October 17, 1947 – Detroit, Michigan – Ron Johnson, a University of Michigan running back, came into this world. How good was Ron Johnson?
Well, his Michigan teammates voted him as their MVP twice and also selected him as one of their captains for the 1968 season. Mr Johnso was the first African-American in Wolverine history to serve as a team captain. Ron was an outstanding student at the University, earning awards such as the Big Ten Medal of Honor for his hard work on the field and in the classroom. As a runner, he was dynamite, exemplified in the game against Wisconsin in the 1968 season when Johnson pounded out 347 yards on the ground.
This stood as an NCAA record for three years and remains a Michigan record, according to the National Football Foundation’s bio on the great player. After college, Ron Johnson was picked in the first round by the Cleveland Browns in the 1969 NFL Draft. He stayed with the Browns for one season before playing with the New York Giants from 1970 to 1975. In New York, he twice earned All-Pro honors (1970 and 1972), and he became the first player in Giants history to gain at least 1,000 rushing yards in a season, twice hitting the milestone. Ron Johnson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
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