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BIOGRAPHY PHOTOS HALL OF FAME
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John Henry Johnson was born on November 24, 1929, in
Waterproof, Louisiana. He later moved to Pittsburg, California. While attending
high school there, his accomplishments on the football field soon made him
a hometown hero. Besides being a highly regarded football player, he excelled
in basketball, baseball, track and wrestling. Johnson was a three-year All-Contra
Costa County Athletic League selection in football, basketball and track.
Regarded as a superior runner, Johnson went on to become a football and
track star at Arizona State University. After graduating from college, Johnson spent a year playing for Calgary in the Canadian Football League. At the end of his first season Johnson was awarded the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy, a Canadian Football award given to the player in the Western Division considered most valuable to his team. He joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1954, where he helped make up the "Fabulous Foursome" backfield, alongside fellow Hall of Famers Hugh McElhenny, Joe Perry and Y.A. Tittle. Also called the "Million Dollar Backfield," this group was noted as one of the NFL's finest. In 1957, he was traded to the Detroit Lions, where he was a tremendous asset to the team for the two years he played there. Johnson had continued success with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1960-65. There, he surpassed 1000 yards rushing in 1962 and 1964. He also was the first Steeler to rush 200 yards in a single game. In 1966, he joined the Houston Oilers for a year before retiring. Johnson was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1987, after a career that included three pro bowls, 6,803 rushing yards and 48 touchdowns. He was also named one of Alameda Newspaper Group's 50 Most Significant Bay Area Sports Figures of the Century. Today, John Henry Johnson lives near Cleveland, Ohio, where he enjoys the city's local jazz scene. |
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