Olympian and Bruin Legend Rafer Johnson Passes Away at 86
Johnson was an accomplished athlete, humanitarian, and ambassador.
Rafer Johnson, known as the World’s Greatest Athlete and the man credited with helping disarm Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin and bringing the 1984 Olympics to Los Angeles, has passed away as confirmed by Michael Roth, a family friend and spokesman. Johnson passed away at his home in Sherman Oaks.
Johnson was born in Texas and moved to California, where he would eventually become a track and field legend. His childhood years were punctuated by living in a house with no indoor plumbing in Dallas, then moving to the town of Kingsburg in central California where he spent his days after school picking cotton with his family.
Johnson would letter in four sports in high school: football, baseball, basketball and track and field, his favorite. He chose UCLA to follow in the footsteps of alumni like Jackie Robinson and Ralph Bunche. In addition to the track and field team, he also played basketball for our beloved Coach John Wooden in 1958-59. As if his athletic accomplishments weren’t enough, he was also student body president.
Johnson rose to international fame in the 1960 Rome Olympics when he narrowly beat out former training partner C.K. Yang of Taiwan for the gold medal. Johnson was the American track and field team’s first black captain and carried our country’s flag into the opening ceremonies.
He would immediately retire from the sport, but was drafted in 1961 by the Los Angeles Rams even though he hadn’t played football since high school. Johnson also had an offer from the Harlem Globetrotters, but ended up taking a few roles in T.V. and film, including a brief stint as a sports broadcaster during the 1964 summer Olympics. Johnson would also serve as a goodwill ambassador for the State Department, visiting countries around the world representing the United States.
Johnson met Robert F. Kennedy in 1961 and he was there in 1968 when Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Kennedy. Johnson was close by and was one of the individuals credited with tackling the assailant. He wrested the gun away and put it in his pocket, finding it later and turning it over to the police.
One of Johnson’s greatest accomplishments was the co-founding of the Southern California Special Olympics in 1969 for disabled children. He was recruited by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a major force behind the organization’s establishment. He was the president of the Special Olympics of Southern California from 1983-92, and remained involved with the organization for many years.
In 1984, then-Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley invited Johnson to be on the board to bring the summer games to Los Angeles. The endeavor was a success and Johnson was final torch bearer who lit the Olympic cauldron during the Opening Ceremonies. It was a huge moment for him as he was asked to climb 99 steps to light the cauldron. In his memoir he wrote, “I was, in a sense, an Olympian again, preparing to will my body to do something exceptional.”
Johnson will not only be remembered for his athletic accomplishments, but also his tenacity, faith, and good character. The Bruin family has lost a legend that will not be forgotten.
Go Bruins.
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A true gentleman. He sat right behind us at Pauley for several years.,
Right up there with Coach and Jackie and Ashe. What an amazing legacy and human being.