Johnny Sanders (July 22, 1922October 26, 1990) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

executive in the National Football League (NFL). He was the general manager of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

for 11 seasons from 1976 until 1986, developing them into a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

contender. He was named the NFL executive of the year by ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' in 1979.

Early life

Sanders was born in San Antonio, Texas, and played football at Van Nuys High School in Los Angeles. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

as a halfback at

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

. Sanders was a starter on their 1948 squad that went 9–0 and defeated Colorado A&M in the Raisin Bowl.

Professional career

Sanders joined the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

as a part-time scout in 1952, and was named director of player personnel in 1964. He became their assistant general manager in 1969, while also continuing as the team's chief scout. Sanders joined the

in 1975 as owner Gene Klein's assistant for player personnel. Klein promoted him to general manager in 1976 to replace the fired Harland Svare. Sanders was named the ''Sporting News'' NFL Executive of the Year in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. He helped assemble Chargers teams, led by coach Don Coryell and his record-setting Air Coryell pass offense, which twice advanced to

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

(AFC) championship games, falling short of the

both times in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Under Sanders as the general manager, the Chargers won three straight AFC West division titles (1979–1981) and qualified for the

NFL playoffs The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Currently, seven teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A tie-breaki ...

four times. He rarely spoke publicly while working under Klein, who generally spoke for Chargers' management. Sanders' notable draft picks included Gary Anderson, James Brooks,

Gill Byrd Gill Arnette Byrd (born February 20, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection in 1991 and 1992 for the Cha ...

, John Jefferson, Jim Lachey, Leslie O'Neal, Ralf Mojsiejenko, Billy Ray Smith, Lee Williams and Kellen Winslow. Other players he acquired include

Rolf Benirschke Rolf Joachim Benirschke (born February 7, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the San Diego Chargers from 1977 until 1986. He is probably most known ...

Charlie Joiner Charles B. Joiner Jr. (born October 14, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. He is best known for his career w ...

, Chuck Muncie and Wes Chandler. After a 4–12 season in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, new Chargers owner

Alex Spanos Alexander Gus Spanos (September 28, 1923 – October 9, 2018) was an American billionaire real estate developer, founder of the A. G. Spanos Companies, and the majority owner of the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football Lea ...

demoted Sanders. The team had not had a winning record since

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

. In his final year with San Diego in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, Sanders was the assistant director of football operations. After leaving the Chargers, Sanders was unsuccessful in bringing an Arena Football League team to San Diego. He was later an administrative consultant for the San Diego Gulls, who were a first-year franchise in the International Hockey League in 1990.

Personal life

Sanders died of apparent heart failure on October 26, 1990, at

Grossmont Hospital Sharp Grossmont Hospital is located in La Mesa, California, United States. It is the largest healthcare facility in East San Diego County with a service area covering 750 square miles. The property is owned by Grossmont Healthcare District, whi ...

La Mesa, California La Mesa () is a city in San Diego County, located east of Downtown San Diego in Southern California. The population was 61,121 at the 2020 census, up from 57,065 at the 2010 census. Its civic motto is "the Jewel of the Hills." History La Me ...

. He was 68.

References

External links

Football executive record
at pro-football-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Johnny 1922 births 1990 deaths Occidental Tigers football players Los Angeles Rams executives San Diego Chargers executives Players of American football from Los Angeles Players of American football from San Antonio