He was 86. Johnson was a standout student and played football, basketball, baseball and track and field at Kingsburg Joint Union High. Rafer Johnson, a Los Angeles legend who won the 1960 Olympic decathlon gold medal, helped organize the 1984 Games in L.A. and wrestled the gun from Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin … “We were all there to fete him and he just didn’t want to be in the spotlight,” she said. The school’s track is named for Johnson and his wife Betsy. Off the field, Johnson gravitated to acting, sportscasting and humanitarian work. Johnson joined former NFL star Rosey Grier and journalist George Plimpton in apprehending Sirhan Sirhan moments after he shot Kennedy, who died the next day. He was 86. He died at his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, according to family friend Michael Roth. In 2016, he received the UCLA Medal, the university’s highest award for extraordinary accomplishments. Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. December 2, 2020 | 5:42pm | Updated December 2, 2020 | 5:43pm, Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images. Later that year at a U.S.-Soviet dual meet in Moscow, Johnson beat Kuznetzov by 405 points and reclaimed the world record with 8,302 points. Yang earned silver and Kuznetsov took bronze. “He stood for what he believed in and he did it in a very classy way with grace and dignity,” said fellow US Olympic champion Janet Evans, a swimmer. Rafer Johnson, a vaunted decathlete who won Olympic gold for the US at the 1960 games and later tackled the assassin of Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, died Wednesday. Rafer Johnson won the decathlon gold medal at the 1960 Olympic games in Rome. He died at his home in LA. As a freshman at UCLA, where he received academic and athletic scholarships, Johnson won gold at the the 1955 Pan Am Games, and set a world record of 7,985 points. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday. On July 28, 1984, Johnson carried the Olympic torch up 99 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum stairs. : Devine, Chrissy Teigen slammed for 'tone deaf' inauguration tweet, 24 sweet Valentine's Day gift ideas for kids of all ages, 10 best women’s loungewear sets that are as cute as they are comfortable, 10 best lingerie brands of 2021 — and where to buy for Valentine's Day, Land your dream job in 2021 with these 10 apps that are now on sale, You can get Coach Outlet's surprise Valentine's Day collection for up to 65 percent off, Staten Island guy freaks out holding a fish, Aaron Rodgers' dating history: His ex-girlfriends and rumored flings. Johnson founded California Special Olympics the following year at a time when positive role models for the intellectually and physically disabled were rare. On June 5, 1968, Johnson was working on Kennedy’s presidential campaign when the Democratic candidate was shot in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He served on the organizing committee of the first Special Olympics in Chicago in 1968, working with founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. “He stood for what he believed in and he did it in a very classy way with grace and dignity,” an Olympic athlete recalled. LOS ANGELES — Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads pallbearers as they carry Senator Kennedy's casket to the gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery. His children, Jenny Johnson Jordan and Josh Johnson, were athletes themselves. In 1958, he was elected student body president, the third Black to hold the office in school history. IE 11 is not supported. Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday. Evans last saw Johnson, who attended her 2004 wedding, at a luncheon in his honor in May 2019. He died at his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, according to … He died at his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, according to family friend Michael Roth. Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. LOS ANGELES — Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday. They eventually settled in Kingsburg, near Fresno in the San Joaquin Valley. Rafer Johnson’s body had grown weak but his spirit was undimmed the last time he attended a Special Olympics breakfast at Long Beach State.That was … Kuznetzov, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist who the Soviets called their “man of steel,” broke Johnson’s world record in May 1958 with 8,016 points. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday. “Standing there and looking out, I remember thinking ‘I wish I had a camera,’” Johnson said. Privacy Notice As a freshman at UCLA, Johnson dominated the 1955 Pan American Games, winning gold while setting records in the international gauntlet. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Your California Privacy Rights At 6-foot-3 and 200-plus pounds, he looked more like a linebacker than a track and field athlete. They had two children and four grandchildren. The Texas-born, California-raised Johnson was seemingly destined for athletic greatness, playing football, basketball, baseball and track and field in high school. He was 86. “He didn’t want credit.”. In 1984 Johnson lit the Olympic flame for the Los Angeles Games. “His devotion to Uncle Bobby was pure and real. Your California Privacy Rights Besides his wife of 49 years and children, he is survived by son-in-law Kevin Jordan and four grandchildren. Your Ad Choices Olympic star and film actor Rafer Johnson has sadly died aged 86. Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday. It was less than 25 miles from Tulare, the hometown of Mathias, who would win the decathlon at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics and prove an early inspiration to Johnson. He took the torch from Gina Hemphill, granddaughter of Olympic great Jesse Owens, who ran it into the Coliseum. We invite you to share condolences for Rafer Johnson in our Guest Book. Rafer Johnson of the United States, from center, finishers the fourth heat of the decathlon 100 meter dash at the Olympics in Rome, Italy on Sept. 5, 1960. Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson, the decathlon champion of the 1960 Rome Summer Games who later helped disarm friend Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin, died Wednesday at … He was 86. Rafer Johnson, Actor: Licence to Kill. A distinguished American athlete and occasional actor with many other strings to his bow, Rafer Johnson was a UCLA basketball star who went on to become Pan American decathlon champion in 1955, a two time decathlon silver medallist at the Melbourne Olympics (despite injuries) and winner of gold four years later in Rome. When I read the news, I shuddered. He was 86. Rafer Johnson, in full Rafer Lewis Johnson, (born August 18, 1934, Hillsboro, Texas, U.S.—died December 2, 2020, Los Angeles, California), American athlete and actor, who won a gold medal in the decathlon at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.. Johnson competed in his first decathlon in 1954 as a sophomore at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and in 1955 he won the gold medal … Even after Uncle Bobby’s death he stayed close.”, Johnson later called the murder “one of the most devastating moments in my life.”. He was 86. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, … Maria Shriver recalled meeting Johnson for the first time at age 10 or 11 through her mother Eunice. He died at his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, according to family friend Michael Roth. Johnson married Elizabeth Thorsen in 1971. 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