Ron Johnson

Ronald Adolphus (Ron) Johnson

U of M Football Player (1966 – 1968)
Cleveland Browns Player (1969)
New York Giants Player (1970 – 1975)

Ron Johnson was born in Detroit, Michigan and attended Northwestern High School becoming a star baseball and football player, before moving on to the University of Michigan as a running back. Over the next three seasons, Johnson became a standout, earning team MVP honors his Junior and Senior seasons, setting many single game and single season rushing records. After his senior season, he was named the Big Ten MVP, a first-team All-American and finished sixth in the Heisman voting. He was selected as the number twenty overall pick in the 1969 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. In 1970, he was traded to the New York Giants where he spent the remainder of his seven-year career, twice participating in the Pro Bowl as well as rushing for over 1000 in each of those two seasons (1970 & 1972). Ron Johnson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992 and was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.  He passed away on November 10, 2018 at 71 years of age.