Ronald Adolphis Johnson (October 17, 1947 – November 10, 2018) was an
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 with ...
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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
.
Johnson 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 ...
at the
halfback position for the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
from 1966 to 1968. He set a Michigan school record in 1967 by rushing for 270 yards in a game. In 1968, he became the first African-American to serve as the captain of a Michigan football team. He set an
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
record by rushing for 347 yards in a game and set
Big Ten Conference
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 ...
records with 92 points scored and 1,017 rushing yards in seven conference games. He also set Michigan records with 2,524 career rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns in a season, and 139.1 rushing yards per game in 1968.
He played seven 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) from 1969 to 1975 and became the first player in
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, accomplishing the feat in both 1970 and 1972. He also led the NFL in rushing attempts in both 1970 and 1972. Johnson retired as a player in 1976, was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
in 1992, and became chairman of the
National Football Foundation
The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote and develop amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and "developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the dr ...
in 2006. He was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
in 2008, and died in 2018. He is the brother of 1970 American League
batting champion Alex Johnson
Alexander Johnson (December 7, 1942 – February 28, 2015) was an American professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), from to , for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, California ...
.
Early years and family
Johnson was born in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, Michigan, in 1947.
His father, Arthur Johnson, having a fourth-grade education, supported his wife and his five children with his own trucking company, Johnson Trucking.
Ron's older brother,
Alex Johnson
Alexander Johnson (December 7, 1942 – February 28, 2015) was an American professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), from to , for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, California ...
, was a star baseball and football player at
Northwestern High School,
and opted to play baseball and made his
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
debut in July 1964 when Ron was 16 years old.
Ron followed Alex to Northwestern High School, becoming a star baseball and football player and graduating in 1965.
University of Michigan
Johnson enrolled at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in the fall of 1965 and 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 ...
for the
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...
team from 1966 to 1968 under head coach
Bump Elliott
Chalmers William "Bump" Elliott (January 30, 1925 – December 7, 2019) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback at Purdue University (1943–1944) and the University of Michigan (1946–19 ...
. As a sophomore in 1966, Johnson gained 44 yards on 12 carries, seeing limited playing time in a backfield that included seniors
Carl Ward
Carl Davis Ward (born July 26, 1944) is a former American football player. He played college football as a halfback for the University of Michigan from 1964 to 1966 and professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland ...
and
Jim Detwiler
James R. Detwiler (born May 29, 1945) is a former American football halfback who was the 20th pick in the first round of the 1967 NFL Draft. Before this he had been an All-Big Ten Conference player for the Michigan Wolverines from 1964 to 196 ...
.
1967 season
As a junior in 1967, Johnson became the Wolverines' starting halfback, gaining 982 rushing yards on 210 carries for an average of 4.7 yards per carry.
On October 7, 1967, in his third game as a starter, Johnson eclipsed the Michigan and
Big Ten Conference
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 ...
single-game rushing records with 270 rushing yards on 26 carries, for an average of 10.4 yards per carry, against
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
.
He also had 100-yard games that same year against
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
(107 yards on 24 carries),
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
(108 yards on 17 carries), and 167 yards against
Northwestern (167 yards on a career-high 42 carries).
He set a Big Ten record with his 42 carries against Northwestern,
and he was selected as the most valuable player on the
1967 Michigan Wolverines football team.
1968 season
As a senior, Johnson was captain of the
1968 Michigan Wolverines football team, the first African-American player to receive that honor at Michigan.
Johnson led the 1968 team, originally predicted to be an "also-ran" in the Big Ten,
to an 8–2 record and a No. 12 ranking in the final
AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
. He rushed for 1,391 yards on 255 carries in 10 games during the 1968 season.
In the second game of the 1968 season, Johnson tallied his second 200-yard game, rushing for 189 yards in the first half alone, and finishing with 205 yards on 31 carries against
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
. He followed with three consecutive 100-yard games against Navy (121 yards on 22 carries) Michigan State (152 yards on 19 carries), and Indiana (163 yards on 34 carries).
On November 16, 1968, in his next-to-last game for Michigan, Johnson set an NCAA record by rushing for 347 yards on 31 carries (11.2 yards per carry) against
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. He also scored a Big Ten record five rushing touchdowns in Michigan's 34–9 victory over the Badgers.
The ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' hailed Johnson's performance against Wisconsin as "the most explosive display of running in the proud history of the Big Ten conference."
As of 2014, his 347 rushing yards remains a Michigan single-game rushing record.
Johnson also set several career and season records at Michigan. His 2,524 rushing yards set a new career rushing record at Michigan, eclipsing the record set by
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon (September 28, 1919 – March 15, 1990), known as Tom Harmon, as well as by the nickname "Old 98", was an American football player, military pilot, actor, and sports broadcaster.
Harmon grew up in Gary, Indiana, and playe ...
from 1938 to 1940.
He also set Big Ten single-season records with 92 points scored and 1,017 rushing yards in seven conference games during the 1968 season. During the 1968 season, Johnson also set Michigan single-season records with 19 rushing touchdowns (breaking a record set by Tom Harmon in 1940), 139.1 rushing yards per game, and 1,557 combined rushing/receiving yards.
Michigan head coach Bump Elliott credited Johnson's success to his instincts: "I just think it's instinct. He's a strong runner and has great instincts."
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 ...
assistant coach
Esco Sarkkinen
Esco "Sark" Sarkkinen (April 9, 1918 – February 28, 1998) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Ohio State University from 1937 to 1939 and was a consensus first-team End (American football), end on the 1939 ...
credited Johnson's
physique: "Johnson has good size, speed, agility and balance. But his extraordinary physique give him the ability to shake off tacklers."
Johnson himself credited his ability to find an opening as his main asset: "Picking the hole is what I think I do best. It's more instinct than anything else. You either have it or you don't. When the play is called in the huddle I start thinking about where the hole is supposed to be."
At the end of his senior year, Johnson won numerous honours, including the following:
* He was selected by the
Football Writers Association of America
The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...
and ''
Football News
A national championship in the highest level of college football in the United States, currently the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best coll ...
'' as a first-team running back on the
1968 College Football All-America Team. He was also selected as a second-team All-American by the
AP,
UPI
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
, and
NEA.
* He was unanimously selected by his Michigan teammates as the team's most valuable player,
winning the honor for the second consecutive year.
* He won the
Chicago Tribune Silver Football
The Chicago Tribune Silver Football is awarded by the ''Chicago Tribune'' to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illinois wa ...
trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference.
* He received the Big Ten Medal as the most outstanding scholar-athlete at the University of Michigan.
* He finished sixth in the voting for the 1968
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
with 12 first-place votes and 158 total points.
Johnson graduated from the University of Michigan in 1969 with a business degree.
Professional football
Johnson was selected by the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
in the first round of the
1969 NFL Draft
The 1969 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and American Football League (AFL) held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969.
The draft beg ...
.
In August 1969, Johnson ended a lengthy holdout, signing a two-year contract with the Browns in exchange for a compensation package reported to be in excess of $100,000. In a disappointing rookie season, he appeared in all 14 games, 13 as a starter, as a
fullback for the Browns, but gained only 472 yards and scored seven touchdowns on 138 carries.
Johnson, along with
Jim Kanicki
James Henry Kanicki (born December 17, 1941 in Bay City, Michigan) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants. He played college football at Michigan State Un ...
and
Wayne Meylan, was traded by the Browns to the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
for
Homer Jones on January 26, 1970. He noted at the time that he was "shocked" by the trade, but hopeful since he believed he was better suited to being a halfback than a fullback as he was used in Cleveland.
In his first season in New York, Johnson became the first player in Giants franchise history to rush for 1,000 yards. On November 8, 1970, he rushed for 136 yards and caught four passes for 59 yards, including a game-winning touchdown pass with three minutes remaining, in a 23–20 victory over the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
. He led the NFL with 263 carries and gained 1,027 yards, second in the NFL behind
Larry Brown. He also gained 487 receiving yards on 48 catches.
Late in the 1970 season, Giants quarterback
Fran Tarkenton
Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at ...
said of Johnson: "Johnson is the best halfback in football today ... period! He's just a devastating football player."
Johnson's 1,000-yard season capped a big year for the Johnson family, as brother Alex won the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
batting title with a .329
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
for the
California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
.
In the summer of 1971, Johnson suffered a thigh injury while playing a pickup basketball game in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
. After blood collected in his thigh tissue, Johnson was required to undergo surgery. As a result of the injury, Johnson missed the first six games of the
1971 NFL season
The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The Boston Patriots changed their name to New England Patriots to widen their appeal to the entire New England region after moving to their new stadium in Foxbo ...
. He returned to the lineup for two games, but he sustained a ligament injury against 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 ...
on November 7, 1971, and missed the remainder of the season. Johnson gained 156 yards on 32 carries in two games during the 1971 season.
Johnson returned to his pre-injury form during the
1972 NFL season
The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first (and to date the only) NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins ...
. He led the NFL with a career-high 298 carries and gained 1,182 rushing yards, third best in the NFL behind
O. J. Simpson and Larry Brown. He also gained 451 receiving yards on 45 catches.
Johnson's two 1-000-yard seasons were also the only two winning seasons the Giants had between
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
and
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 – ...
.
Johnson continued to play for the Giants through the 1975 season. He tallied 902 rushing yards and 377 receiving yards in 1973, but saw his playing time drop off in 1974 and 1975.
In 1974 he was held back by two leg injuries, a thumb injury, and possibly with issues with new head coach
Bill Arnsparger
William Stephen Arnsparger (December 16, 1926 – July 17, 2015) was an American college and professional football coach. He was born and raised in Paris, Kentucky, served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, and graduated from Mi ...
relating to Johnson's role in the
1974 NFL strike
The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director De ...
. Johnson played out his option in 1975 and signed a contract to play for the Dallas Cowboys in June 1976, but he was cut by Dallas before the 1976 season began.
Family and later years
In 1970, Johnson married his wife, Karen, and they have two children, Christopher and Allison.
In approximately 1983, Johnson started Rackson, a food service company based in
Totowa, New Jersey
Totowa (pronounced "TO-tuh-wuh" ) is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 10,844,[Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...]
franchises in Michigan and New Jersey.
Johnson was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
in 1992.
In 2006, he was named the chairman of the
National Football Foundation
The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote and develop amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and "developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the dr ...
, operator of the College Football Hall of Fame, becoming its fifth chairman in 59 years. In 2008, Johnson was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
. As of 2011, Johnson was living in a
residential care
Residential care refers to long-term care given to adults or children who stay in a residential setting rather than in their own home or family home.
There are various residential care options available, depending on the needs of the individual. P ...
facility in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, and the majority of the cost of his care was being funded by the NFL's "
88 Plan".
Death
Johnson died on November 10, 2018, at the age of 71, in
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937.
Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming one ...
.
See also
*
University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs.
*
Lists of Michigan Wolverines football rushing leaders
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Ron
1947 births
2018 deaths
American football running backs
Cleveland Browns players
College football announcers
Michigan Wolverines football players
New York Giants players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
National Conference Pro Bowl players
Ross School of Business alumni
Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey
Players of American football from Detroit
People from Fort Lee, New Jersey
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Deaths from dementia in New Jersey
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
Northwestern High School (Michigan) alumni
20th-century American businesspeople