View source for Johnny Bright

{{Short description|Gridiron football player (1930–1983)}}
{{for|the baseball player|Johnny Bright (baseball)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox CFL biography
| name              = Johnny Bright
| number            = 24
| image             = Johnny bright generalmills card 1959.jpg
| alt               = 
| caption           = Bright depicted in a 1959 football card
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1930|06|11}}
| birth_place       = [[Fort Wayne, Indiana]], U.S.
| death_date        = {{death date and age|1983|12|14|1930|6|11}}
| death_place       = [[Edmonton, Alberta]], Canada
| position          = Fullback
| position2         = Linebacker
| height_ft         = 6
| height_in         = 1
| weight_lb         = 217
| college           = [[Drake Bulldogs football|Drake]] (1949–1951)
| high_school       = Central (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
| CFLDraftedYear    = 
| CFLDraftedRound   = 
| CFLDraftedPick    = 
| CFLDraftedTeam    = 
| NFLDraftedYear    = 1952
| NFLDraftedRound   = 1
| NFLDraftedPick    = 5
| NFLDraftedTeam    = [[1952 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]]
| playing_years1    = {{CFL Year|1952|1954}}
| playing_team1     = [[Calgary Stampeders]]
| playing_years2    = {{CFL Year|1954|1964}}
| playing_team2     = [[Edmonton Elks|Edmonton Eskimos]]
| career_highlights = 
* 3× [[List of Grey Cup champions|Grey Cup champion]] ([[42nd Grey Cup|1954]]–[[44th Grey Cup|1956]])
* [[CFL's Most Outstanding Player]] (1959)
* 4× [[Eddie James Memorial Trophy]] (1952, 1957–1959)
* [[Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award]] (1951)
* 4× [[List of Canadian Football League annual rushing leaders|CFL rushing yards leader]] (1952, 1957–1959)
* CFL rushing touchdowns leader (1961)
* Edmonton Athlete of the Year (1959)
* First-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1950 College Football All-America Team|1950]])
* Second-team All-American ([[1951 College Football All-America Team|1951]])
| CFLAllStar        = 
| CFLWestAllStar    = 6× ([[1952 in Canadian football#1952 Western (Western Interprovincial Football Union) All-Stars|1952]], [[1957 in Canadian football#1957 Western (Western Interprovincial Football Union) All-Stars|1957]]–[[1961 CFL season#1961 Western All-Stars|1961]])
| awards            = 
| honors            = 
* [[Edmonton Elks#Wall of Honour|Edmonton Elks Wall of Honour]] (1983)
* [[Alberta Sports Hall of Fame]] (1980)
* [[TSN Top 50 CFL Players]]
| retired #s        = [[Drake Bulldogs football#Retired numbers|Drake Bulldogs No. 43]]
| records           = 
; Edmonton Elks
* Most rushing yards in a career: 9,966
* Most rushing yards in a season: 1,722 (1958)
* Most 100-yard games in a career: 36
* Most 100-yard games in a season: 9 (1957)
| statlabel1        = Rushing yards
| statvalue1        = 10,909
| statlabel2        = Rushing average
| statvalue2        = 5.5
| statlabel3        = Rushing [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue3        = 70
| statlabel4        = [[Interception]]s
| statvalue4        = 7
| CFL-archive       = 
| CFHOF             = johnny-bright
| CFHOFYear         = 1970
| CollegeHOF        = 1736
| CollegeHOFYear    = 1984
}}
'''John Dee Bright''' (June 11, 1930 – December 14, 1983) was an American professional [[Gridiron football|football]] player in the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL). A troubling racist incident he endured as a college football player in the U.S. caused rule changes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. After his emigration to Canada, he played a starring role as an Edmonton Eskimo (today's Elks) and also became a school principal and an important role model for black Canadians and aspiring athletes in Edmonton.<ref name=jasperplacehistory.org>{{Cite web |title=Jasper Place and the Black Community – Then and Now – Jasper Place Community History Project |url=https://jasperplacehistory.org/jasper-place-and-the-black-community-then-and-now/ |access-date=September 10, 2024 |website=jasperplacehistory.org}}</ref>

Bright played [[college football]] for the [[Drake Bulldogs football|Drake Bulldogs]]. He is a member of the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]], the [[College Football Hall of Fame]], the [[Missouri Valley Conference]] Hall of Fame, the [[Edmonton Eskimos#Wall of Honour|Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour]], the [[Alberta Sports Hall of Fame]], and the ''[[Des Moines Register]]''{{'s}} Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.

In 1951, Bright was named a first-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]], and was awarded the [[Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award|Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Sportsmanship Award]]. In 1969, Bright was named Drake University's greatest football player of all time. Bright is the only Drake football player to have his jersey number (No. 43) retired by the school, and in June 2006, received honorable mention from ''[[ESPN]].com'' senior writer Ivan Maisel, as one of the best college football players to ever wear No. 43.<ref name="Johnny Bright's Football Jersey Number Recognized">{{cite web |url=http://www.drakebulldogs.org/football/newsstory.php?nid=1151679923 |access-date=July 8, 2006 |title=Johnny Bright's Football Jersey Number Recognized |publisher=DrakeBulldogs.org |date=June 30, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060711061727/http://www.drakebulldogs.org/football/newsstory.php?nid=1151679923 |archive-date = July 11, 2006}}</ref> In February 2006, the football field at [[Drake Stadium (Drake University)|Drake Stadium]] was named in his honor.<ref name="KCCI-TV8 Des Moines, Iowa – Drake Names Football Field After Johnny Bright: OSU Apologizes For Player's Actions">{{cite web |url=http://www.kcci.com/sports/7374962/detail.html?rss=des&psp=sports |access-date=August 12, 2006 |title=KCCI-TV8 Des Moines, Iowa – Drake Names Football Field After Johnny Bright: OSU Apologizes For Player's Actions |publisher=KCCI.com |date=February 23, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060307063552/http://www.kcci.com/sports/7374962/detail.html?rss=des&psp=sports |archive-date=March 7, 2006 }}</ref> In November 2006, Bright was voted one of the CFL's [[TSN Top 50 CFL Players|Top 50 players]] (No. 19) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network [[The Sports Network|TSN]].<ref name="TSN Top 50 CFL Players">{{cite web |url=https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?fid=10866 |access-date=April 28, 2007 |title=TSN Top 50 CFL Players |publisher=TSN.ca |date=November 28, 2006}}</ref>

On October 20, 1951, Bright was the victim of an intentional, racially motivated, on-field assault by an opposing college football player from the [[Oklahoma State Cowboys football|Oklahoma A&M Cowboys]] that was captured in a widely disseminated and [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning photo sequence, and eventually came to be known as the "[[Johnny Bright incident]]".

==Early life==
Born in [[Fort Wayne, Indiana]] on June 11, 1930, Bright was the second oldest of five brothers. Bright lived with his mother and step father Daniel Bates, brothers, Homer Bright, the eldest, Alfred, Milton, and Nate Bates, in a [[working class]], predominantly [[African-American]] neighborhood in Fort Wayne.<ref name=Barrett>{{cite book |last=Barrett | first=Warrick |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WG8JAAAACAAJ&q=johnny+bright+champion |title=Johnny Bright, Champion |year=1996 |publisher=toExcel |isbn=978-0-595-09704-3}}</ref>{{rp|13–14, 52}}

Bright was a three-sport ([[High school football|football]], [[High school basketball|basketball]], [[track and field]]) star at Fort Wayne's Central High School. Bright, who also was an accomplished [[Fastpitch softball|softball]] pitcher and [[Boxing|boxer]], led Central High's football team to a City title in 1945, and helped the basketball team to two state tournament Final Four appearances.<ref name="Go, Johnny, Go:  Johnny Bright could do it all">{{cite web |url=http://fwnextweb1.fortwayne.com/ns/sports/top50/bright.php |access-date=April 25, 2011 |author=Sebring, Blake |title=Go, Johnny, Go: Johnny Bright could do it all |work=Fort Wayne News-Sentinel |date=December 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003221245/http://fwnextweb1.fortwayne.com/ns/sports/top50/bright.php |archive-date=October 3, 2011 }}</ref>

==Beginning of college football career==
Following his graduation from Central High in 1947, Bright initially accepted a football scholarship at [[Michigan State University]], but, apparently unhappy with the direction of the [[Michigan State Spartans football|Spartans football]] program, transferred to [[Drake University]] in [[Des Moines, Iowa]], where he accepted a track and field scholarship, that allowed him to try out for the football and [[College basketball|basketball]] squads.<ref name=Barrett/>{{rp|52}}<ref name="Johnny Bright, Drake University, 1970">{{cite news |url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/19700324/SPORTS11/50623029/Johnny-Bright-Drake-University-1970 |access-date=April 25, 2011 |author=Turnbull, Buck |title=Johnny Bright, Drake University, 1970 |newspaper=Des Moines Register |date=March 24, 1970 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121183721/http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/19700324/SPORTS11/50623029/Johnny-Bright-Drake-University-1970 |archive-date=January 21, 2013 }}</ref> Bright eventually lettered in [[College football|football]], track, and basketball, during his collegiate career at Drake.<ref name="Johnny Bright, Drake University, 1970"/>

Following a mandatory freshman [[Redshirt (college sports)|redshirt]] year, Bright began his collegiate football career in 1949, rushing for 975 yards and throwing for another 975, to lead the nation in total offense during his sophomore year, as the [[Drake Bulldogs football|Drake Bulldogs]] finished their season at 6–2–1.<ref name="The Legend of Johnny Bright – Drake's Greatest Football Player">{{cite web|url=http://www.drakebulldogs.org/football/1124468492.pdf |access-date=August 12, 2006 |title=2005 Drake Bulldogs Football Media Guide: The Legend of Johnny Bright – Drake's Greatest Football Player |publisher=Drake University |year=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070226033209/http://www.drakebulldogs.org/football/1124468492.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2007 }}</ref> In Bright's junior year, the [[Running back|halfback]]/[[quarterback]] rushed for 1,232 yards and passed for 1,168 yards, setting an [[NCAA]] record for total offense (2,400 yards) in 1950, and again led the Bulldogs to a 6–2–1 record.<ref name="The Legend of Johnny Bright – Drake's Greatest Football Player"/>

Bright's senior year began with great promise. Bright was considered a pre-season [[Heisman Trophy]] candidate, and was leading the nation in both rushing and total offense with 821 and 1,349 yards respectively, when the Drake Bulldogs, winners of their previous five games, faced [[Missouri Valley Conference]] foe [[Oklahoma State Cowboys|Oklahoma A&M]], at Lewis Field (now [[Boone Pickens Stadium]]) in [[Stillwater, Oklahoma]], on October 20, 1951.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

=="Johnny Bright Incident"==
{{Main|Johnny Bright incident}}
[[File:Desmoines register johnny bright incident.jpg|thumb|left|Johnny Bright Incident – October 21, 1951 ''Des Moines Register'' newspaper cover showing Robinson and Ultang photo sequence<ref name="Bright's Jaw Broken, Drake Streak Ends, 27-14">{{cite web |url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=40&REC=8 |access-date=August 12, 2006 |first=John |last=Robinson |author2=Don Ultang |title=Bright's Jaw Broken, Drake Streak Ends, 27–14 |publisher=Drake University Digital Collections |date=October 21, 1951}}</ref>]]
Bright's participation as a halfback/quarterback in Drake's game against Oklahoma A&M on October 20, 1951, was controversial, as it marked the first time that such a prominent African-American athlete, with national fame (Bright was a pre-season Heisman Trophy candidate, and led the nation in total offense going into the game) and of critical importance to the success of his team (Drake was undefeated and carried a five-game winning streak into the contest, due in large part to his rushing and passing), played against Oklahoma A&M in a home game at [[Lewis Field]], in Stillwater.<ref name="Aggies Outlast Drake, 27-14">{{cite web |url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=26&REC=2 |access-date=August 12, 2006 |author=White, Maury |title=Aggies Outlast Drake, 27–14 |publisher=Drake University Digital Collections |date=October 21, 1951}}</ref>

During the first seven minutes of the game, Bright had been knocked unconscious three times by blows from Oklahoma A&M [[defensive tackle]] [[Johnny Bright Incident#Wilbanks Smith|Wilbanks Smith]]. While the final, elbow blow from Smith broke Bright's jaw, Bright was able to complete a 61-yard touchdown pass to halfback Jim Pilkington a few plays later, before the injury finally forced Bright to leave the game. Bright finished the game with 75 yards (14 yards rushing and 61 yards passing), the first time he had finished a game, with less than 100 yards in his three-year collegiate career at Drake. Oklahoma A&M eventually won the game 27–14.<ref name="Aggies Outlast Drake, 27-14"/>

A photographic sequence by ''[[Des Moines Register]]'' cameramen [[Don Ultang]] and John Robinson clearly showed that [[Johnny Bright incident|Smith's jaw-breaking blow to Bright]] had occurred well after Bright had handed off the ball to [[fullback (American football)|fullback]] Gene Macomber, and that the blow was delivered well behind the play.<ref name="Bright's Jaw Broken, Drake Streak Ends, 27-14"/>  Years later, Ultang said that he and Robinson were lucky to capture the incident when they did; they'd only planned to stay through the first quarter so they could get the film developed in time for the next day's edition.<ref name=NYTObit>Weber, Bruce. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/sports/football/27ultang.html "Don Ultang, Pioneer in Aerial Photography, Dies at 91"], ''The New York Times'', September 27, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2008.</ref>

It had been an open secret before the game that A&M was planning to target Bright.  Even though A&M had integrated two years earlier, the [[Jim Crow]] spirit was still very much alive in Stillwater.  Both Oklahoma A&M's student newspaper, ''[[The Daily O'Collegian]]'', and the local newspaper, ''[[NewsPress|The News Press]]'', reported that Bright was a marked man, and several A&M students were openly claiming that Bright "would not be around at the end of the game."  Ultang and Robinson had actually set up their camera after rumors of Bright being targeted became too loud to ignore.<ref name="Schmidly closes door on Johnny Bright disgrace"/>

When it became apparent that neither Oklahoma A&M nor the MVC would take any disciplinary action against Smith, Drake withdrew from the MVC in protest and stayed out until 1956 (though it didn't return for football until 1971).  Fellow member [[Bradley University]] pulled out of the league as well in solidarity with Drake; while it returned for non-football sports in 1955, Bradley never played another down of football in the MVC (it dropped football in 1970).<ref name="1951 John Bright incident causes Drake withdrawal from MVC">{{cite web | url = http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=37&REC=1 | access-date = August 12, 2006 | author = Moorhead, Jim | title = 1951 John Bright incident causes Drake withdrawal from MVC | publisher = Drake University Digital Collections | date = October 30, 1964}}</ref>
[[File:John D. Bright, 1952 Drake University Quax yearbook portrait.jpg|thumb|left|Bright's senior portrait in the 1952 Drake University yearbook]]
The "Johnny Bright Incident", as it became widely known, eventually provoked changes in NCAA football rules regarding illegal blocking, and mandated the use of more protective helmets with face guards.<ref name="Bright not bitter: Blow helped clean up sports">{{cite web |url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=36&REC=4 |access-date=August 12, 2006 |author=Hanson, Dave |title=Bright not bitter: Blow helped clean up sports |publisher=Drake University Digital Collections |date=November 13, 1980}}</ref>

Recalling the incident without apparent bitterness in a 1980 ''Des Moines Register'' interview three years before his death, Bright commented: "There's no way it couldn't have been racially motivated... . ..What I like about the whole deal now, and what I'm smug enough to say, is that getting a broken jaw has somehow made college athletics better. It made the NCAA take a hard look and clean up some things that were bad."<ref name="Bright not bitter:  Blow helped clean up sports"/>

==Post-injury and end of college football career==
Bright's jaw injury limited his effectiveness for the remainder of his senior season at Drake, but he finished his college career with 5,983 yards in total offense, averaging better than 236 yards per game in total offense, and scored 384 points in 25 games.<ref name="The Legend of Johnny Bright – Drake's Greatest Football Player">{{cite web|url=http://www.drakebulldogs.org/football/1124468492.pdf |access-date=August 12, 2006 |title=2005 Drake Bulldogs Football Media Guide: The Legend of Johnny Bright – Drake's Greatest Football Player |publisher=Drake University |year=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070226033209/http://www.drakebulldogs.org/football/1124468492.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2007 }}</ref> As a senior, Bright earned 70 percent of the yards Drake gained and scored 70 percent of the Bulldogs' points, despite missing the better part of the final three games of the season.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Following his final football season at Drake (1951), Bright was named a first-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] and finished fifth in the balloting for the 1951 Heisman Trophy. Bright was also awarded the [[Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award|Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Sportsmanship Award]], and played in both the post-season [[East–West Shrine Game]] and the [[Hula Bowl]].{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} He graduated from Drake with a [[Bachelor of Education|Bachelor of Science in Education]], with a specialization in [[physical education]], in 1952.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Quax|volume=51|year=1952|page=17|publisher=Clio Press, Economy Advertising Co./Drake University|location=Des Moines|url=http://content.library.drake.edu/digital/collection/yearbooks/id/10299/|accessdate=October 20, 2023}}</ref>

In 1969, Bright was named Drake University's greatest football player of all time. He is also the only Drake football player to have his jersey number (No.&nbsp;43) retired by the school. In June 2006, Bright received honorable mention from ''[[ESPN]].com'' senior writer Ivan Maisel as one of the best college football players to ever wear No.&nbsp;43.<ref name="Johnny Bright's Football Jersey Number Recognized"/>

==Professional football career==
Bright was the first pick of the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] in the first round of the [[1952 NFL Draft|1952 National Football League draft]]. Bright spurned the NFL, electing to emigrate to Canada and play for the [[Calgary Stampeders]] of the [[Western Interprovincial Football Union]], the precursor to the [[Canadian Football League West Division|West Division of the Canadian Football League]]. Bright later commented:

{{blockquote|I would have been their (the Eagles') first [[African American|Negro]] player. There was a tremendous influx of [[Southern United States|Southern]] players into the NFL at that time, and I didn't know what kind of treatment I could expect.<ref name="CFL Legend: Johnny Bright">{{cite web |last=Soutar |first=Ted |url=https://www.cfl.ca/page/his_legends_bright |title=CFL Legend: Johnny Bright |publisher=CFL.ca |access-date=August 12, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922191450/http://www.cfl.ca/page/his_legends_bright |archive-date=2008-09-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}

Bright joined the Calgary Stampeders as a fullback/[[linebacker]] in 1952, leading the Stampeders and the WIFU in rushing with 815 yards his rookie season.<ref name="CFL Legend: Johnny Bright"/> Bright played fullback/linebacker with the Stampeders for the 1952, 1953, and part of the 1954 seasons. 

In 1954, the Calgary Stampeders traded him to the [[Edmonton Eskimos]] in mid-season. He enjoyed the most success of his professional football career as a member of the Eskimos.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} He moved to Edmonton and lived the rest of life in that city.<ref name=jasperplacehistory.org/>

[[File:Johnny bright topps card 1962.jpg|thumb|150px|Bright football card issued by Topps]]
Though Bright played strictly defense as a linebacker in his first year with the Eskimos, he played both offense (as a fullback) and defense for two seasons (1955–1956), and played offense permanently after that (1957–[[1964 CFL season|1964]]). He, along with teammates [[Rollie Miles]], [[Normie Kwong]], and [[Jackie Parker]], helped lead the Eskimos to successive [[Grey Cup]] titles in [[42nd Grey Cup|1954]], [[43rd Grey Cup|1955]], and [[44th Grey Cup|1956]] (where Bright rushed for a then Grey Cup record of 169 yards in a 50–27 win over the [[Montreal Alouettes]]).<ref name="CFL Legend: Johnny Bright"/> In 1957, he rushed for eight consecutive 100-yard games, finishing the season with 1,679 yards. In [[1958 CFL season|1958]], he rushed for 1,722 yards.<ref name="CFL Legend: Johnny Bright"/> In [[1959 CFL season|1959]], following his third straight season as the Canadian pro rushing leader with 1,340 yards, Bright won the [[CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award]], the first [[black people|black]] athlete to be so honored.

Bright was approached several times during his Canadian career by NFL teams about playing in the United States, but in the days before the large salaries of today's NFL players, it was common for CFL players such as him to have jobs in addition to football, and he had already started a [[teacher|teaching]] career in 1957, the year he moved his family to [[Edmonton]].

{{blockquote|I'd established a home and Canada had been good to me. I might have been interested, if the offers could have matched what I was making from both football and teaching.<ref name="CFL Legend: Johnny Bright"/>}}

Bright retired in 1964 as the CFL's all-time leading rusher ([[Mike Pringle (football)|Mike Pringle]] and [[George Reed (Canadian football)|George Reed]] have since surpassed him). Bright rushed for 10,909 yards in 13 seasons, had five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, and led the CFL in rushing four times. While Bright is ({{as of|2006|lc=on}}) 15th on the all-pro rushing list, his career average of 5.5 yards per carry is the highest among more-than-10,000-yard rushers ([[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]r [[Jim Brown]] is second at 5.2 yards per carry).<ref name="CFL Legend: Johnny Bright"/> At the time of his retirement, Bright had a then-CFL-record thirty-six 100-plus-yard games, carrying the ball 200 or more times for five straight seasons. Bright led the CFL Western Conference in rushing four times, winning the [[Eddie James Memorial Trophy]] in the process, and was a Western Conference All-Star five straight seasons from 1957 to [[1961 CFL season#CFL All Stars|1961]]. Bright played in 197 consecutive CFL games as a fullback/linebacker. Bright's No.&nbsp;24 jersey was added to the [[Edmonton Eskimos#Wall of Honour|Edmonton Eskimos' Wall of Honour]] at [[Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)|Commonwealth Stadium]] in 1983. Bright was inducted into the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]] on November 26, 1970. In November 2006, Bright was voted one of the [[TSN Top 50 CFL Players|CFL's Top 50 players]] (No.&nbsp;19) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network [[The Sports Network|TSN]].<ref name="TSN Top 50 CFL Players"/>

== Career regular season rushing statistics ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right"
|-
! Year !! Team !! Games !! Rush !! Yards !! Average !! Longest !! Touchdowns
|-
| 1952 || style="text-align: left" | [[Calgary Stampeders]] || 13 || 144 || 815 || 5.7 || 75 || 2
|-
| 1953 || style="text-align: left" | [[Calgary Stampeders]] || 9 || 38 || 128 || 3.4 || 32 || 0
|-
| 1954 || style="text-align: left" | [[Calgary Stampeders]] || 1 || 8 || 30 || 3.8 || 14 || 0
|-
| 1954 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 11 || 37 || 184 || 5.0 || 12 || 0
|-
| 1955 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 12 || 107 || 643 || 6.0 || 34 || 2
|-
| 1956 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 9 || 93 || 573 || 6.2 || 22 || 4
|-
| 1957 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 16 || 259 || 1679 || 6.5 || 27 || 16
|-
| 1958 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 16 || 296 || 1722 || 5.8 || 90 || 8
|-
| 1959 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 16 || 231 || 1340 || 5.8 || 53 || 11
|-
| 1960 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 16 || 251 || 1268 || 5.1 || 28 || 14
|-
| 1961 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 16 || 236 || 1350 || 5.7 || 81 || 11
|-
| 1962 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 11 || 142 || 650 || 4.6 || 23 || 2
|-
| 1963 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 13 || 83 || 324 || 3.9 || 15 || 0
|-
| 1964 || style="text-align: left" | [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 16 || 44 || 203 || 4.6 || 16 || 0
|-
| || style="text-align: left" |'''Totals''' || || 1969 || 10,909 || 5.5 || 90 || 70
|}

==Post-football career and death==
Bright earned a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in education at Drake University in 1952,<ref name="Johnny Bright All-Time Drake Great">{{cite web |url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/du-jb&CISOPTR=47&REC=16 |access-date=August 12, 2006 |author=Podolsky, Mickey |title=Johnny Bright All-Time Drake Great |publisher=Drake University Digital Collections|date=November 1, 1963}}</ref> becoming a teacher, coach, and school administrator, both during and after his professional football career, eventually rising to [[Head teacher|principal]] of D.S. Mackenzie Junior High School and Hillcrest Junior High School in [[Edmonton, Alberta]].<ref name=jasperplacehistory.org/> He was head coach at Edmonton's Bonnie Doon High School in the 1960s when the Lancers were a champion football team. He was also the head coach of the Edmonton Wildcats in the Canadian Junior Football League from 1978 to 1981.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

He became a [[Canadian nationality law|Canadian citizen]] in 1962.<ref name="CFL Legend: Johnny Bright"/>

Bright died of a massive [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] on December 14, 1983, at the [[University of Alberta Hospital]] in Edmonton, while undergoing elective surgery to correct a knee injury suffered during his football career.<ref name="Johnny Bright, A Star of Football in 1950s">{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/16/obituaries/johnny-bright-a-star-of-football-in-1950-s.html | access-date=April 25, 2011 | title=Johnny Bright, A Star of Football in 1950s | work=The New York Times | date=December 16, 1983}}</ref> He was survived by his wife and four children.<ref name="Johnny Bright, Drake University, 1970"/>

Bright is buried at [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Edmonton|Holy Cross Cemetery]], in Edmonton.

==Legacy==
Despite the evidence of the incident, Oklahoma A&M officials denied anything had happened.  Indeed, Oklahoma A&M/State refused to make any further official comment on the incident for over half a century.  This was the case even when Drake's former dean of men, [[Robert B. Kamm]], became president of OSU in 1966; years later, he said that the determination to gloss over the affair was so strong that he knew he could not even discuss it.  Finally, on September 28, 2005, Oklahoma State President [[David J. Schmidly]] wrote a letter to Drake President [[David Maxwell (academic)|David Maxwell]] at Maxwell's request formally apologizing for the incident, calling it "an ugly mark on Oklahoma State University and college football." The apology came twenty-two years after Bright's death.<ref name="Schmidly closes door on Johnny Bright disgrace">{{cite web|url=http://ocolly.com/2005/11/14/schmidly-closes-door-on-johnny-bright-disgrace/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080925022028/http://ocolly.com/2005/11/14/schmidly-closes-door-on-johnny-bright-disgrace/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 25, 2008 |access-date=March 22, 2008 |author=Darcy, Bob |title=Schmidly closes door on Johnny Bright disgrace |publisher=Oklahoma State University |work=The Daily O'Collegian |date=November 14, 2005 }}</ref><ref name="Drake will name field for Bright: Oklahoma State has apologized for a 1951 incident that injured the football player">{{cite web|url=http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060223/SPORTS020402/602230404/1001/NEWS |access-date=August 12, 2006 |author=Witosky, Tom |title=Drake will name field for Bright: Oklahoma State has apologized for a 1951 incident that injured the football player |work=Des Moines Register |date=February 23, 2006 }}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In February 2006, the football field at [[Drake Stadium (Drake University)|Drake Stadium]], in Des Moines, Iowa, was named in Bright's honor.<ref name="KCCI-TV8 Des Moines, Iowa – Drake Names Football Field After Johnny Bright: OSU Apologizes For Player's Actions"/>

In September 2010, Johnny Bright School, a [[Elementary school|kindergarten through grade 9 school]], was named in Bright's honour, and opened in the [[Rutherford, Edmonton|Rutherford neighbourhood]] of Edmonton.<ref name="Johnny Bright School Official Opening">{{cite web | url=http://www.school4you.ca/blogs/epsb-blog/johnny-bright-school-official-opening/ | access-date=October 12, 2010 | title=Johnny Bright School Official Opening | publisher=Edmonton Public Schools | date=September 17, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013163713/http://www.school4you.ca/blogs/epsb-blog/johnny-bright-school-official-opening/ | archive-date=October 13, 2010 }}</ref>  The school was officially opened on September 15 by representatives of the school district and Alberta Education Minister [[Dave Hancock]], and included tributes from Bright's family, several dignitaries, and former colleagues of Bright from his both his athletic and educational careers.<ref name="Johnny Bright School Official Opening"/>

On September 1, 2020, Drake University announced the opening of a two-year college at the university named the John Dee Bright College.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 1, 2020|title=New John Dee Bright College at Drake University to Offer Two-Year Degrees|url=https://news.drake.edu/2020/09/01/new-john-dee-bright-college-at-drake-university-to-offer-two-year-degrees/|access-date=September 1, 2020|website=Drake University Newsroom|language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{College Football HoF|1736}}
* [http://www.lib.drake.edu/heritage/bright/index.php Drake Heritage Collection – The Johnny Bright Story]

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{{1952 NFL Draft}}
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[[Category:1930 births]]
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[[Category:Canadian football linebackers]]
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[[Category:Violence in sports]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
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