Age: 30
4th
season in pro football & with Yankees
College: William
& Mary
Height: 5’11” Weight: 210
Prelude:
Johnson was
chosen by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the sixth round of the 1943 NFL draft but
served in the US Navy during World War II and signed with the Yankees of the
AAFC afterward. He played tackle, guard, fullback, and linebacker for the
Yankees, although he was primarily known for his placekicking. Johnson
connected on 6 of 8 field goal attempts in 1946 and 7 of 8 in ’47, when he led
the league with 49 extra points out of 51 attempts and scored a career-high 70
points. He also rushed for 63 yards in 1946 and caught a total of three passes
for 25 yards.
1949 Season Summary
Appeared in all
12 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Kicking
Field goals –
7 [1]
Most field
goals, game – 1 on seven occasions
Field goal
attempts – 15 [1]
Field goal
percentage – 46.7 [2]
PATs – 25 [5]
PAT attempts
– 25 [5]
Longest field
goal – 40 yards vs. San Francisco 10/23
Interceptions
Interceptions – 1
Interceptions – 1
Int. return
yards – 1
Int. TDs – 0
Scoring
Field Goals –
7
PATs – 25
Points – 46 [7]
Postseason: 1
G (AAFC First Round Playoff at San Francisco)
Field goals –
0
Field goal
attempts – 0
PATs – 1
PAT attempts
– 1
Yankees went 8-4
to finish third in the AAFC and qualify for the playoffs. Lost First Round
playoff to San Francisco 49ers (17-7).
Aftermath:
Following the
merger of the AAFC with the NFL in 1950, Johnson, along with many other members
of the Yankees, was assigned to the New York Yanks. He chose to coach high
school football instead but came back as a linebacker and placekicker in 1951
for one final season, making good on 6 of 14 field goal attempts and all 31 of
his tries for extra point. Overall, in four AAFC seasons Johnson kicked 22
field goals out of 38 attempts (57.9 %) and was successful on 147 of 149 extra
points, including a streak of 133 straight. Johnson’s total of 213 points
ranked sixth in AAFC history. He went into pro coaching, first in Canada, where
he led the minor league Kitchener team to four championships. Johnson later
joined the Buffalo Bills of the new AFL in ’60 at the behest of his former college
teammate Buster Ramsey, who was the new club’s first head coach. Johnson
remained with Buffalo for many years, serving as interim head coach twice, in
1968 and ’71, and also in the front office.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense: Interceptions,
Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
