Pro Football Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson, who played for the 49ers, has died at the age of 86

The professional football world is celebrating the career of today JIMMY JOHNSON, a versatile and gifted all-around athlete who developed into the National Football League’s dominant cornerback during 16 seasons, all spent with the San Francisco 49ers.

Johnson, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1994, died Wednesday evening. He remained in the San Francisco area after his career and had been in declining health for some time, his family said.

“Jimmy Johnson was exceptionally talented in sports. “The 49ers had the luxury of using him on offense and defense early in his career to meet the needs of the team,” said Jim Porter, president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “Once he settled in as a left cornerback, he blossomed. The idea that a “lockdown” cornerback could cut the field in half for the opponent resonated with Jimmy.

“Other teams’ quarterbacks rarely looked his way and usually regretted the decision when they challenged him.”

Johnson was born in Dallas on March 31, 1938 and moved to California with his family when he was young. In high school, he excelled in multiple sports and captained his football, baseball and basketball teams at Kingsburg High, eventually attracting the attention of college scouts.

He attended UCLA and became one of the Bruins’ best wingbacks and a key player in the secondary.

“I played a lot of football, maybe not as much as I wanted to,” Johnson said of his days at UCLA. “I could have played 60 minutes.”

One year, he received UCLA’s Iron Man Award, given to the football player who logged the most minutes that season.

Jimmy, the brother of former Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson, was a track and field standout in his own right – a 13.9-second 110-meter hurdler (and NCAA champion in that event) and a 25-foot long jumper.

The versatility he demonstrated in college would pay dividends for the 49ers, who drafted him with the first of their three first-round drafts in 1961.

The 49ers wanted Johnson to play on offense as a rookie, but he broke his wrist before training camp. With an occupation limiting his pass-catching abilities, the coaches moved him to defense, and he responded with five interceptions. In 1962 he switched back to offense and caught 34 passes for 627 yards and four touchdowns. Four weeks into the 1963 season, they had to go back to defense for safety reasons to shore up a depleted secondary.

The next year, Johnson moved to left cornerback, a position he held for the remainder of his 16-year career, which ended in 1976. He played in 213 regular season games, more than any other 49er at the time of his retirement, and a team record broken only by Hall of Famer JERRY RICE.

“He’s really good. Mark my words. He’ll be there for a while,” JACK CHRISTIANSEN, also a future Hall of Famer, but an assistant coach for the 49ers in 1961, Johnson said. “He has the three prerequisites: enormous speed, great reflexes and the willingness to tackle with confidence.”

Considered one of the best man-to-man defenders in professional football history, Johnson had such a good reputation that opposing quarterbacks rarely threw into his defensive zone. Still, Johnson intercepted 47 passes and returned them for 615 yards.

“Jim doesn’t get much attention because opponents avoid him as much as possible,” quarterback John Brodie, a former teammate, said in an interview during their playing days. “Feel free to talk to experienced quarterbacks JOHN UNITAS And BART STARR and they will tell you that they only mention a few pass patterns in Jimmy’s area. The only reason Johnson isn’t leading the league in interceptions is because he doesn’t get a chance.”

Dick Nolan, head coach of the 49ers from 1968 to 1975, was a big Johnson fan.

“I coached three defensive backs who I thought were great, MEL RENFRO and Cornell Green with the Dallas Cowboys and Johnson,” he said. “Jimmy is the best I’ve ever seen.”

Hall of Fame recipient FRED BILETNIKOFF Johnson also praised.

“I think Jim is one of the best corners in professional football,” he said during their playing days. “I just hope he makes some mistake so I can gain an advantage. It covers all fit patterns so well.

If opposing receivers respected Johnson, he also respected the opponents he faced each week.

“I don’t look at anyone and think they can’t beat me,” he said. “If you play long enough, you’ll get beat. The question and the key to its effectiveness is how often.”

Johnson was named All-Pro four years in a row (1969-1972). He played in three Pro Bowls and was selected for two more, which he missed due to injuries. He earned a spot on the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team.

He won the Pro Football Writers’ George Halas Award for courageous play in 1971 (he finished the second half of that season with a broken wrist) and twice received the coveted Len Eshmont Award, selected by 49ers players and given to a teammate who has shown inspiration game showed.

In 1977, the 49ers retired his jersey at “Jimmy Johnson Night at Candlestick Park.”

“Jimmy Johnson was not just a great football player, he was one of the game’s finest citizens throughout his career,” Joe Thomas, the team’s then vice president and general manager, said at the ceremony. “There is no one in the NFL who doesn’t have the utmost respect for him, both as a player and as a man.”

Johnson was also elected to the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame (1978), the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (1990), and the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame (1992), and was a charter member of the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame (2009).

Kermit Alexander, one of Johnson’s longtime defensive backfield teammates with the 49ers, summed up his career this way: “He’s one of the most phenomenal athletes I’ve ever seen. There are so many things he can do. He is an extremely controlled person and very, very talented. In the entire time we played together, I never saw him lose his temper, either on or off the field. The reason his honors were so late was because he never beat the drums himself.”

The reserved Johnson waited nearly two decades to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In introducing his brother for enshrinement, Rafer Johnson said: “Jimmy is a quiet man, but he played with determination and commitment. Above all, Jim was and is a gentle man and a true gentleman.”

Jimmy Johnson’s legacy will live forever in Canton.