Johnson was Rookie of the Year in the CFL in ’61 and later received All-Pro honors during his seven-season career at Toronto and Calgary. He was All-State halfback at Northern High in ’53 when he led the Saginaw Valley Conference in scoring. Later, he starred at MSU where he averaged 7 yards per running attempt in ’57 while scoring 7 TD’s. Johnson also played basketball and track in high school. He won city track championships in the 100 and 220-yard sprints in ’53 and ’54 and led his team to the state medley relay record.
