Johnny Robinson

Sport: Football

Induction Year: 1984

University: LSU

Induction Year: 1984

When Louisiana State University won the national football championship in 1958, three members of the starting backfield were home town heroes.

Warren Rabb of Baton Rouge High was the quarterback. Bill Cannon of Istrouma High and Johnny Robinson of University High were the halfbacks. The fourth member of the “White” team backfield was fullback J.W. “Red” Brodnax of Bastrop.

While many fans recall him as the “other halfback” who played beside Cannon, the 1959 Heisman trophy winner, Robinson was an outstanding halfback in his own right.

In the 1958 regular-season finale with Tulane, LSU needed an impressive victory to clinch the No. 1 spot in the wire service polls.

The Green Wave held Cannon to 41 yards in the first half and trailed by only one touchdown at the intermission. But Robinson broke loose for four touchdowns in the second half and Tigers rolled to a 62-0 victory.

All of Robinson’s touchdowns came on plays covering 23 yards or more. He scored twice on passes from Rabb, once on a 34-yard end sweep and once on a punt return. United Press International named him the Southeastern Conference “Back of the Week.”

The Tigers’ backfield quarter was a remarkable blend of talents. “I’ll never forget how Cannon, Robinson and Rabb worked on their own during the summer,” LSU coach Paul Dietzel recalled. “Each came from a different high school, but they were united by one simple ingredient – pride.”

Following the season, all three were selected to the Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference team – the first time three players from the same team captured all-conference backfield honors.

The song of long-time tennis coach W.T. “Dub” Robinson, Johnny also excelled in that sport at both University High and LSU. In 1958, he won the SEC No. 5 singles title. The following year, he teamed with his brother, Tommy Robinson, to capture the No. 2 doubles title.

Robinson, the smallest member of the LSU quartet, and Cannon both signed contracts with the National Football League teams before the 1959 Tigers’ Sugar Bowl rematch with Ole Miss – Cannon with the Los Angeles Rams and Robinson with the Detroit Lions. But both of them wound up playing in the American Football League.

The week before the LSU-Ole Miss rematch, Robinson suffered a fractured hand. Rabb already was hampered by a regular-season knee injury, and the Rebels held Cannon to eight yards as they avenged their Halloween night loss with a 21-0 victory.

Both Cannon and Robinson continued their football careers in Texas – Cannon with the Houston Oilers and Robinson with the Dallas Texans, who pulled up stakes three years later and became the Kansas City Chiefs.

When the franchise moved to Kansas City, Robinson moved from running back to defensive back. He was an All-Pro safety five years in a row, and played in two of the first five Super Bowls. He led the league in interceptions twice, setting a couple of club records with 10 interceptions in one season and 57 in his 12-year career.

The highlight of his pro career came in the Sugar Bowl, on the same field where his collegiate career ended with a disappointing loss. Robinson helped the Chiefs upset the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 before a Super Bowl record crowd of 80,562 spectators in Tulane Stadium on Jan. 11, 1970.

A torn groin muscle, suffered in a 27-24 overtime playoff loss to the Miami Dolphins, hastened the end of Robinson’s playing career.

“Ever since I was a little boy,” he said later, “I wanted to do nothing but play ball. I never thought about too much of anything but that. But in 1971, I found that business was taking up too much of my time, and I didn’t want to hang on an extra year. I’d seen too many players put out to pasture.”

On July 12, 1972, he walked into Coach Hank Stram’s office and told Stram he had decided to retire.

He was in the brokerage business, and owned a private tennis club with a restaurant and lounge. He also dabbled in broadcasting. But his business interests turned sour, and Robinson returned to pro football for a couple of years of coaching with the Jacksonville team in the ill-fated World Football League. When it folded, he did some coaching for the Chiefs. Then Stram was fired.

“It seemed the things I had invested a lot of time on were not working out well,” he said.

In 1975, he applied for the vacant head football coaching position at Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe. John David Crow got the job, but Robinson agreed to join his staff as assistant coach and head tennis coach.

Five years later, the plight of a 10-year-old boy who was being sexually abused led Robinson to pen a boys’ home in Monroe.

Funded through the state and private donations, the home was for juvenile delinquents (most of them repeat offenders) and boys who had been bettered and abused at home.

“I liked the idea of a small town atmosphere, a college campus atmosphere for my boys,” Robinson said. “These kids need guidance, and I stay here 24 hours a day most of the time. I want to be here if they have a problem.”

Tutors visited the home daily to assist the boys with their homework. The boys were allowed to ride their bikes within a specified neighborhood area and go water skiing with Robinson and his family.

“I get more excited now waiting for a new 10-year-old or 11-year-old to come here than I did waiting to play in the Super Bowl,” Robinson said. “This is what the Lord has called me to do.”