Walter Johnson III (November 13, 1942 – June 30, 1999) 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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

who was drafted in the second round of the

1965 NFL Draft The 1965 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 28, 1964. The first player selected was Tucker Frederickson, back from Auburn, by the New York Giants. The draft was marked by the failur ...

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 ( ...

. He was a 3-time

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 ...

er (1967, 1968, 1969), a pro wrestler, and played 13 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 ...

. Johnson’s grandson Josh Johnson played football at Iowa Central Community College and later transferred to Hampton University where he finished his college football career, while earning a degree in Psychology. https://hamptonpirates.com/sports/football/roster/josh-johnson/665 Johnson's grandson Isaiah Johnson played college basketball at

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 prop ...

. Johnson also did professional wrestling beginning his career in 1968. His most famous match happened on February 16, 1974 against linebacker

Ron Pritchard Ronald David Pritchard (born April 2, 1947) is a former American football linebacker and professional wrestler. Pritchard played nine seasons with the Houston Oilers and the Cincinnati Bengals, first in the American Football League, then in the ...

. Johnson won by disqualification. Also worked in Detroit and

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

. He continued wrestling until 1984.

Championships and accomplishments

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory, known officially as NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 until the promotion closed in 1982. The title was first es ...

( 1 time)

References

1942 births 1999 deaths Players of American football from Cincinnati American football defensive tackles Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football players Cleveland Browns players Cincinnati Bengals players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players New Mexico State Aggies football players NWA Americas Heavyweight Champions 20th-century professional wrestlers {{defensive-lineman-1940s-stub