Jimmie Johnson, a Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back, three-time All-Pro selection and member of the 1970s All-Decade team, has died. He was 86 years old.
Johnson’s family told the Pro Football Hall of Fame that he died Wednesday night at his home in the San Francisco area after a long illness.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994, Johnson played his entire 16-year pro career in San Francisco. He played in 213 games, more than any other 49ers player at the time of his retirement.
“Jimmy Johnson had extraordinary athletic ability,” said Hall of Fame President Jim Porter. “The 49ers enjoyed the luxury of using him on offense and defense early in his career to meet the team’s needs. Once he was established at left cornerback, he was a big hit. “Lockdown” cornerback The idea that you could cut your opponent’s field in half was true in Jimmy’s case. Other teams’ quarterbacks rarely even looked in his direction, and if they did challenge him, they almost always regretted that decision. ”
The 49ers selected Johnson sixth overall out of UCLA in 1961, and the Chargers, an upstart AFL team, took him in the fourth round of that league’s draft, and he became the starting cornerback almost immediately.
He recorded five interceptions as a rookie.
But he was so versatile that the Niners added him to the offensive line in 1962, when he had 34 receptions for 627 yards and four touchdowns.
However, preventing opponents from compiling such statistics was his forte, and by 1964 Johnson was a regular at corner.
He remained with the team until retiring after the 1976 season, totaling 47 interceptions and two scoring returns, earning him a reputation as a stingy cover man who sniffed the ball.
“Jimmy epitomized the essence of what it means to be a 49er,” the team said in a statement. “He was the ultimate gentleman and will be remembered for his humility, kindness and loving demeanor.”
In 1971, during a three-year stint as an All-Pro, Johnson received the George Halas Award for courageous play.
“You have to strive, you have to push yourself, you have to push yourself, to be as good as you can be,” Johnson said upon his induction into the Hall of Fame. “So actually, as I stand here today, I feel like I never got to that level, never got to be the best soccer player I could be. But thanks to God and my inner talent, I I was able to give those who were voting for the Hall of Fame a picture of my longevity and the level of the game I played from my rookie season to my final season in 1994. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to be a part of the greatest organization in the Football League Hall of Fame.”
When Johnson reached his peak, opponents rarely could overcome him. He was Deion Sanders long before “Prime Time” came to his NFL.
San Francisco quarterback John Brody once said, “Jim is not well known because the opposition avoids it as much as possible.” “If you talk to veteran quarterbacks like Jon Unitas or Bart Starr, they’ll tell you they almost never call a pass pattern in Jimmy’s area. The only thing that keeps Johnson from leading the league in interceptions is The reason is that he doesn’t have a chance.”
Former 49ers coach Dick Nolan once said that Johnson was a better cornerback than two other players, (Hall of Famer) Mel Renfro and the Cowboys’ (two-time All-Pro) Cornell Green. He said there is.
Jimmie Johnson, the younger brother of Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson, played two-way at UCLA.
He was an offensive wingback and defensive back, while also competing in track and field as a hurdler and long jumper.
His brother was the presenter at Johnson’s memorial service at the hall in Canton, Ohio.
“Rafer Johnson is actually my hero, which in itself is amazing,” Jimmie Johnson said that day. “Most young people growing up usually have a hero in another town, another city, another country, and they write letters to them, they get autographed pictures of them, they put that picture on their walls, they write pictures of them. I adore and play for that photo. And I get inspired by that photo. No such problem for me.
“I have a brother who lives with me every day and I was able to talk to him when I needed to, ask the right questions, get the right feedback, and get corrections in my direction.” I have to credit my brother Leifer for all his accomplishments in the field of athletics. And I wish I could split this trophy and my bust down the middle, because he is. Because it’s definitely worth half of that.”
