Charley Johnson

Charley Lane Johnson (November 22, 1938 – September 3, 2024) was an American professional football player who played quarterback in the National Football League for 15 seasons. Born in Big Spring, Texas, he was a multisport athlete at Big Spring High School but did not take up football until his senior year. Johnson was initially set to attend Schreiner Institute on a football scholarship, but the school dropped the sport the season he arrived. He transferred to New Mexico State University on a basketball scholarship and walked on to the football team, eventually winning the starting quarterback job. Playing college football for the New Mexico State Aggies, he became the only person to be named Most Valuable Player of the Sun Bowl in consecutive years, taking the award in 1959 and 1960, and is a member of the NMSU Sports Hall of Fame. In the NFL he played for three teams: the St. Louis Cardinals, the Houston Oilers, and the Denver Broncos. After his playing career, Johnson became a professor of chemical engineering. He died on September 3, 2024.