View source for Johnny Sample

{{Short description|American football player (1937–2005)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Johnny Sample
| image       = Sample-Johnny-1960.jpg
| caption     = <small>Sample in 1960</small>
| number      = 47, 44, 24
| position    = [[Defensive back]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1936|6|15}}
| birth_place = [[Cape Charles, Virginia]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|2005|04|26|1936|06|15}}
| death_place = [[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 1
| weight_lbs  = 203
| high_school = [[Overbrook High School (Philadelphia)|Overbrook]]<br>([[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]])
| college     = [[Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks football|Maryland State]]
| draftyear   = 1958
| draftround  = 7
| draftpick   = 79
| pastteams   =
* [[Baltimore Colts]] ({{NFL Year|1958}}–{{NFL Year|1960}})
* [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] ({{NFL Year|1961}}–{{NFL Year|1962}})
* [[Washington Redskins]] ({{NFL Year|1963}}–{{NFL Year|1965}})
* [[New York Jets]] ([[1966 American Football League season|1966]]–[[1968 American Football League season|1968]])
| highlights  =
* [[Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl III|III]])
* 2× [[NFL champion]] ([[1958 NFL Championship Game|1958]], [[1959 NFL Championship Game|1959]]) 
* [[AFL champion]] ([[1968 AFL Championship Game|1968]])
* 5× Second-team All-Pro (1960, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1968)
* [[UPI]] First-team [[All-Pro]] (1961)
| statlabel1  = Games played
| statvalue1  = 125
| statlabel2  = Starts
| statvalue2  = 101
| statlabel3  = Interceptions
| statvalue3  = 41
| statlabel4  = Total touchdowns
| statvalue4  = 6
| pfr         = S/SampJo20 
}}
'''John B. Sample Jr.''' (June 15, 1936 – April 26, 2005) was an American professional [[American football|football]] [[defensive back]] who played in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) for the [[History of the Indianapolis Colts|Baltimore Colts]] (1958–1960), [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] (1961–1962), and [[Washington Redskins]] (1963–1965), and in the [[American Football League]] (AFL) for the [[New York Jets]] (1966–1968), winning three league championships.

Sample had the distinction of beginning and ending his career with championship wins in two of the most famous games in [[Professional Football|professional football]] history, and winning an NFL championship, an [[American Football League|AFL]] championship, and a [[Professional American football championship games|world championship]].

In his rookie season, he won an NFL championship ring with the Colts in their victory over the [[New York Giants]] in the [[1958 NFL Championship Game]], which became known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played". 
 
In his final season, he helped the Jets win the AFL Championship against the [[Oakland Raiders]], and then to defeat the Colts in the third [[Professional American football championship games|AFL-NFL World Championship]] ([[Super Bowl III]]) in January 1969, recording an interception in the Jets' 16–7 win. He is the only professional football player to have won all three: an NFL, AFL, and Super Bowl championship.

In between, Sample won another championship in the [[1959 NFL Championship Game]], scoring a touchdown on a 42-yard interception return in the [[1959 Baltimore Colts season|Colts]]' 31–16 victory over the Giants.

==Early life==
Sample grew up in [[Cape Charles, Virginia]], the son of John B. Sample, a barber, and Evlyn Sample, a stenographer.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-27752-4117-36 |title=United States Census, 1940; pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-27752-4117-36 — FamilySearch.org |website=[[FamilySearch]] |access-date=2014-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308180942/https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-27752-4117-36 |archive-date=2016-03-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He went to Northampton County High School.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/sports/football/22sample.html?pagewanted=all|title=Jets' Johnny Sample: A Forefather of Trash Talk|first=Jeré|last=Longman|access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref> He attended Maryland State College, now the [[University of Maryland Eastern Shore]], where he was a four-sport athlete in football, baseball, basketball and gymnastics. In football, he was named a Little All-American and in three seasons led the Hawks to a record of 28–1–1 and two [[Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association]] (CIAA) championships. In three years as a halfback and kicker, he totaled 2,381 rushing yards, 37 touchdowns, 42 conversions, and four field goals. He graduated in 1958 with a degree in physical education.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.umes.edu/football/selectedprohawks/selected/johnsample.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122045853/http://www.umes.edu/football/selectedprohawks/selected/johnsample.pdf |archive-date=2015-01-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Sample in 1958 was said to be the first player from a historically black university to participate in the [[Chicago College All-Star Game|College All-Star Game]], an annual exhibition held between professional rookies and the reigning NFL champion.<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/sports/football/22sample.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=Jets' Johnny Sample: A Forefather of Trash Talk|first=Jeré|last=Longman|access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref>

==Professional career==
Sample finished his 11 professional football seasons with 41 interceptions, which he returned for 460 yards and four touchdowns. He also recovered 13 fumbles, returning them for 61 yards. On special teams, he returned 68 punts for 559 yards and a touchdown, along with 60 kickoffs for 1,560 yards and a touchdown. His most outstanding year was 1961 for the Steelers, when he intercepted a career-high eight passes for 141 return yards and one touchdown and led the NFL in punt return yards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SampJo20.htm|title=Johnny Sample Stats - Pro-Football-Reference.com|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref>

==After football==
After his playing career ended, in 1970 Sample released a very outspoken autobiography, ''Confessions of a Dirty Ballplayer''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lasentinel.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4218:remembering-nfl-pioneer-johnny-sample&catid=106&Itemid=196|title=Remembering NFL Pioneer Johnny Sample - Los Angeles Sentinel|date=13 May 2010|access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref>

He later became known in tennis—he was the No. 1-ranked men's player by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in the age 45 and over category for several years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/195603-johnny-sample-a-dirty-football-player-a-stand-up-brother|title=Johnny Sample: A Dirty Football Player & a Stand-Up Brother|first=Harold|last=Bell|website=[[Bleacher Report]] |access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref>
During the 1980s and 1990s, he became a tennis official, a linesman, and even a chair umpire at bigger and bigger men's and women's events including the [[US Open (tennis)|U.S. Open]], [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]], the [[French Open]], and the [[Australian Open]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/1986-03-11/sports/26083920_1_umpires-rich-kaufmann-basketball-program|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106194554/http://articles.philly.com/1986-03-11/sports/26083920_1_umpires-rich-kaufmann-basketball-program|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 6, 2012|title=Archives - Philly.com|website=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref>

In 1977, he was inducted into the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawk Hall of Fame.

He also hosted a talk-radio show in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]. Sample died April 26, 2005, at Misericordia Hospital in Philadelphia. He was survived by a son and two daughters. He was preceded in death by one son.<ref name="auto"/>

==See also==
* [[List of American Football League players]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Baltimore Colts 1958 draft navbox}}
{{1958 Baltimore Colts}}
{{1959 Baltimore Colts}}
{{Super Bowl III}}
{{NFL punt return yards leaders}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sample, Johnny}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:American football defensive backs]]
[[Category:American Football League players]]
[[Category:Baltimore Colts players]]
[[Category:Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks football players]]
[[Category:New York Jets players]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players]]
[[Category:Washington Redskins players]]
[[Category:People from Northampton County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Virginia]]
[[Category:Tennis umpires]]