John Eugene Perkins (April 21, 1953 – April 25, 2007) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who spent his entire career as a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

of 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). Perkins was born in

Franklin, Texas Franklin is a city in, and the county seat of, Robertson County, Texas, United States. It is within the Brazos Valley, on the cusp of the East and Central Texas regions. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,614. The original name ...

. 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 ...

Ranger College Ranger College is a Public college, public community college in Ranger, Texas. The college's website asserts that it "is one of the oldest public two-year colleges in continuous operation in the state of Texas." In conjunction with its main campu ...

before transferring to

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institutio ...

. A second round pick in the

1977 NFL draft The 1977 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

, Perkins played in 71 games and had 2,611 yards receiving and 18 touchdowns on 163 catches. He retired after the 1983 season. He died in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

after complications from heart surgery.Johnny Perkins, 54, Receiver for Giants, Is Dead
/ref> Perkins is the father of WNBA player

Jia Perkins Jia Dorene Perkins (born February 23, 1982) is an American retired professional basketball player currently working as an assistant coach for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League. She announced her retirement after the 2017 season when t ...

. Johnny Perkins Field in Granbury, TX, is the home field of the Granbury Pirate football team.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

1953 births 2007 deaths Players of American football from Robertson County, Texas Ranger Rangers football players American football wide receivers Abilene Christian Wildcats football players New York Giants players People from Franklin, Texas 20th-century American sportsmen {{widereceiver-1950s-stub