Former Kings Mountain High School and NFL football star Tracy Johnson, 56, died April 7 in Atlanta, GA after a battle with cancer.
Johnson, then a high school junior, and Curtis Pressley, a senior, were the first two Mountaineers to gain over 1,000 yards rushing in the same year in 1983 for Coach Denny Hicks’ team. Pressley went on to play at Gardner-Webb and Johnson, who moved to Kannapolis for his senior year of high school, was a standout running back for the Clemson Tigers where he was a two-time honorable mention All-American. He later played with the Houston Oilers, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a seven-year career in the NFL.
Besides being an outstanding running back, Johnson was also a great blocker for his fellow ball carriers.
Johnson’s running helped Danny Ford’s Clemson Tigers win back-to-back ACC championships in 1987 and 1988 and his excellent blocking skills helped his teammates gain tons of yardage. During his Clemson career he gained 1,579 yards rushing and scored 23 touchdowns and accumulated 180 career knockdown blocks.
He spent eight years in the NFL as a running back and special teams player.