Joe Johnson

Joseph Andrew Johnson (19 January 1883 23 April 1934) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He is recognised as the first ever Indigenous Australian to play in the VFL. Early life Joseph Andrew Johnson was born near Newcastle, New South Wales on 19 January 1883, the son of Melbourne-born Andrew Johnson (1840–1891) and Eliza Catherine Louisa Johnson (1843–1909) (née Gordon). Football career Fitzroy Johnson was recruited from Victorian Football Association (VFA) side Northcote and made his senior debut for Fitzroy against in the opening round of the 1904 VFL season. Initially playing as a half-back flanker, Johnson played in back-to-back premiership teams in 1904 and 1905.