Remembering Former QB Charley Johnson: 'He Taught Us How to Win'

By John Turney

Former NFL quarterback Charley Johnson passed away last week, and if you missed it you weren't alone. His death was barely recognized by the national sports media. But it should have been ... because Charley Johnson was one of the best quarterbacks of his era.

Go ahead and look it up.

Johnson, who died Tuesday at the age of 85, was the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Cardinals from Week 5 in 1962 through Week Nine in 1966 -- a span of 58 games -- before he bowed out with an injury and spent the next two years serving a military commitment.

So what? So, in those 58 games, only Hall-of-Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas threw for more yards, and only Unitas and George Blanda, another Hall of Famer who was then in the pass-happy AFL, completed more passes. Not only that, but Johnson was top five in touchdown passes, joining Hall-of-Famer Len Dawson, Blanda, Unitas, and Pro Bowler and NFL champion Frank Ryan. 

Now, for the most important part: In that same period, only Hall-of-Famer Bart Starr, Unitas, Ryan, Dawson and AFL-champion Jack Kemp had more victories. Make no mistake, Johnson could make the best in poor situations. He did it his entire career, including as a collegiate player. 

Johnson is not a household name today, but ardent football fans of the '60s and '70s will remember him. His alma mater, New Mexico State University (NMSU), certainly does. In a statement following Johnson's death, it called him "arguably the greatest Aggie football player of all time," and here's why: 

-- At NMSU, he was the Sun Bowl MVP in 1959 and 1960 when he won both games.

-- The Aggies finished 8-3 in 1959 and a perfect 11-0 in 1960.

-- In 1960, they ranked 19th in the coaches' poll.

-- Johnson led the nation in passing touchdowns both years, was named all-conference three times and gave the school its first winning season since 1938.

Drafted by the NFL St. Louis Cardinals and AFL San Diego Chargers, Johnson chose the established league where, by his second season, he became the Cards' starter. Then his career took off, with Johnson becoming one of the NFL's top passers. In 1964, he led the league in passing yards in 1964 with 3,045, while the previous season his 28 touchdown passes ranked second only to Unitas, and he was named to the Pro Bowl.

An ROTC participant in college, he served in the military in 1966-67, missing most of both seasons. But he returned to the Cardinals in 1969, splitting time at quarterback with Jim Hart.

One year later, he was traded to the Houston Oilers, serving as a starter for one year, then as a backup to draft picks Dan Pastorini and Lynn Dickey. It was the low point of his career, with five knee operations and mediocre play that made him more than miserable; it made him expendable, too.

So in 1972 he was traded to Denver for a third-round draft choice in a move that soon paid off for the Broncos and their new quarterback. In his second year there, Johnson was named All-AFC while the Broncos posted a winning record for the first time in their history.

But that wasn't all. Johnson was the quarterback the following year, too, when the Broncos had their second-ever winning season.

"He taught us how to win," teammate Haven Moses said in 2017.

That was nothing new for Johnson. Prior to entering the military, he produced a .603 winning percentage in his five-year run with the Cards. While his record of 33-21-4 may not seem stellar by today's standards, it was a marked improvement over what happened prior to his arrival. 

In the five seasons before he joined them, for example, the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals were 20-40-2 from 1957-61, a winning percentage of .339 -- proof that the Broncos weren't the only team he taught how to win. In his 15-year career, Johnson played 165 games completed 1,737 passes and threw for 24,410 yards and 170 TDs and was, as I documented, a success on the football field. 

But he was a success off of it, too. While in St. Louis, he earned his master's and PhD in chemical engineering (he'd gotten his BA in the same field at NMSU, graduating with a 4.0 GPA). Then, following his retirement, he applied that education to private business and academia.

He ran a successful chemical engineering company and was later head of the Chemical Engineering Department at New Mexico State, as well as a professor. In 2010, he even stepped in as an interim coach for the Aggies when head coach Hal Mumme was fired.

Johnson is also a member of the Denver Broncos' Ring of Honor (inducted in 1986), the NMSU Athletics Hall of Fame and Football Ring of Honor and the New Mexico and Texas Sports Halls of Fame. He's also one of two only Aggie football players to have his number retired.

Furthermore, for his charitable work and contributions to NMSU, he received the James F. Cole Memorial Award for Service -- the university's highest honor -- and was a winner of the Distinguished Alumni Award.

In short, Charley Johnson was more than an accomplished football player. He was an accomplished individual. NMSU, the NFL and the world lost an extraordinary figure this week who excelled at whatever he did and wherever he did it.

May he always be remembered.