Ron Johnson (running back)

His 2,524 rushing yards set a new career rushing record at Michigan, eclipsing the record set by Tom Harmon from 1938 to 1940.

Ronald Adolphis Johnson (October 17, 1947 – November 10, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL).

Johnson was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1947.

His father, Arthur Johnson, having a fourth-grade education, supported his wife and his five children with his own trucking company, Johnson Trucking.

Ron's older brother, Alex Johnson, was a star baseball and football player at Northwestern High School, and opted to play baseball and made his Major League Baseball debut in July 1964 when Ron was 16 years old.

Ron followed Alex To Northwestern High School, becoming a star baseball and football player and graduating in 1965.

Johnson enrolled at the University of Michigan in the fall of 1965 and played college football for the Michigan Wolverines football team from 1966 to 1968 under head coach Bump Elliott.

Johnson played college football at the halfback position for the University of Michigan from 1966 to 1968.

As a sophomore in 1966, Johnson gained 44 yards on 12 carries, seeing limited playing time in a backfield that included seniors Carl Ward and Jim Detwiler.

He set a Michigan school record in 1967 by rushing for 270 yards in a game.

As a junior in 1967, Johnson became the Wolverines' starting halfback, gaining 982 rushing yards on 210 carries for an average of 4.7 yards per carry.

On October 7, 1967, in his third game as a starter, Johnson eclipsed the Michigan and Big Ten Conference single-game rushing records with 270 rushing yards on 26 carries, for an average of 10.4 yards per carry, against Navy.

He also had 100-yard games that same year against Michigan State (107 yards on 24 carries), Minnesota (108 yards on 17 carries), and 167 yards against Northwestern (167 yards on a career-high 42 carries).

He set a Big Ten record with his 42 carries against Northwestern, and he was selected as the most valuable player on the 1967 Michigan Wolverines football team.

In 1968, he became the first African-American to serve as the captain of a Michigan football team.

He set an NCAA record by rushing for 347 yards in a game and set Big Ten Conference records with 92 points scored and 1,017 rushing yards in seven conference games.

He also set Michigan records with 2,524 career rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns in a season, and 139.1 rushing yards per game in 1968.

As a senior, Johnson was captain of the 1968 Michigan Wolverines football team, the first African-American player to receive that honor at Michigan.

Johnson led the 1968 team, originally predicted to be an "also-ran" in the Big Ten, to an 8–2 record and a No. 12 ranking in the final AP Poll.

He rushed for 1,391 yards on 255 carries in 10 games during the 1968 season.

In the second game of the 1968 season, Johnson tallied his second 200-yard game, rushing for 189 yards in the first half alone, and finishing with 205 yards on 31 carries against Duke.

He followed with three consecutive 100-yard games against Navy (121 yards on 22 carries) Michigan State (152 yards on 19 carries), and Indiana (163 yards on 34 carries).

On November 16, 1968, in his next-to-last game for Michigan, Johnson set an NCAA record by rushing for 347 yards on 31 carries (11.2 yards per carry) against Wisconsin.

He also scored a Big Ten record five rushing touchdowns in Michigan's 34–9 victory over the Badgers.

The Chicago Tribune hailed Johnson's performance against Wisconsin as "the most explosive display of running in the proud history of the Big Ten conference."

He also set Big Ten single-season records with 92 points scored and 1,017 rushing yards in seven conference games during the 1968 season.

During the 1968 season, Johnson also set Michigan single-season records with 19 rushing touchdowns (breaking a record set by Tom Harmon in 1940), 139.1 rushing yards per game, and 1,557 combined rushing/receiving yards.

Michigan head coach Bump Elliott credited Johnson's success to his instincts: "I just think it's instinct. He's a strong runner and has great instincts."

Ohio State University assistant coach Esco Sarkkinen credited Johnson's physique: "Johnson has good size, speed, agility and balance. But his extraordinary physique give him the ability to shake off tacklers."

Johnson himself credited his ability to find an opening as his main asset: "Picking the hole is what I think I do best. It's more instinct than anything else. You either have it or you don't. When the play is called in the huddle I start thinking about where the hole is supposed to be."

At the end of his senior year, Johnson won numerous honours, including the following:

He played seven seasons in the NFL from 1969 to 1975 and became the first player in New York Giants history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, accomplishing the feat in both 1970 and 1972.

Johnson graduated from the University of Michigan in 1969 with a business degree.

Johnson was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 1969 NFL Draft.

He also led the NFL in rushing attempts in both 1970 and 1972.

He is the brother of 1970 American League batting champion Alex Johnson.

Johnson retired as a player in 1976, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992, and became chairman of the National Football Foundation in 2006.

He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2008, and died in 2018.

As of 2014, his 347 rushing yards remains a Michigan single-game rushing record.

Johnson also set several career and season records at Michigan.