Pete Johnson (born Willie James Hammock on March 2, 1954 in Fort Valley, Georgia) is a former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

and played eight seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL), primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

under head coach

Early years

Born in

Fort Valley, Georgia Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, Peach County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780. The city is in the Warner Robi ...

and raised by his great-grandparents, Johnson attended

Peach County High School Peach County High School is a Public high school, public high school located in Fort Valley, Georgia, Fort Valley, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The school is part of the Peach County School District, which serves Peach County, Ge ...

for three years where he played football. Upon the death of his great-grandfather, he moved to New York to live with his mother where he graduated from Long Beach High School in Long Beach, New York, playing football for his senior season.

College career

Johnson played fullback at Ohio State from

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

through

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. In 1973, starting fullback Champ Henson was injured and converted linebacker Bruce Elia was named to start in Henson's place. By the end if that season, freshman Johnson had worked his way up the depth chart. Elia returned to the linebacker corps in 1974 and Henson and Johnson alternated at fullback. Although two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin got most of the carries at tailback from

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, the Ohio State fullbacks still got the ball frequently and were expected to be major contributors, particularly in short-yardage situations. In 1972 the team's leading scorer was Henson, and in 1973 it was Elia. Johnson's best season was in 1975. Even though Griffin led the team with 1,450 rushing yards, Johnson still rushed for 1,059 yards and set single OSU single season records for rushing touchdowns (25) and scoring (156 points). One of Johnson's more notable performances was in his junior season against

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. While Griffin rushed for 157 yards, Johnson rushed for 148 yards and set a school record with He finished his career at Ohio State with 2,308 rushing yards and a school record 58 touchdowns (also a

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

record). His 348 points was a Buckeyes' record until surpassed by kicker

Mike Nugent Michael Nugent (born March 2, 1982) is a former American football placekicker. He played college football for Ohio State University, and was twice recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the second round o ...

's 356 points In 2000, Johnson was selected for the Buckeyes' All-Century Team, and he was inducted into the OSU Athletics in 2007, presented during halftime of the

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

game

NFL career

A bruising runner and competent blocker, Johnson was a mainstay in the Bengals backfield. He was the team's leading rusher for all seven seasons he played for them, and scored 12 or more rushing touchdowns in three different seasons. His best season was in

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 ...

, where he made his only

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection. Johnson set career highs in rushing (1,077 yards), receptions (46), receiving yards (320) and touchdowns (16), leading the team to a with home field advantage for the In the postseason, Johnson helped the team record their first ever playoff win by rushing for 45 yards, catching 3 passes for 23 yards, and scoring a touchdown in the Bengals' divisional victory over the Buffalo Bills. In the AFC title game (known in NFL lore as the Freezer Bowl), Johnson rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown, while also catching a 14-yard reception as the team defeated the high-scoring San Diego Chargers to earn their first Super Bowl appearance. Cincinnati lost Super Bowl XVI at the

Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...

to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, who limited Johnson to just 36 rushing yards and 8 receiving yards. In

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, Johnson was traded to the

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

in exchange for running back James Brooks. He left Cincinnati as their all-time leader in rushing yards (5,421), touchdowns (70), and second all-time scorer with 420 points. Johnson spent the first three games of the 1984 season with Chargers and spent the final 13 games with Miami before retiring after the season ended. In his eight NFL seasons, Johnson rushed for 5,626 yards, caught 175 passes for 1,334 yards, and scored 82 touchdowns (76 rushing, 6 receiving). Johnson has an NFL-record three straight games with at least one receiving and one rushing touchdown.

Drug charges

In , Johnson and another Bengals player testified in exchange for immunity from prosecution that they had purchased

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

from a Cincinnati plumber, and he was suspended by the NFL for four games. In 1987, he was indicted by a federal grand jury on four cocaine-related charges—and at the time of his indictment, he was selling cars in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' archive; he was found not guilty by a Columbus jury in February 1988.

References

External links