Daryl E. Johnson (born August 11, 1946) is a former

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 back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

, 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 majo ...

, and the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the ...

. He was a member of the

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and was a member of the Patriots 1960s All-Decade Team.

College career

Johnson graduated from Maggie L. Walker High School in Richmond. He entered

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...

in 1964 and received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in Business Administration degree. Mr. Johnson (5'10½"/170 lbs), was an invited

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

at Morgan State, where he became a four-year letterman in

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 ...

playing on three undefeated CIAA Championship football teams from 1965–1967, and was a two-year letterman in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. Mr. Johnson acquired many honors during his amazing college football career: however, he carved his own piece of Morgan State athletic history as the starting quarterback during the undefeated 1966 and 1967 CIAA Championship football seasons. In 1966, Morgan State University became the first predominantly

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

team selected to play in the

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 ...

sanctioned Tangerine Bowl (now called the Capital One Bowl). Mr. Johnson led the Morgan State Golden Bears on one of the biggest stages the University had been on to a historic 14-6 victory over West Chester State (PA). The victory earned Morgan State University the distinction of being crowned the first

historically black college or university Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...

(HBCU) to win a nationally recognized NCAA Championship Title, Atlantic Coast Champions. Mr. Johnson ended the 1966 season being selected to the first-team Maryland All-State Team as a

Placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. S ...

and first-team ALL-CIAA. During the 1967 season, Daryl led the Golden Bears to their third consecutive CIAA Championship and undefeated seasons. He set a school record by becoming the first quarterback to pass for over 1,000 yards in a single season, completing 54 percent of his passes for 1,050 yards. His senior year performance was so outstanding that he was selected first Team Maryland All-State as Quarterback, first Team All-CIAA Quarterback and first Team ''

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acqu ...

'' Black All-American Defensive Back. Daryl finished his career leading Morgan State to the longest winning streak in college football at the time. The Golden Bears only lost two games during Mr. Johnson's four-year career. While playing for Morgan, Daryl played quarterback, flanker, defensive back and was the teams

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. S ...

. Johnson is a member of Morgan State University's Varsity "M" Club athletic Hall Of Fame.

Professional career

Johnson was selected 1968 Common Draft in the 8th round. He would play for the

(1968–1969), the

's Boston Patriots (1970). Johnson became a starter in his rookie season. He was selected to the Boston Patriots All-Time Team of the Decades of the 1960s and honored at a special pre-game and halftime ceremony on December 5, 1971 at Schaefer in conjunction with

Gino Cappelletti Gino Raymond Michael Cappelletti (March 26, 1934 – May 12, 2022) was an American professional football player. He played college football at University of Minnesota and was an All-Star in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston ...

Day. Daryl was also a starting defensive back in the

with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...

/ Shreveport Steamers.

Personal

Johnson is married to Helen Griffin, and they have two children, Deron and Brandi, as well as one granddaughter, Nevaeh.

References

*''The Daily Times'', Salisbury, Maryland 11/27/67 *''Kingsport Time News'' 12/11/66 *''Afro American'' October 1967 *''Afro American'' December 1967 *UPI Feb. 1968 {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Daryl 1946 births Living people American football cornerbacks Boston Patriots players Houston Texans (WFL) players Morgan State Bears football players New England Patriots players Shreveport Steamer players Players of American football from Richmond, Virginia American Football League players