From New Mexico State to the NFL: Checking in with former Broncos QB Charley Johnson

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - Charley Johnson wasn’t supposed to play football at New Mexico State.

He was headed to play basketball for the Aggies. But as a former quarterback at Big Spring High School in West Texas, Charley showed up to coach Warren Woodson’s tryout in 1959.

“I was there one semester, and Coach Woodson came and we had spring ball and we lined up there was six of us out for quarterback."

"And he watched us throw for 15-20 minutes. And next thing I was first team.”

Charley turned into an all-time Aggie great, becoming the only player in Sun Bowl history to win back to back Sun Bowl MVPs in 1959 and 1960.

His success earned a contract from the then-St Louis Cardinals, where he was a Pro Bowl quarterback in 1963, and was part of a playoff system that laid groundwork for what is now the NFL’s biggest game.

“I think we were lucky in St Louis in that we were runner up in '64," says Johnson of his 1964 campaign with the Cardinals. "Cleveland beat Johnny Unitas and shut him out in the championship game."

"They started having a playoff game, a runner up bowl. Cleveland beat Baltimore and then we beat Green Bay in that runner up game. And that started the Super Bowl idea.”

In 1970, Charley was traded to the Houston Oilers. But five surgeries limited his time over two seasons before a fortuitous trade to Denver.

"It was like a new breath of fresh air," says Johnson, now 83, of his trade to the Broncos. "They put me in about the third game. I just walked in the huddle and I said 'Hey I wanna tell you something. You could just stand there if you want to, because they’re not gonna get me with the football. Not gonna happen. If you don’t wanna block, don't.'"

"And they liked that."

Charley led the Broncos to the franchises' first ever winning season in 1973.

“They were nuts. The south stands went nuts. And it was great because we beat Oakland in Oakland."

Johnson recalls a particular story with former Raiders coach John Madden.

"Big John, who just died God bless him. He was running down the sideline and harassing everybody. We were on a drive and I walked down to the sideline to see how close we were to a first down."

"And he came down there and he’s yelling at me and I turned to the official and said well you tell that fat son of a gun to get back where he belongs!" laughs Johnson.

In the modern game, Charley sees success is the hands of one position.

“There haven’t been any Super Bowl champions with a weak quarterback. With the Cardinals I was throwing it 30 times a game, now they're throwing it 50 times a game."

Johnson finished his Broncos career with 7,238 passing yards, which still ranks in the top ten in franchise history.

In 1986, Johnson was inducted into the team's Ring of Fame, where will live on forever in addition to the New Mexico State Hall of Fame and the Texas State Hall of Fame.

"Indescribable.....from Big Spring, Texas," says Johnson of his life's work.

"In the 6th grade we played on the playground and to get ready for the season. We’d go out and pick up rocks and throw them off the field. That’s a far cry from Mile High."

Watch ABC-7's Nate Ryan's one-on-one with Johnson in the attached clip.