Ron Johnson (running back)

Ronald A. Johnson (born October 17, 1947) is a former professional American football halfback. A 1965 graduate of Detroit's Northwestern High School; Ron played football for the University of Michigan and then with the Cleveland Browns, the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. His brother, Alex Johnson, played major league baseball for several teams and won the American League Batting title in 1970.

Johnson finished sixth in the 1968 Heisman Trophy voting. He was Michigan’s top student-athlete (1966-1968) where he received the Big 10 Medal (which is awarded to the most outstanding scholar-athlete in the school) and earned All-American honors his senior year at Michigan as a halfback. He also set the school record by rushing for 347 yards against Wisconsin in 1968, a record that still stands. In fact, Johnson still owns two of the top five single-game rushing performances in school history as follows:

After graduating from Michigan with a Business degree, Johnson played for seven years (1969-1975) in the NFL as a first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns and later played for the New York Giants. Ron rushed for 1,000 yards in 1970 and 1972, the first two 1,000-yard seasons in Giants history. Those were the only 2 winning seasons the Giants had between 1964 and 1980.

Johnson is a graduate of Michigan's Ross School of Business (1969). His brother, Alex Johnson, was a professional baseball player.

Johnson is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

While with the Giants, Johnson lived in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

After retirement
In 2006, Johnson was named the chairman of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, becoming the organization’s fifth chairman in 59 years. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

After retiring from professional football, Johnson started a food service company in 1983. In 2008, Johnson was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. His son Christopher has taken over managing the business, and Johnson is currently residing in a residential care facility.