Rafer Johnson

Rafer Johnson died earlier this week. The fact that many of you reading this immediately are thinking, “Who was Rafer Johnson?” saddens me for two reasons: 1. As Terry Horton pointed out in a text, “it’s a little scary to see so many of the athletes of my era passing on.” Translation: We’re getting old. And, as I pointed on in a reply, Terry’s got a head-start on me in the “getting old” part, although he looks 20 years younger than the calendar says he is. But yeah. Heroes and icons from our youth passing on; Rafer Johnson was actually “before my time,” but still …. 2. Many of you reading this probably never heard of Rafer Johnson, which probably has something to do with #1, but more to do with the fact that he lived a good and humble life, which is ironic as heck.

Johnson won the decathlon at the Rome Olympics in 1960 in a stirring battle with his friend and UCLA teammate C.K. Yang. It came down to the 1,500-meter run, the last event of the two-day competition. The two supreme athletes shared the same coach, who gave his athletes disparate race plans. Because the decathlon is a “points” event, it’s always confusing to watch the last event and realize that the greatest athlete in the field may not be close to the lead in that race. Johnson willed himself to a strong 1,500, finishing 2 seconds behind his friend. They collapsed in each other’s arms afterward in one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history. In fact, those Rome Olympics were iconic is so many ways. I highly recommend David Maraniss’ book, “Rome 1960” on this. Among the many great moments in Rome, it was the introduction to the world of a young boxer named Cassius Clay (many of you may know him as Muhammad Ali) as well as Ethiopian Abebe Bikila winning the marathon, running the race barefoot because his racing shoes were too tight and causing him blisters. Anyway, Maraniss brought up an interesting point about Johnson in an NPR interview I heard the other night. Rafer Johnson does not have the name recognition of, say, Bruce Jenner (another decathlon champion in the Olympics, 1976). Johnson lived in the public eye – back in the 1960s, he was famously known for running down and subduing Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin, he had an acting career, and he lit the Olympic torch at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. But he did not live a tabloid existence in the public eye. He lived a good, noble, low-key life, a life so many of us strive to live. Oftentimes, especially these days, such behavior does not garner the headlines, the notoriety, the fame. So, if you never heard of Rafer Johnson, please take a few moments to research him, learn about him, fact-check my post and maybe even read Maraniss’ outstanding book. He was one of America’s greatest athletes that too few knew about.