The Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee announced on Saturday that former Chiefs S/HB Johnny Robinson will be enshrined as the senior nominee of the Hall of Fame's Class of 2019.
"We are thrilled that Johnny Robinson will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame," Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. "Johnny was a part of the foundation of the Super Bowl IV championship team and one of the best defensive backs of his generation. Our family and the entire Chiefs organization are delighted for Johnny and his family that, at long last, he will take his rightful place among the greatest to ever play the game, in Canton."
Robinson, a leader on the Chiefs team that won Super Bowl IV in 1970 against the Minnesota Vikings, becomes the 13th longtime member of the Kansas City Chiefs to be enshrined in Canton. He joins Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan, Curley Culp, Len Dawson, Lamar Hunt, Willie Lanier, Will Shields, Jan Stenerud, Hank Stram, Derrick Thomas, Emmitt Thomas and fellow 2019 inductee Tony Gonzalez, who all have earned the NFL's highest individual honor.
In 12 seasons with the Dallas Texans and Kansas City Chiefs (1960-71), Robinson appeared in 164 regular season games, recording 57 interceptions and leading the AFL with 10 INTs in both 1966 and 1970. The Texans/Chiefs posted a remarkable 35-3-1 regular season record in games Robinson recorded an interception and his 57 interceptions are tied for the 13th most in NFL history and second in team history behind Emmitt Thomas.
In addition to his contributions as a defensive back, Robinson began his career in the offensive backfield during the franchise's first three seasons. He carried the ball 150 times for 658 yards and six touchdowns during that time, adding 77 receptions for 1,228 yards and nine touchdowns through the air. Over the course of his 12-year career, Robinson was selected to seven All-Star games, six All-Pro teams and was named to the AFL's All-Time Team in 1970. He was an AFL Champion three times. In 1974, Robinson was the fifth man and fourth player inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame.
The Delhi, Louisiana, native was a two-sport athlete at Louisiana State University, where he was a member of the 1959 National Championship-winning Tigers football team and played tennis at LSU. Robinson was drafted in the first round of the 1960 AFL draft by the Texans and spent the entirety of his pro career with the franchise before his retirement following the 1971 season. He was also drafted third overall by the Detroit Lions in the 1960 NFL Draft.
Robinson is the 2019 Seniors Committee nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Seniors Committee is comprised of nine members of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee who consider players whose careers ended at least 25 years ago. Once the committee nominates a player, that player must receive the standard 80 percent voting support by the entire 48-member Selection Committee. The Senior Finalist is voted on independent of the other finalists.
The 2019 Hall of Fame Class will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday, Aug. 3.
