Johnny Robinson
Safety
Career: 1960-1971
Induction: 1973
For 12 grand and glorious seasons, Johnny Robinson was a master thief for the Kansas City Chiefs. He led the team in interceptions with 10 in 1966 and 1970 and finished with 58 career thefts to rank No. 1 in Chiefs history and sixth in league history.
"Whenever you needed a big play, Johnny was there to make it," said quarterback Len Dawson, who roomed with Robinson during their glory years with the Chiefs.
Perhaps his biggest play came in Super Bowl IV, when the underdog Chiefs defeated Minnesota 23-7. Late in the game, Robinson picked off a Joe Kapp pass and sealed the Viking's fate. Sprawled on the ground, with teammates rushing to congratulate him, Robinson held one finger aloft to signify that the Chiefs were tops in the NFL.
And so was Robinson. The six-time All-AFL star played that Super Bowl game with three broken ribs, and it was his spirited performance that broke the back of the Vikings. He topped the Chiefs in interceptions five times and redefined the role of the safety in the NFL. Opposing quarterbacks soon learned to keep the ball away from Robinson if they wanted to enjoy any success on the afternoons when they played the Chiefs.
Robinson was a hit for the Chiefs, but his football stats pale when compared to the work he now does with a special group of children in Monroe, La. While he wan No. 1 in the heart of Chiefs fans for many years, he's now No.1 in the hearts of several youngsters in Monroe. He owns a rambling home in his native Monroe and takes care of troubled children.
It's a special calling for Robinson, when the new members of his family call "Dad." That's not a bad way for a guy to turn out considering he made life miserable for every quarterback in the AFL for all those years.
