Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Jimmy Johnson, a three-time All-Pro and member of the All-Decade Team of the 1970s, has died. He was 86.
Johnson's family told the Pro Football Hall of Fame that he died on Wednesday night at home in the San Francisco area after a lengthy illness.
Johnson, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994, played his entire 16-year pro career with San Francisco. He appeared in 213 games, more than any other 49ers player at the time of his retirement.
“Jimmy Johnson was extraordinarily athletically talented,” Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said. “The 49ers enjoyed the luxury of using him on offense and defense early in his career to fill team needs. Once he settled in at left cornerback, he flourished. The notion that a ‘lockdown’ cornerback could cut the field in half for the opposition was true with Jimmy. Only rarely would other teams’ quarterbacks even look his direction, and more often than not regretted the decision if they challenged him.”
The 49ers drafted Johnson sixth overall in 1961 out of UCLA — the Chargers of the upstart AFL took him in the fourth round of that league’s draft — and he became a starter almost immediately as a cornerback. He had five interceptions as a rookie.
But he was so versatile that the Niners used Johnson on offense in 1962, when he made 34 receptions for 627 yards and scored four touchdowns.
Preventing opponents from compiling such stats was his forte, however, and by 1964 Johnson was a fixture on the corner. He remained there until retiring after the 1976 season, totaling 47 interceptions, returning two for scores, and earning a reputation as a stingy cover man with a nose for the ball.
“Jimmy embodied the essence of what it meant to be a 49er," the team said in a statement. “He was the ultimate gentleman and will be remembered for his humility, kindness and loveable demeanor.”
In 1971, in the midst of a three-year run as an All-Pro, Johnson won the George Halas Award for courageous play.
“You have to be worked on, cornered in and cornered out to become as good as you can be,” Johnson said when he entered the Hall of Fame. “So actually I feel standing here today that I never reached that level, I never reached as good a football player as I could be. But thanks to God and inner talent I was able to present a picture to those individuals who were voting for the Hall of Fame, and my longevity and the level of game that I played from my rookie season to my last. That on this wondrous year of 1994 I’ve been given the opportunity, the glorious opportunity, to become a member of the most wonderful society: The National Football League Hall of Fame.”
It reached the point when Johnson was at his peak that opponents rarely threw his way. He was Deion Sanders long before “Prime Time” hit the NFL.
“Jim doesn’t receive much publicity because the opposition avoids him as much as possible,” San Francisco quarterback John Brodie once said. “Talk to veteran quarterbacks like John Unitas and Bart Starr and they’ll tell you they call few pass patterns in Jimmy’s area. The only reason Johnson doesn’t lead the league in interceptions is he doesn’t get the chance.”
Former 49ers coach Dick Nolan once said Johnson was a better cornerback than two of his other players, (Hall of Famer) Mel Renfro and (two-time All-Pro) Cornell Green with the Cowboys.
The brother of Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson, Jimmy Johnson played two ways at UCLA. He was a wingback on offense and a defensive back, while also competing in track as a hurdler and broad jumper.
His brother was Johnson’s presenter for enshrinement in the Canton, Ohio, hall.
“Rafer Johnson is in fact my hero and that is an amazing thing in itself,” Jimmy Johnson said that day. “Most young men growing up usually have a hero in another town, another city, another country, and they will write to this individual, receive an autographed photo and then tack that photo up on the wall and worship that photo, play for that photo and get inspiration from that photo. No such problem for me.
“I had a brother living with me on a day-to-day basis that I was able to talk to, ask the pertinent questions, get the pertinent feedback and get corrected in my direction, if needed. I must say I must give brother Rafer credit for everything that I have accomplished in the field of athletics. And I just wish that we could split this trophy, this bust of myself, right down the middle because he surely deserves half of it.”
Barry Wilner is a retired Pro Football Writer for The Associated Press. Wilner covered the NFL for the AP for more than 30 years.
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FILE - San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame football player Jimmy Johnson, left, is honored by owner Jed York before an NFL game between the 49ers and St. Louis Rams in San Francisco, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Jimmy Johnson, a three-time All-Pro and member of the All-Decade Team of the 1970s, has died. He was 86. Johnson's family told the Pro Football Hall of Fame that he died on Wednesday night, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
FILE - San Francisco 49ers Jimmy Johnson is shown in 1973. Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Jimmy Johnson, a three-time All-Pro and member of the All-Decade Team of the 1970s, has died. He was 86. Johnson's family told the Pro Football Hall of Fame that he died on Wednesday night, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/RHH, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and several other officials were found dead on Monday, hours after their helicopter crashed in a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest, state media reported.
The crash comes as the Middle East remains unsettled by the Israel-Hamas war, during which Raisi, who was 63, under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel just last month.
During Raisi's term in office, Iran enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels, further escalating tensions with the West as Tehran also supplied bomb-carrying drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine and armed militia groups across the region.
Meanwhile, Iran has faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over its ailing economy and women’s rights — making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country.
State TV gave no immediate cause for the crash that occurred in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
Among the dead was Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, 60. The helicopter also carried the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Early Monday morning, Turkish authorities released what they described as drone footage showing what appeared to be a fire in the wilderness that they “suspected to be wreckage of helicopter.” The coordinates listed in the footage put the fire some 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the Azerbaijan-Iranian border on the side of a steep mountain.
Footage released by the IRNA early Monday showed what the agency described as the crash site, across a steep valley in a green mountain range. Soldiers speaking in the local Azeri language said: “There it is, we found it.”
Condolences started pouring in from neighbors and allies after Iran confirmed there were no survivors from the crash. Pakistan announced a day of mourning and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X that his country "stands with Iran in this time of sorrow.” Leaders of Egypt and Jordan also offered condolences, as did Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said he and his government were “deeply shocked" — Raisi was returning on Sunday after traveling to Iran’s border with Azerbaijan to inaugurate a dam with Aliyev when the crash happened.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed his condolences. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a statement released by the Kremlin, described Raisi “as a true friend of Russia.”
Khamenei, who had himself urged the public to pray Sunday night, stressed the business of Iran’s government would continue no matter what.
Under the Iranian constitution, Iran’s vice first president takes over if the president dies, with Khamenei’s assent, and a new presidential election would be called within 50 days.
First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber already had begun receiving calls from officials and foreign governments in Raisi’s absence, state media reported. An emergency meeting of Iran's Cabinet was held as state media made the announcement Monday morning. The Cabinet issued a statement afterward pledging it would follow Raisi's path and that “with the help of God and the people, there will be no problem with management of the country.”
A hard-liner who formerly led the country’s judiciary, Raisi was viewed as a protégé of Khamenei and some analysts had suggested he could replace the 85-year-old leader after Khamenei’s death or resignation.
With Raisi's death, the only other person so far suggested has been Mojtaba Khameini, the 55-year-old son to the supreme leader. However, some have raised concerns over the position being taken only for the third time since 1979 to a family member, particularly after the Islamic Revolution overthrew the hereditary Pahlavi monarchy of the shah.
Raisi won Iran’s 2021 presidential election, a vote that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Raisi is sanctioned by the U.S. in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war.
Under Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war on Ukraine, as well as launched a massive drone-and-missile attack on Israel amid its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It also has continued arming proxy groups in the Mideast, like Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, mass protests in the country have raged for years. The most recent involved the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who had been earlier detained over allegedly not wearing a hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities. The monthslong security crackdown that followed the demonstrations killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.
In March, a United Nations investigative panel found that Iran was responsible for the “physical violence” that led to Amini’s death.
Raisi is the second Iranian president to die in office. In 1981, a bomb blast killed President Mohammad Ali Rajai in the chaotic days after the country's Islamic Revolution.
Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
In this photo provided by Moj News Agency, rescue teams' vehicles are seen near the site of the incident of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan in northwestern Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray. (Azin Haghighi, Moj News Agency via AP)
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Ebrahim Raisi attends a meeting with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev during the inauguration ceremony of dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, at the border of Iran and Azerbaijan, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Raisi, a hard-line protégé of the country's supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels and launched a major drone-and-missile attack on Israel, has died in a helicopter crash, according to state media on Monday, May 20. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, left, shakes hands with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev during a meeting to inaugurate the dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, at the border of Iran and Azerbaijan, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Rescuers on Monday found a helicopter that was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials that had apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran the day before, though "no sign of life" was detected, state media reported. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in meeting a group of families of the Revolutionary Guard members in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation. "We hope that God the Almighty returns the dear president and his colleagues in full health to the arms of the nation," Khamenei said, drawing an "amen" from the audience he was addressing. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
People pray for President Ebrahim Raisi in a ceremony at Vali-e-Asr square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
In this photo provided by Moj News Agency, rescue teams' vehicles are seen near the site of the incident of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan in northwestern Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray. (Azin Haghighi/Moj News Agency via AP)
In this photo provided by Moj News Agency, rescue teams and people are seen near the site of the incident of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan in northwestern Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray. (Azin Haghighi/Moj News Agency via AP)
In this photo provided by Moj News Agency, rescue teams are seen near the site of the incident of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan in northwestern Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray. (Azin Haghighi, Moj News Agency via AP)
In this photo provided by Moj News Agency, rescue teams' vehicles are seen near the site of the incident of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan in northwestern Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray. (Azin Haghighi/Moj News Agency via AP)
In this photo provided by the Azerbaijan's Presidential Press Office, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, left, shakes hands with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev during their meeting in the inauguration ceremony of dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, at the border of Iran and Azerbaijan, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without immediately elaborating. (Azerbaijani Presidential Press Office via AP)
An Iranian state-TV news reader reads news on incident of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in northwestern Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without immediately elaborating. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Ebrahim Raisi, left, speaks with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev on the inauguration of dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, at the border of Iran and Azerbaijan, Sunday May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without immediately elaborating. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Ebrahim Raisi attends a meeting with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev during the inauguration ceremony of dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, at the border of Iran and Azerbaijan, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without immediately elaborating. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
Pilgrims pray for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. (Mohammad Hasan Salavati/Shahraranews via AP)
Iranian pilgrims pray for President Ebrahim Raisi at Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. (Mohammad Hasan Salavati/Shahraranews via AP)
In this photo provided by Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi takes off at the Iranian border with Azerbaijan after President Raisi and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev inaugurated the dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. (Ali Hamed Haghdoust/IRNA via AP)
In this photo provided by Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi takes off at the Iranian border with Azerbaijan after President Raisi and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev inaugurated dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. (Ali Hamed Haghdoust/IRNA via AP)
FILE- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi places his hands on his heart as a gesture of respect to the crowd during the funeral ceremony of the victims of Wednesday's bomb explosion in the city of Kerman about 510 miles (820 kms) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran, Jan. 5, 2024. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, May 19, 2024, Iranian state television reported, without immediately elaborating. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
People pray for President Ebrahim Raisi in a ceremony at Vali-e-Asr square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. A helicopter carrying President Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
