John Henry Johnson

John Henry Johnson (November 24, 1929 – June 3, 2011) foi um jogador profissional de futebol americano que atuou como running back. Ele era conhecido por sua excelência na posição de fullback tanto como corredor quanto como bloqueador. Sua primeira passagem profissional foi no Canadá na Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU, uma liga precursora da atual Canadian Football League) por uma temporada com o Calgary Stampeders. Em seguida, jogou na National Football League (NFL) pelo San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions e Pittsburgh Steelers antes de passar sua última temporada na American Football League (AFL) com o Houston Oilers. Comumente referido simplesmente como John Henry, uma alusão ao herói folclórico de mesmo nome, Johnson foi um jogador duro e tenaz que se desempenhou em alto nível até o final de sua carreira. After playing college football for St. Mary's College of California and Arizona State, Johnson was selected in the second round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Steelers, the 18th overall pick. He instead played one season of Canadian football for the Stampeders, in which he won the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He then signed with the 49ers, and played left halfback in San Francisco's famed "Million Dollar Backfield". He was traded to Detroit in 1957, and became the team's leading rusher en route to that year's NFL championship, their most recent. His abilities seemingly in decline, Johnson was traded to Pittsburgh in 1960, where he had the most productive years of his career, recording two 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He remains the oldest player to record a 1,000-yard rushing season as well as the oldest to rush for 200 or more yards in a game, each at age 34. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Johnson ranked third on the NFL's all-time rushing yards list when he retired, but was best remembered by his peers for the mark he left with his blocking. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. Early life Johnson was born in northeastern Louisiana, at Waterproof in southern Tensas Parish. He played high school football in northern California at Pittsburg High School.