Denver Broncos Ring of Fame QB, Charley Johnson, dies at 85

The Denver Broncos lost a member of their Ring of Fame on Tuesday as former quarterback Charley Johnson passed away. He was 85.

Johnson finished up his career in Denver, playing four years with the Broncos after stints with the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Oilers. Born in Big Spring, Texas, Johnson went to New Mexico State before playing professionally for 15 seasons.

He was the quarterback of the Broncos from 1972-75. He completed 53.3 percent of his passes for 7,238 with 52 touchdowns and 52 interceptions in that time. He had a 20-18-3 record with the team, but those numbers were good enough to get him into the team's Ring of Fame in 1986.

To date, Johnson is one of only five quarterbacks in the Ring of Fame with the others being Frank Tripucka, Craig Morton, John Elway and Peyton Manning.

Broncos acquired Charley Johnson in a trade with Houston Oilers

The Oilers traded Johnston to the Broncos ahead of the 1972 season. When reading his Ring of Fame bio , it states that the trade was the most important in team history to that point.

Johnson was the team's quarterback in 1973, the year the Broncos had their first winning season in team history. They followed that up with another winning season in 1974 and that got the ball rolling towards the Broncos becoming a contender in the AFC, rather than the laughingstock that came from the AFL.

As fellow Ring of Famer, wide receiver Haven Moses stated that Johnson "taught us how to win". That is what Johnson should be remembered for and that is what led him to the Ring of Fame. More than any statistic, Johnson was an integral part of the fiber that helped the team build success.

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