Randolph Klaus Johnson (June 17, 1944 – September 17, 2009) was an American professional football player. He was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in their inaugural season of 1966. He also had brief stints with the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Green Bay Packers. In 1974, he played with The Hawaiians of the World Football League (WFL).
Contents
Early life and college
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Johnson graduated from its Sam Houston High School in 1962. He played college football at Texas A&I in Kingsville (now Texas A&M–Kingsville), teammates with guard Gene Upshaw.
Johnson is a member of the Texas A&M Kingsville Javelina Hall of Fame. A two time All-American in 1964 and 1965. He led the Javelinas in passing in all four years he played and led the team in rushing in 1964. Johnson was the Lone Star Conference MVP in 1964 after leading the conference in passing. He was also the MVP in the 1965 Blue-Grey Classic, MVP in the Coaches All-America game and one of the top performers in the Senior Bowl.
Professional career
Johnson entered the 1966 NFL draft and became the first Texas A&I player to ever be selected in the first round (16th overall). He was also selected in the fourth round of the AFL draft by the Denver Broncos. Johnson would start the first ever game for the Falcons at quarterback on September 11, 1966 against the Los Angeles Rams. He went 9-of-25 for 154 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions while delivering the first Falcon points on a 53-yard pass to Gary Barnes and later delivered the first rushing touchdown on a three-yard run. Johnson started 11 of the 14 games for the team, who won just three games. He threw for 1,795 yards with 12 touchdowns to 21 interceptions with a 47.8 passer rating. The 1967 season would see him start 12 games and go 1–10–1 while throwing for 1,620 yards with 10 touchdowns to 21 interceptions with a 47.8 passer rating. The 1968 season saw him start the first five games of the season before he was taken out for Bob Berry. Johnson would not start again until Week 12 and started once more in Week 14 to close the year out. In eight games, he threw for 892 yards with 2 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.