1997 Minnesota Vikings Brad Johnson #14 Starter Game USED Football Jersey Signed

Description

Vintage Minnesota Vikings #14 Brad Johnson Game Used Football Jersey...Autographed
After saving Minnesota Vikings memorabilia for the past 35+ years, I am running out of room.
I need to free up a little space and let another Vikings fan add a few things to their collection.
I traveled up to the Vikings vs Falcons NFC Championship Game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on January 17, 1999.  I made a sizable donation to the Minnesota Vikings Children's Fund charity and received this autographed #14 Brad Johnson jersey from 1994.  This is an authentic, vintage Minnesota Vikings jersey #14.  Now, I need to sell a few things to help pay for the kid's college education costs.
It's time to let another AVID Minnesota Vikings and/or Brad Johnson fan add this little gem to their collection.
"NFL PRO LINE STARTER"
"97"
"46 long"
The name plate is on the back and the jersey is CLASSIC.
Before the jersey was hung up and in the jersey closet, my old math teacher and high school sports coach stopped by the house.  For some reason, he was drinking a soda and spilled some on the jersey...hence the stains.  I wiped it off, but I never took it into the cleaners to have them see if they could spot wash in he areas where the pop soaked into the jersey.  Either way, it still displays well, with the autograph on the back.
THIS IS A CLASSIC.
I need to think out a few of my prized possessions, so I'm making this available to you.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...
James Bradley Johnson
(born September 13, 1968) is a former
American football
quarterback
. During his 15-year career in the
National Football League
(NFL), Johnson played for the
Minnesota Vikings
,
Washington Redskins
,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
, and
Dallas Cowboys
. He is perhaps best known for his time with the Buccaneers, whom he led to their
Super Bowl XXXVII
title over the
Oakland Raiders
.
Johnson is also notable for being the first player in the NFL to complete a touchdown pass to himself, doing so in a 1997 game against the
Carolina Panthers
. He remained the only player to do so until
Marcus Mariota
repeated the feat in
a 2018 postseason game
.
[1]
Early life and college
Born in
Marietta, Georgia
,
[2]
Brad Johnson attended
Charles D. Owen High School
in
Black Mountain, North Carolina
. At Owen High School, Johnson played
football
and
basketball
; he received
All-American
honors as
quarterback
on the football team and all-state honors as a member of the basketball team.
[3]
After graduating from Owen High School in 1987, Johnson attended
Florida State University
. From 1987 to 1989, Johnson played on the
Florida State Seminoles men's basketball
team and started 11 games as a freshman. In 1988, Johnson joined the
football team
(under coach
Bobby Bowden
) at Florida State as a redshirt freshman and served as
holder
in every game and played two games as quarterback.
[3]
The 1988 Florida State football team won the
1989 Sugar Bowl
.
In 1989 as a sophomore, Johnson was third-string quarterback behind
Peter Tom Willis
and
Casey Weldon
; Johnson completed 7 of 12 passes for 67 yards.
[4]
Johnson won the
1990 Fiesta Bowl
title with the Seminoles. As a junior in 1990, Johnson started the first six games of the season before being replaced by Weldon. With a 4-2 record starting those games, Johnson finished the 1990 season with 109-for-163 passing for a career-high 1,136 yards with 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
[5]
For the third consecutive season with Johnson, Florida State won a bowl game, the
Blockbuster Bowl
. Johnson would play nine games (with one start - a win) as a senior in 1991.
[3]
On 37-for-61 passing for 462 yards, Johnson passed for 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and Florida State won the
Cotton Bowl Classic
in 1992.
[6]
Professional career
First stint with Minnesota Vikings (1992–1998)
1992–1993 seasons
In the
1992 NFL Draft
, the
Minnesota Vikings
drafted Johnson in the 9th round as the 227th overall pick. As third-string quarterback behind starter
Rich Gannon
and backup
Sean Salisbury
, Johnson dressed only for one game as a rookie in 1992 but did not play.
[3]
[7]
In 1993, Johnson continued to be the third-string quarterback for the first 10 games of the season and was inactive for the final six.
[3]
1994 season
In 1994, Johnson became backup to starter
Warren Moon
and played his first NFL regular season game in Week 3 (September 18).
[3]
The Vikings won 42-14 over the
Chicago Bears
in that game, and Johnson completed 3 of 3 passes for 16 yards.
[8]
Johnson would play in three more games in 1994. In Week 8 (October 30), a 36-13 win over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
, Johnson completed 5 of 5 passes for 30 yards. Johnson had his first significant playing time in Week 15 (December 17), a 41-19 loss to the
Detroit Lions
. In that game, Johnson completed 14 of 29 passes for 104 yards.
[8]
1995 season
In the spring of 1995, Johnson joined the
London Monarchs
of the
World League
, an
American football
league based in
Europe
. With London, Johnson completed 194 of 328 passes for 2,227 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.
[9]
Johnson had the most completions of all World League quarterbacks in 1995.
[3]
For his season with the Monarchs, Johnson earned
£
12,000.
[10]
Back with the Minnesota Vikings in 1995, Johnson played five games that season. In a 44-24 victory over the
Pittsburgh Steelers
in Week 4 (September 24), Johnson completed one 36-yard pass. However, Minnesota lost 38-21 to the
Green Bay Packers
in Week 7 (October 22), a game in which Johnson completed 10 of 17 passes for 94 yards and one interception. In that game, Johnson also rushed once for 3 yards. In Week 11 (November 19), Johnson completed 5 of 7 passes for 70 yards in the Vikings' 43-24 win over the
New Orleans Saints
. Johnson had 9-for-11 passing for 72 yards but one interception in Week 14 (December 9), and Minnesota defeated the
Cleveland Browns
27-11.
[8]
1996 season
Johnson started eight of twelve games in 1996. Twice, Johnson earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, and he finished third in the NFC with an 89.4 passer rating.
[3]
In the season opener against the
Detroit Lions
on September 1, Johnson played in the second half after starter
Warren Moon
suffered an ankle injury amid 5-for-14 passing. With 1:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, Johnson threw his first career touchdown pass, a 31-yard pass to
Cris Carter
that would clinch the 17-13 victory for Minnesota.
[11]
[12]
Overall that game, Johnson completed 16 of 23 passes for 157 yards and rushed three times for 14 yards.
[8]
Johnson started his first game of his career the following week on September 8 and led Minnesota to a 23-17 road win over the
Atlanta Falcons
. This victory marked the first time Minnesota started 2-0 since 1987. With 15-for-26 passing for 275 yards, Johnson threw for two touchdowns and one interception.
[8]
[13]
Warren Moon would return as starter the following week.
[14]
Johnson played again in Week 4 with one incomplete pass and saw significant playing time next in Week 8 (October 28), a 15-13 loss to the
Chicago Bears
. Again replacing an injured Warren Moon, Johnson completed 10 of 15 passes for 79 yards. In the final play of the game,
Bryan Cox
forced a fumble from Johnson.
[15]
This was Johnson's only lost fumble of Johnson's five fumbles in 1996.
[2]
Johnson started the next game in Week 9 (November 3), and the Vikings lost to the
Kansas City Chiefs
21-6. With 22-for-42 passing, Johnson passed for 218 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions and rushed three times for 12 yards.
[8]
In a backup role in Week 10 (November 10), a 42-23 loss to the
Seattle Seahawks
, Johnson completed 8 of 12 passes for 123 yards and 1 touchdown and ran twice for 3 yards. Starting Week 11 (November 17), Johnson became the regular starter for the Vikings after Moon was again injured. Johnson led Minnesota to a 4-2 record to end the season.
[8]
With a Week 15 (December 15) victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-10, Minnesota clinched a playoff berth for the season. Johnson clinched the win for Minnesota with a 36-yard touchdown pass to
Cris Carter
, part of a 99-yard drive.
[16]
Minnesota finished the regular season 9-7, second place in the
NFC Central
.
[17]
Johnson made his postseason debut in the Vikings'
NFC Wild Card
game against the
defending Super Bowl champion
Dallas Cowboys
on December 28, 1996. Minnesota lost to Dallas 40-15, as Johnson completed 15 of 27 passes for 208 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions and rushed 14 yards on three carries for one touchdown.
[8]
1997 season
Starting the first 12 games of 1997, Johnson led Minnesota to an 8-4 record, including a six-game winning streak from September 28 (Week 5) to November 9 (Week 10), before suffering a season-ending neck injury in Week 13.
[3]
By Week 6, Johnson set a team record with 15 straight games with a touchdown pass. Johnson also had no interceptions in 109 consecutive passes in four consecutive games from October 12 to November 9.
[3]
[8]
In the Vikings' 21-14 win over the
Carolina Panthers
on October 12 (Week 7), Johnson caught his own deflected pass and ran 3 yards for a touchdown. Johnson became the first player to complete a pass to himself for a touchdown in NFL history. This play won the
ESPY
award for NFL Play of the Year.
[3]
In three games, Johnson led the Vikings to fourth-quarter comeback wins. Johnson finished 1997 fourth in the NFC with 20 touchdown passes and 3,036 passing yards.
[3]
On the morning of the Week 13
Monday Night Football
game, Johnson woke up with a sore neck and saw a
chiropractor
to be cleared to play.
[18]
After Johnson passed only 15-for-30 for 117 yards and one interception and was sacked six times, coach Dennis Green benched Johnson and put in
Randall Cunningham
. The Vikings would lose to the
Green Bay Packers
27-11.
[19]
Cunningham would start the final three games of the season, and Minnesota finished the 1997 season 9-7, won the NFC Wild Card game, and lost the NFC Divisional round.
1998 season
Johnson started the first two games of 1998 for the Vikings, both victories. In the season opener, a 31-7 win over Tampa Bay, Johnson threw for 4 touchdowns and 1 interception over 189 yards and completed 15 of 25 passes.
[8]
However, Johnson would complete only 18 of 31 passes the following game and throw for 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions before leaving the game during the fourth quarter with a sprained ankle.
[8]
[20]
Randall Cunningham replaced Johnson, and Minnesota won Week 2 (September 13) over the
St. Louis Rams
38-31. By Week 8, with Cunningham as starter, the Vikings had a perfect 7-0 record.
[21]
Johnson returned to action in Week 9 (November 8), in a 31-24 win over the
New Orleans Saints
, after Cunningham injured his knee. With 28-for-38 passing over 316 yards, Johnson had one passing touchdown and 2 interceptions. However, Johnson broke his thumb on the first play of the third quarter.
[8]
[22]
Cunningham returned as starter the following week, and Johnson next played in the Week 15 50-10 win over the
Jacksonville Jaguars
. Minnesota finished the 1998 season a franchise-best 15–1 and advanced to the NFC championship game, where they came a field goal short of the Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons. Following the season, Vikings coach
Dennis Green
formally named Randall Cunningham as starting quarterback and traded Brad Johnson to the
Washington Redskins
for a first, a future second, and a third-round draft pick.
[23]
Washington Redskins (1999–2000)
1999 season
With 4,005 yards, 24 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and a 90.0 passer rating, Johnson achieved career highs in passing yards, completions, touchdowns, and passer rating in 1999.
[2]
His 316 completions set a Washington team record and his 4,005 passing yards ranks fifth all-time in Redskins history.
[24]
He was also NFC Offensive Player of the Week twice that year again. One such Player of the Week honor came after Week 4 (October 3) after Johnson rallied the Redskins to a 38-36 win over the
Carolina Panthers
; the Panthers led 21-0 during the game.
[3]
[8]
Johnson made the NFC squad of the
2000 Pro Bowl
, his first career
Pro Bowl
appearance.
[3]
2000 season
The following year in 2000 the Redskins went 8-8, Johnson threw more interceptions than touchdowns, and signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent during the offseason while Jeff George started in Washington for 2001. They immediately regretted this when George had the worst stats in the league and was released for
Tony Banks
after the second game with a 0-2 start while Johnson again had another great season in Tampa Bay and won a Super Bowl the following year.
Tampa Bay and the Super Bowl (2001–2004)
In 2001, Brad Johnson was pursued by the Baltimore Ravens in the offseason (coached by
Brian Billick
, his former offensive coordinator with the Vikings) but he spurned them to join the Bucs. Johnson was reunited with former Vikings assistant-coach
Tony Dungy
for his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That year, he broke Tampa Bay team records for passing yards with 3,406, completions with 340, and attempts with 540. In the 2002 season, he led the Buccaneers to their first ever Super Bowl championship and earned his 2nd Pro Bowl appearance. He was helped in the Super Bowl by a defense that scored 21 of their 48 points. That year Johnson also became the first ever Bucs QB to lead the NFC in passer rating at 92.9, and set new team records for touchdowns with 22, completion percentage at 62.3, consecutive passes without an interception with 187, and lowest interception percentage with 1.3%. He was NFC Offensive Player of the Week twice again against Minnesota and Atlanta.
On January 21, 2015, Johnson later admitted to bribing ball boys to alter the footballs used during the Super Bowl. According to Johnson: "I paid some guys off to get the balls right. I went and got all 100 footballs, and they took care of all of them."
[25]
[26]
He also stated that he "did nothing wrong", and that he talked to opposing Oakland Raiders QB
Rich Gannon
beforehand and both agreed that they preferred not to use the slick, brand-new balls that the league provided for the game.
[27]
In 2003, he won the NFL's "
Quarterback Challenge
" competition, in which he beat Pro Bowl QBs
Tom Brady
,
Matt Hasselbeck
,
Jeff Garcia
,
Mark Brunell
,
Marc Bulger
and others like
Byron Leftwich
and
Joey Harrington
in a skills competition with four parts involving accuracy, speed and mobility, long distance throw, and "No Huddle."
[1]
Former teammate
Sean Salisbury
said that despite having big, strong arms and a great deep ball, Brad always played it safe and went for the fast and easy completion which earned him the nickname "
Checkdown
Charlie" among friends.
[2]
After the Super Bowl, the Bucs ran into some problems. Although Johnson had good passing stats in 2003-2004 the year after the Super Bowl (3,811 yards, 26 touchdowns to break the Buc record again, 21 interceptions, and named 2003 Buc MVP by the Tampa Sports Club) and 2004 (63% completion rate) they benched him the fourth game into the 2004 season because the team had gone 4–11 for the last 15 games Johnson started. When the backup quarterback,
Chris Simms
was injured they started 3rd string quarterback
Brian Griese
instead of Johnson partly because of
salary cap
problems. Johnson asked out and was cut from the team at the end of the season. When he couldn't find a starting quarterback job, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings to be the backup quarterback.
Back in Minnesota (2005–2006)
In 2005, Minnesota was struggling with now three-time Pro Bowler
Daunte Culpepper
starting at quarterback.
Randy Moss
had been traded in March of that year, and four-time Pro Bowl Center
Matt Birk
was injured so Culpepper was expected to carry the offense against the top defenses in the NFL. While playing without any offensive weapons, and falling behind early in games the Vikings began the season at 2–5 with Culpepper throwing twice as many interceptions – twelve – as touchdowns – six – and five fumbles (three lost) before tearing his
MCL
,
ACL
, and
PCL
in the seventh game.
Johnson then took over as starting quarterback and the team then finished the season 7–2 with a six-game winning streak needing only one more win to go to the playoffs. Brad played very well and set a team record for lowest interception to attempt ratio (1.3% – same as his record in Tampa) which was the lowest in the NFL among starting QBs. While starting against teams that included the second (Bears), fourth (Ravens), fifth (Steelers), and seventh (Packers) ranked defenses in the NFL
[3]
his passer rating was the third best in the NFC among starting quarterbacks
[4]
, and was also better than three QBs selected to the Pro Bowl. But he struggled in those particular games with the exception of the Bears game in which the Bears had already clinched the division and played all of their 2nd and 3rd stringers. He also scored more touchdowns per game than four selected to the Pro Bowl. And despite his age he threw just as many 40+ yard passes as top 29 yr old QB Peyton Manning - six - in seven fewer games, which was the same amount as his Super Bowl year which had four more games.
Johnson was named the starting quarterback for the Vikings 2006 season, and a few days before the second game he turned 38 which made him the oldest starting quarterback in the league. Many felt his quick-release style was a good fit for then-new coach
Brad Childress
's highly touted
West Coast
system. The knowledge he had acquired from going to the playoffs under four different coaching systems and having winning records with seven different head coaches seemed to be an asset for first time head coach Childress. In the preseason, Johnson had a passer rating of 110.7, one of the top 10 in the league out of more than 100 quarterbacks who performed.
However, in the regular season, Johnson struggled worse than Daunte Culpepper did in 2005, throwing eight touchdowns to fifteen interceptions. Midway through the season, he had already set an NFL record for passes completed short of a first down on third down in a season. Many fans grew restless for the benching of Johnson because of his conservative checkdowns, immobility, and at the same time reckless decisions which plagued the Vikings offense. His quarterback-rating on 3rd downs, with a lead, from behind, and in the red zone were the worst in the entire league. 31 QBs threw more touchdown passes while only 10 threw more interceptions than Johnson in the 2006 NFL season.
On February 28, 2007, the Vikings released Johnson in favor of rookie quarterback
Tarvaris Jackson
.
Dallas Cowboys (2007–2008)
On March 5, 2007, Johnson signed a three-year deal with the
Dallas Cowboys
to back up
Tony Romo
. Johnson played little in the 2007 season. He played in week 17 against the Washington Redskins, going 7-for-11 for 79 yards in the 27–6 loss.
During the 2008 season, Romo suffered a broken pinkie finger on his throwing hand in week 6 against the
Arizona Cardinals
. Johnson started for the Cowboys during the next three weeks until the injury healed. In Johnson's week 7 start against the St. Louis Rams, he completed 17 of 34 passes for 234 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He also had one fumble in the 34–14 loss.
[28]
In week 8, in a 13–9 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he passed for 122 yards and one touchdown to
Roy Williams
, and the Cowboys had the lowest total offensive yards in a winning game: 172 yards. In the week 9 game against the
New York Giants
, he completed 5 of 11 passes for 71 yards and had two passes intercepted. He was replaced by third-string quarterback
Brooks Bollinger
at the start of the second half. After the Cowboys' bye week, Romo returned from the broken finger to reclaim the starting role.
The Cowboys released Johnson on February 26, 2009.
[29]
Legacy
Johnson ranks 37th in career
passer rating
in NFL history as of November 2011, currently tied with
Matt Hasselbeck
and
Matt Cassel
, but above such legends as
Troy Aikman
and
Warren Moon
, who are 44th and 50th respectively.
[30]
Johnson went 72-53 as a starter and completed over 60% of his passes for 13
[31]
straight seasons (1995–2007), the first quarterback in NFL history to do this.
[5]
Johnson eclipsed the 3,000-yard passing mark five times. In 1999, he became only the second
Washington Redskins
quarterback in franchise history to eclipse 4,000 yards.
[32]
He had the top passer rating in the
NFC
in 2002 and he has earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors seven times in his career. He has also broken almost every passer record at Tampa Bay. To date, Johnson and Marcus Mariota are the only NFL quarterbacks to have thrown touchdown passes to themselves (Mariota doing it in the 2018 NFL playoffs).
[6]
Johnson accomplished this against the
Carolina Panthers
in 1997, catching his own deflected pass, juking, and running three yards for a
touchdown
.
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On September-17-21 at 11:46:16 PST, seller added the following information: