy company. After the death of his second wife, he moved to California in 2002. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease until his death and was cared for by his family in California. He bequeathed his brain to Boston University for medical research . His body was cremated after his death.
Honors
John Henry Johnson played four Pro Bowl times , was elected All-Pro twice , and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the ASU Hall of Fame .
Web links
- John Henry Johnson in the San Francisco 49ers
- John Henry Johnson for the Pittsburgh Steelers
- Obituary in the New York Times
- obituary
- Short biography ( Memento from July 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- John Henry Johnson at the Calgary Stampeders
Individual evidence
- ↑ College award from John Henry Johnson ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 1957 Lions Annual Statistics
- ↑ Statistics Divisional Play-Off Game 49ers vs. Lions 1957
- ↑ 1957 NFL final - statistics
- ↑ Statistics for the Steelers vs. Browns game on October 10, 1964
- ↑ Use of the Brain by John Henry Johnson
- ^ John Henry Johnson in the Find a Grave database
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Johnson, John Henry |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 24, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Waterproof , Louisiana |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 3, 2011 |
| Place of death | Tracy , California |