Tom Johnson (American football)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Johnson is a former American football
player. He played at the defensive and offensive tackle positions for the University of Michigan
from 1948 to 1951. He was selected as the most valuable defensive tackle in the Big Ten Conference
in 1950 and as a first-team All-American at the same position in 1951. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 1952 NFL Draft
and became the second African-American to play for the Green Bay Packers
in the National Football League
.
. He attended Muskegon Heights High School
where he played football under legendary high school football coach Oscar "Okie" Johnson. He also played center
for the Muskegon Heights basketball team.
where he helped work his way through college by washing dishes. He competed in both football and track and field. Johnson was 6 feet, 2 inches tall, and weighed 220 pounds as a football player for the Wolverines. Johnson was a starter at the tackle position for Bennie Oosterbaan
's 1949
, 1950
and 1951 Michigan Wolverines football team
s. As a sophomore in 1949, Johnson started three games at left tackle, sharing the position with College Football Hall of Fame
inductee Alvin Wistert
.
praised Johnson, noting that his "work has maintained the same high level whether Michigan rolled or faltered," and further noted that "the burly Muskegon Heights tackle" was "the key man" in Michigan's improvement. The AP story continued:
The 1950 team finished the regular season with three straight wins to win the Big Ten Conference
championship. The Wolverines went on to defeat California 14-6 in the 1951 Rose Bowl
.
In December 1950, Bernie Swanson, sports editor of the Minneapolis Star, picked Johnson as the best defensive tackle in the Big Ten Conference.
wrote that Johnson ranked with the greatest ever to play at the tackle position for the Wolverines:
In December 1951, Johnson was selected as a first-team defensive tackle on the All-Players All-American team, an All-America team sponsored by the Chicago Tribune
and determined based on polling of players in cooperation with the major universities and colleges throughout the United States. The 1951 results were based on a record 18,876 votes. Johnson was also selected as a first-team All-Big Ten tackle by both the Associated Press
and United Press.
At the end of his senior year, Johnson was also selected to play for the College All-Star team in the annual match against the NFL championship team. While training with the College All-Stars, Chicago Tribune columnist Arch Ward
wrote that it would be hard for Michigan coach Bennie Oosterbaan
to replace Johnson. Ward added, "Tom Johnson, the 60 minute All-American currently assigned to a first string tackle berth in the College All-Star camp, is the acme of modesty.... Hardly a man around can remember him saying anything since the Collegians gathered at St. John's Military academy
."
s at Michigan in track and field. He finished second in the shot put
at the 1952 Big Ten Conference indoor track meet. He graduated from Michigan in 1952, receiving a degree in physical education
.
in the sixth round (63rd overall pick) of the 1952 NFL Draft
. When Johnson and Iowa's Donal Riley signed with the Packers, the announcement in the Wisconsin newspapers focused on their race. The Oshkosh Daily Northwestern ran the story under the headline, "Packers to Try Out Negro Players." The Capital Times led the story as follows: "The signing of two Negro athletes —- Tackle Tom Johnson of Michigan and Fullback Donal (Mike) Riley of Iowa —- was announced today by the Green Bay Packers." Johnson appeared in eight games for the Packers during the 1952 NFL season
. He was the second African-American to play for the Packers, following the lead of fellow Michigan Wolverine, Bob Mann
, who joined the Packers in 1950.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played at the defensive and offensive tackle positions for the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
from 1948 to 1951. He was selected as the most valuable defensive tackle in the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
in 1950 and as a first-team All-American at the same position in 1951. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 1952 NFL Draft
1952 NFL Draft
The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952. Picks made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:...
and became the second African-American to play for the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
.
Early years
Johnson was born in Chicago in 1931 and raised in Muskegon Heights, MichiganMuskegon Heights, Michigan
Muskegon Heights is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,049 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2 square miles , all land....
. He attended Muskegon Heights High School
Muskegon Heights High School
Coaches = Keith Guy,Willie Snead III Teachers = 9th"Muskegon Heights High School is located in Muskegon Heights, Michigan...
where he played football under legendary high school football coach Oscar "Okie" Johnson. He also played center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
for the Muskegon Heights basketball team.
University of Michigan
In 1948, Johnson enrolled at the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where he helped work his way through college by washing dishes. He competed in both football and track and field. Johnson was 6 feet, 2 inches tall, and weighed 220 pounds as a football player for the Wolverines. Johnson was a starter at the tackle position for Bennie Oosterbaan
Bennie Oosterbaan
Benjamin Gaylord "Bennie" Oosterbaan was a three-time first team All-American football end for the Michigan Wolverines football team, two-time All-American basketball player for the basketball team and an All-Big Ten Conference baseball player for the baseball team...
's 1949
1949 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1949 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1949 college football season. The team's head coach was Bennie Oosterbaan...
, 1950
1950 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1950 Michigan Wolverines football team, coached by Bennie Oosterbaan, won the Big Ten Conference championship with a record of 6–3–1 and defeated the California Bears in the 1951 Rose Bowl, 14–6. The team had two All-Big 10 backs in Don Dufek and Chuck Ortmann and All-American tackle R. Allen...
and 1951 Michigan Wolverines football team
1951 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1951 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1951 college football season. The team's head coach was Bennie Oosterbaan...
s. As a sophomore in 1949, Johnson started three games at left tackle, sharing the position with College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
inductee Alvin Wistert
Alvin Wistert
Alvin Lawrence "Moose" Wistert was an American football player. A native of Chicago, Illinois, he played college football at the tackle position for Boston University in 1946 and at the University of Michigan from 1947 to 1949...
.
1950 season
As a junior in 1950, Johnson started all 10 games for Michigan at defensive left tackle and also started 6 games at offensive left tackle. The 1950 team started the season with a record of 2-3-1, but turned the season around with a 20-7 win over Indiana. After the Indiana game, the Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
praised Johnson, noting that his "work has maintained the same high level whether Michigan rolled or faltered," and further noted that "the burly Muskegon Heights tackle" was "the key man" in Michigan's improvement. The AP story continued:
"The big 220-pound junior has been a standout against Army, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana. Such backs as the Army's Jack Martin and Minnesota's Larry Easer, among others, know the surprise of breaking into the clear only to be dragged down from behind by the cat-quick tackle."
The 1950 team finished the regular season with three straight wins to win the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
championship. The Wolverines went on to defeat California 14-6 in the 1951 Rose Bowl
1951 Rose Bowl
The 1951 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1951. It was the 37th Rose Bowl Game. The Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, defeated the California Golden Bears, champions of the Pacific Coast Conference, 14–6. Michigan fullback Don Dufek was...
.
In December 1950, Bernie Swanson, sports editor of the Minneapolis Star, picked Johnson as the best defensive tackle in the Big Ten Conference.
1951 season
As a senior in 1951, Johnson started all 9 games for Michigan at both defensive left tackle and offensive left tackle. At the conclusion of his playing career at Michigan, the Chicago Daily TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
wrote that Johnson ranked with the greatest ever to play at the tackle position for the Wolverines:
"When Tom, known to his teammates as Big Gun, played his final game last fall he had won a place alongside such great Michigan tackles as Otto PommereningOtto PommereningOtto P. Pommerening was an All-American football player for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1927-1928. He was a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan....
, the three Wisterts, Merv PregulmanMerv PregulmanMervin Pregulman is a former All-American football tackle and center who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines and in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers , Detroit Lions , and New York Bulldogs ....
, and Al WahlRobert WahlRobert Allen "Al" Wahl , nicknamed "Brick" Wahl, is a former football player who was a two-time All-American for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1949 and 1950. Wahl is also a former U.S...
. He was a 60 minute operator in these days of offensive and defensive platoons. Tom's intuitive ability, his quickness, and his savvy made his work seem so easy that his value was appreciated only by experts. He has the gift of doing the right thing so naturally that he handles blockers and ball carriers in a completely unspectacular way."
In December 1951, Johnson was selected as a first-team defensive tackle on the All-Players All-American team, an All-America team sponsored by the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and determined based on polling of players in cooperation with the major universities and colleges throughout the United States. The 1951 results were based on a record 18,876 votes. Johnson was also selected as a first-team All-Big Ten tackle by both the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and United Press.
At the end of his senior year, Johnson was also selected to play for the College All-Star team in the annual match against the NFL championship team. While training with the College All-Stars, Chicago Tribune columnist Arch Ward
Arch Ward
Arch Ward was the sports editor for the Chicago Tribune and personal friend of the owner, Robert R. McCormick. He created the MLB All-Star Game, the All-America Football Conference , the Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament and the College All-Star Game. Ward was twice offered the job as...
wrote that it would be hard for Michigan coach Bennie Oosterbaan
Bennie Oosterbaan
Benjamin Gaylord "Bennie" Oosterbaan was a three-time first team All-American football end for the Michigan Wolverines football team, two-time All-American basketball player for the basketball team and an All-Big Ten Conference baseball player for the baseball team...
to replace Johnson. Ward added, "Tom Johnson, the 60 minute All-American currently assigned to a first string tackle berth in the College All-Star camp, is the acme of modesty.... Hardly a man around can remember him saying anything since the Collegians gathered at St. John's Military academy
St. John's Northwestern Military Academy
St. John's Northwestern Military Academy was founded in 1884 as St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, by Rev. Sidney T. Smythe as a private, all-male college preparatory and leadership development school. In 1995, St. John's Military Academy merged with Northwestern Military and...
."
Track and field
In addition to football, Johnson earned two varsity letterVarsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
s at Michigan in track and field. He finished second in the shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
at the 1952 Big Ten Conference indoor track meet. He graduated from Michigan in 1952, receiving a degree in physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
.
Professional football
Johnson was picked by the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in the sixth round (63rd overall pick) of the 1952 NFL Draft
1952 NFL Draft
The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952. Picks made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:...
. When Johnson and Iowa's Donal Riley signed with the Packers, the announcement in the Wisconsin newspapers focused on their race. The Oshkosh Daily Northwestern ran the story under the headline, "Packers to Try Out Negro Players." The Capital Times led the story as follows: "The signing of two Negro athletes —- Tackle Tom Johnson of Michigan and Fullback Donal (Mike) Riley of Iowa —- was announced today by the Green Bay Packers." Johnson appeared in eight games for the Packers during the 1952 NFL season
1952 NFL season
The 1952 NFL season was the 33rd regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, New York Yanks owner Ted Collins sold his team back to the NFL...
. He was the second African-American to play for the Packers, following the lead of fellow Michigan Wolverine, Bob Mann
Bob Mann (American football)
Robert "Bob" Mann was an American football end. A native of New Bern, North Carolina, Mann played college football at Hampton Institute in 1942 and 1943 and at the University of Michigan in 1944, 1946 and 1947. He broke the Big Ten Conference record for receiving yardage in 1946 and again in 1947...
, who joined the Packers in 1950.