Johnson in January 2014
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No. 37 | |||||||||||||||
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Position: | Cornerback, safety, wide receiver | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth: | March 31, 1938 | ||||||||||||||
Place of birth: | Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
College: | UCLA | ||||||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 1961 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Interceptions: | 47 |
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Interception yards: | 615 |
Interception return TDs: | 2 |
Receptions: | 40 |
Receiving yards: | 690 |
Receiving touchdowns: | 4 |
Player stats at NFL.com |
James Earl Johnson (born March 31, 1938) is a former American football player and track athlete.
Johnson was born in Dallas and raised in Kingsburg, California. He is the younger brother of Rafer Johnson, winner of the decathlon gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Johson played college football and ran track at UCLA. He won the NCAA 110-meter hurdles championship and was named an All-American in track and field.
Johnson was the sixth player selected in the 1961 NFL Draft and played for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL) from 1961 to 1976. He was selected four times as a first-team All-Pro and played in five Pro Bowls. His jersey (No. 37) was permanently retired by the 49ers in 1977. In 1980, he was named as a first-string cornerback on the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, and in 1994 he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Johnson was born in 1938 in Dallas. His family moved to central California when Johnson was a boy. He attended Kingsburg High School in Kingsburg in Fresno County.
Johnson's older brother Rafer Johnson preceded him as a multi-sport star at Kingsburgh High School and UCLA, ultimately winning the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1960 Summer Olympics.