John Connell Johnson (December 11, 1933 – October 18, 2015) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He also was a member of the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to: American football *Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League *Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs *Dallas Texans (arena football) The Dallas Texans were an ...

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, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Early years

Johnson attended

Carrick High School Carrick High School is a Public school (government funded), public school in the Carrick (Pittsburgh), Carrick neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. Carrick is one of ten high schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, and one ...

, where he played as a

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)#Offense ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from the

. During his first years, he was tried at different positions, including halfback. In his last two seasons he also was the team's punter. As a senior, he settled as a two-way player at

offensive end In gridiron football, an end is a player who lines up at either end of the line of scrimmage, usually beside the tackles. Rules state that a legal offensive formation must always consist of seven players on the line of scrimmage and that the pla ...

and

, becoming a starter for the first time in his college career. He was second on the team with 8 receptions for 98 yards (12.3-yard avg.), 2 receiving touchdowns, while also registering 34 tackles (fourth on the team), and 35 punts for a 38.2-yard average. In 2004, he was inducted into the

Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Johnson was selected by the

in the fourth round (49th overall) of the

1957 NFL draft The 1957 NFL draft had its first four rounds held on November 26, 1956, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia and its final twenty-six rounds on January 31, 1957, at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel also in Philadelphia. This was the 11th year th ...

. As a rookie, he had 4 interceptions and 11 punts for 398 yards (36.2-yard average). In 1958, he tallied one interception and 18 punts for 627 yards (34.8-yard average). In 1959, he only appeared in 6 games (all starts), registering one interception and one punt for 32 yards. He was selected by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in the

1960 NFL expansion draft The 1960 NFL expansion draft was the first National Football League (NFL) draft in which a new expansion team, which eventually became known as the Dallas Cowboys, selected its initial players. The NFL awarded Dallas, Texas a franchise to compet ...

. On September 13, he was released before the start of the season. On September 20, 1960, he was signed by the

of the

and became a part of the franchise's inaugural season. He appeared in 12 games (2 starts) and posted 2 interceptions. On April 10, 1962, he was traded along with Paul Miller from the

to the New York Titans, in exchange for the rights to

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Curt Merz. He was released before the start of the season.

Personal life

On October 18, 2015, he died from dementia and early-stage

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

References

External links

University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jack 1933 births 2015 deaths Players of American football from Pittsburgh American football defensive backs Miami Hurricanes football players Chicago Bears players Buffalo Bills players Dallas Texans (AFL) players American Football League players Deaths from dementia in Illinois Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Illinois