Jump to content

Rafer Johnson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rafer Johnson
Johnson at the 1960 Olympics
Personal information
Full nameRafer Lewis Johnson
Born(1934-08-18)August 18, 1934
Hillsboro, Texas,U.S.
DiedDecember 2, 2020(2020-12-02)(aged 86)
Sherman Oaks,California,U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (1.90 m)
Weight201 lb (91 kg)
Spouse
Elizabeth Thorsen
​
(m.1971)​
Sport
SportAthletics
EventDecathlon
ClubSouthern California Striders, Anaheim
Achievements and titles
Personalbest(s)100 m – 10.3 (1957)
220 yd – 21.0 (1956)
400 m – 47.9 (1956)
110 mH – 13.8 (1956)
HJ – 1.89 m (1955)
PV – 4.09 m (1960)
LJ – 7.76 m (1956)
SP – 16.75 m (1958)
DT – 52.50 m (1960)
JT – 76.73 m (1960)
Decathlon – 8392 (1960)[1]
Medal record
RepresentingUnited States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Decathlon
Silver medal – second place 1956 Melbourne Decathlon
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1955 Mexico City Decathlon

Rafer Lewis Johnson(August 18, 1934 – December 2, 2020) was an Americandecathleteand filmactor.He was the 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, having won silver in 1956. He had previously won a gold at the1955 Pan American Games.Johnson was the U.S. team's flag bearer at the 1960 Olympics and lit theOlympic cauldronat theLos Angeles Games in 1984.

In 1968, Johnson, football playerRosey Grier,and journalistGeorge PlimptontackledSirhan Sirhanmoments after he hadfatally shot Robert F. Kennedy.

After he retired from athletics, Johnson turned to acting, sportscasting, and public service and was instrumental in creating the CaliforniaSpecial Olympics.His acting career included appearances inThe Sins of Rachel Cade(1961), theElvis PresleyfilmWild in the Country(1961),Pirates of Tortuga(1961),None but the Brave(1965), twoTarzanfilms withMike Henry,The Last Grenade(1970),Soul Soldier(1970),Roots: The Next Generations(1979), the James Bond filmLicence to Kill(1989), andThink Big(1990).

Biography

[edit]

Johnson was born inHillsboro, Texason August 18, 1934.[a][3][4]His family moved toKingsburg, California,when he was aged nine.[5]For a while, they were the only black family in the town.[6]A versatile athlete, he played onKingsburg High School'ssoccer,baseballandbasketballteams. He was also elected class president in both junior high and high school.[6]The summer between his sophomore and junior years in high school (age 16), his coach Murl Dodson drove Johnson 24 miles (40 km) to Tulare and watchedBob Mathiascompete in the 1952 U.S. Olympic decathlon trials.[7]Johnson told his coach, "I could have beaten most of those guys."[6]Dodson and Johnson drove back a month later to watch Mathias's victory parade. Weeks later, Johnson competed in a high school invitational decathlon and won the event. He also won the 1953 and 1954 California state high school decathlon meets.[7]

In 1954, as a freshman at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles(UCLA), his progress in the event was impressive; he broke theworld recordin his fourth competition.[6]He pledgedPi Lambda Phifraternity, America's first non-sectarian fraternity, and was class president[6]at UCLA. In 1955, inMexico City,he won the title at thePan American Games.[3]

Johnson qualified for both the decathlon and thelong jumpevents for the1956 Summer OlympicsinMelbourne.However, he was hampered by an injury and forfeited his place in the long jump. Despite this handicap, he managed win silver in the decathlon behind compatriotMilt Campbell.It would turn out to be his last defeat in the event.[6]

Due to injury, Johnson missed the 1957 and 1959 seasons (the latter due to a car accident), but he broke the world record in 1958 and again in 1960.[2]The crown to his career came at the1960 Summer OlympicsinRome.His most serious rival wasYang Chuan-Kwang(C. K. Yang) ofTaiwan.Yang also studied at UCLA; the two trained together under UCLA track coachElvin C. "Ducky" Drakeand had become friends. In the decathlon, the lead swung back and forth between them. Finally, after nine events, Johnson led Yang by a small margin, but Yang was known to be better in the final event, the 1500 m. According toThe Telegraph(UK), "legend has it" that Drake gave coaching to both men, with him advising Johnson to stay close to Yang and be ready for "a hellish sprint" at the end, and advising Yang to put as much distance between himself and Johnson before the final sprint as possible.[8][9]

Johnson ran his personal best at 4:49.7 and finished just 1.2 sec slower than Yang, winning the gold by 58 points with an Olympic record total of 8,392 points. Both athletes were exhausted and drained and came to a stop a few paces past the finish line leaning against each other for support.[8]With this victory, Johnson ended his athletic career.[3]

At UCLA, Johnson also played basketball under legendary coachJohn Woodenand was a starter for theBruinson their1958–59 team.[10]Wooden considered Johnson a great defensive player, but sometimes regretted holding back his teams early in his coaching career, remarking, "imagine Rafer Johnson on the[fast] break."[6]

Johnson was selected by theLos Angeles Ramsin the 28th round (333rd overall) of the1959 NFL Draftas a running back.[11]

While training for the 1960 Olympics, his friendKirk Douglastold him about a part inSpartacusthat Douglas thought might make him a star: the Ethiopian gladiator Draba, who refuses to kill Spartacus (played by Douglas) after defeating him in a duel. Johnson read for and got the role, but was forced to turn it down because theAmateur Athletic Uniontold him it would make him a professional and therefore ineligible for the Olympics under the rules of the time. The role eventually went to another UCLA great,Woody Strode.[6]In 1960, Johnson began acting inmotion picturesand working as a sportscaster. He made several film appearances, mostly in the 1960s. Johnson worked full-time as a sportscaster in the early 1970s. He was a weekend sports anchor on the local NBC affiliate in Los Angeles,KNBC,but seemed uncomfortable in that position and eventually moved on to other things.[12]

Johnson worked on thepresidential electioncampaignofUnited States SenatorRobert F. Kennedy,and on June 5, 1968, with the help ofRosey Grier,he apprehendedSirhan Sirhanimmediately after Sirhan hadassassinatedKennedy at theAmbassador HotelinLos Angeles, California.Kennedy died the following day atGood Samaritan Hospital.Johnson discussed the experience in his autobiography,The Best That I Can Be(published in 1999 by Galilee Trade Publishing and co-authored with Philip Goldberg).[5]

Johnson at the 1972 Special Olympics

Johnson served on the organizing committee for the firstSpecial Olympicscompetition inChicagoin 1968, hosted by Special Olympics founder,Eunice Kennedy Shriverand the next year he led the founding of the California Special Olympics.[2]Johnson, along with a small group of volunteers, founded California Special Olympics in 1969 by conducting a competition at theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseumfor 900 individuals with intellectual disabilities. Following the first California Games in 1969, Johnson became one of the original members of the board of directors. The board worked together to raise funds and offer a modest program of swimming and track and field. In 1983, Rafer ran for President of the Board to increase Board participation, reorganize the staff to most effectively use each person's talents, and expand fundraising efforts. He was elected president and served in the capacity until 1992, when he was named chairman of the Board of Governors.[13]

Family

[edit]

Johnson married Elizabeth Thorsen in 1971. They had two children and four grandchildren.[14]

Johnson's brotherJimmywas a member of thePro Football Hall of Fameand his daughterJennifercompeted inbeach volleyballat the2000 Olympic GamesinSydneyfollowing her collegiate career at UCLA.[1]His sonJoshua Johnsonfollowed his father into track and field and had a podium finish in the javelin throw at theUSA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[15]

Johnson participated in theArt of the Olympiansprogram.[16]

Death

[edit]

Rafer Johnson died after suffering a stroke on December 2, 2020, in Sherman Oaks, California. He was 86.[17]

Achievements

[edit]
Johnson at the1960 Summer Olympicsin Rome
Johnson in 2016

Johnson was namedSports Illustrated'sSportsman of the Yearin 1958[18]and won theJames E. Sullivan Awardas the top amateur athlete in the United States in 1960, breaking that award's color barrier. In 1962, he received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement.[19]He was chosen to ignite theOlympic Flameduring the opening ceremonies of the1984 Summer OlympicsinLos Angeles,becoming the first Black athlete in Olympic history to do so.[6]In 1994, he was elected into the first class of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.[12]

In 1998, Johnson was named one ofESPN's 100 Greatest North American Athletes of the 20th Century. In 2006, theNCAAnamed him one of the 100 Most Influential Student Athletes of the past 100 years.[20]On August 25, 2009,Governor SchwarzeneggerandMaria Shriverannounced that Johnson would be one of 13California Hall of Fameinductees inThe California Museum's yearlong exhibit. The induction ceremony was on December 1, 2009, inSacramento,California.[21]Johnson was a member ofThe Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C.National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.[22]

Rafer Johnson Junior High School inKingsburg, Californiais named in his honor, as are Rafer Johnson Community Day School and Rafer Johnson Children's Center, both inBakersfield, California.[23]The latter school, which has classes for special education students from the ages of birth-5, also puts on an annual Rafer Johnson Day. Every year Johnson himself spoke at the event and cheered on hundreds of students with special needs as they participated in a variety of track and field events.[24]

In 2010, Johnson received the Fernando Award for Civic Accomplishment from the Fernando Foundation and in 2011, he was inducted into the Bakersfield City School District Hall of Fame. Additionally, Rafer acted as the athletic advisor toDan Guerrero,Director of Athletics at UCLA. He was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.[25]

In November 2014, Johnson received the Athletes in Excellence Award fromThe Foundation for Global Sports Development,in recognition of his community service efforts and work with youth.[26]

In 2005, Johnson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree fromWhittier College.[27]

Filmography

[edit]

Actor

[edit]

Source:[28][29]

Production roles

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^Some sources give his birth year as 1935, but his family has stated that is incorrect.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abEvans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen;Mallon, Bill;et al."Rafer Johnson".Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.Sports Reference LLC.Archived fromthe originalon April 17, 2020.
  2. ^abcHarris, Beth (December 2, 2020)."Rafer Johnson, Olympic champ who helped subdue RFK's assassin, dies at 86".The Mercury News.Associated Press.RetrievedDecember 2,2020.
  3. ^abcMartin, Jill; Almasy, Steve (December 2, 2020)."Rafer Johnson, 1960 Olympic decathlon champion, dies at 86".CNN.
  4. ^Moritz, Charles (1962).Current Biography 1961.New York: H.W. Wilson. p. 222.
  5. ^abJohnson, Rafer (1998).The Best That I Can Be: an Autobiography.New York: Doubleday. p. 24.ISBN978-0-3854-8760-3.RetrievedOctober 4,2021.I'm sure that in 1946 no one thought twice when they heard that another family named Johnson had moved into town; it was the most common name in Kingsburg.
  6. ^abcdefghiPosnanski, Joe(August 2, 2010)."Rafer Johnson and the Power of 10".Sports Illustrated.Archived fromthe originalon August 5, 2010.RetrievedAugust 2,2010.
  7. ^abTurrini, Joseph M. (2010)."Chapter 1 – The Purest of Rivalries: Rafer Johnson, C.K. Yang, and the 1960 Olympic Decathlon".In Wiggins, David K.; Rodgers, R. Pierre (eds.).Rivals: Legendary Matchups That Made Sports History.Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press. pp. 8–9.ISBN9781610753494.
  8. ^abHenderson, Jon (June 26, 2012)."Great Olympic Moments: UCLA friends Rafer Johnson and Yang Chuan-kwang make decathlon history in 1960".The Daily Telegraph.London. Archived fromthe originalon July 26, 2012.
  9. ^Maraniss, David (2008).Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World.New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 301.ISBN978-1-4165-3407-5.At that moment, (Coach Elvin 'Ducky') Drake was like a master chess player competing against himself. He saw the whole board and was making the best moves for both sides.
  10. ^Padilla, Mike (October 1, 2005)."Rafer Johnson — Olympic gold medalist and UCLA dad".UCLA Spotlight.Archived fromthe originalon January 18, 2008.RetrievedOctober 4,2021.
  11. ^"1959 Los Angeles Rams Draftees".Pro-Football-Reference.com.RetrievedDecember 7,2020.
  12. ^ab"Rafer Johnson Timeline".LA84 Foundation.RetrievedDecember 7,2020.
  13. ^"Remembering Rafer Johnson".Special Olympics.December 2, 2020.RetrievedDecember 2,2020.
  14. ^Goldstein, Richard (December 2, 2020)."Rafer Johnson, Winner of a Memorable Decathlon, Is Dead".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedDecember 4,2020.
  15. ^Jacobs and Washington on track for repeat in Paris – USA Champs Day Three.IAAF (2003-06-22). Retrieved on 2015-07-02.
  16. ^"Be the best you can be: Rafer Johnson".Art of the Olympians.RetrievedOctober 4,2021.
  17. ^Wilson, Scott (December 2, 2020)."Rafer Johnson, the Olympic gold medalist who helped bring the games to L.A., has died".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedDecember 4,2020.
  18. ^"Sportsman of the Year".Sports Illustrated.RetrievedAugust 11,2013.
  19. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".www.achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  20. ^"100 Most Influentical Student-Athletes".NCAA
  21. ^"California Hall Fame Inductee Special Olympics Founder Editorial Stock Photo – Stock Image".Shutterstock Editorial.RetrievedDecember 7,2020.
  22. ^"75th Annual Awards Dinner"(PDF).The Pigskin Club of Washington. Inc.February 8, 2013.
  23. ^"Homepage".Rafer Johnson Jr. High.RetrievedDecember 7,2020.
  24. ^"Olympic champion Rafer Johnson had ties to Kern County, including being namesake of Bakersfield school".KGET News.December 2, 2020.RetrievedDecember 7,2020.
  25. ^"Hall of Fame Inductees".Texas Track and Field Coaches Association.RetrievedOctober 4,2021.
  26. ^Fullerton, Laurie (November 21, 2014)."Eight Olympians, Paralympians Named Athletes In Excellence".Team USA.Archived fromthe originalon December 12, 2014.RetrievedOctober 4,2021.
  27. ^"Honorary Degrees".Whittier College.RetrievedFebruary 12,2020.
  28. ^"Rafer Johnson".Turner Classic Movies.RetrievedDecember 4,2020.
  29. ^"Rafer Johnson".TV Guide.RetrievedDecember 3,2020.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Olympic Games
Preceded by FlagbearerforUnited States
Rome 1960 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Final Olympic torchbearer
Los Angeles 1984 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Final Summer Olympic torchbearer
Los Angeles 1984 		Succeeded by
Chung Sun-Man, Sohn Mi-Chung
andKim Won-Tak
Preceded by Track & Field Athlete of the Year
1960 		Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by Men's decathlon world record holder
June 11, 1955 – May 18, 1958 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's decathlon world record holder
July 28, 1958 – May 17, 1959 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's decathlon world record holder
July 9, 1960 – April 28, 1963 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rafer_Johnson&oldid=1229606868"