When Jimmy Johnson enrolled at Jefferson High School’s (now Memorial High School) football team as a two-way lineman, what he didn’t know was how far that single decision would take him. From the small city of Port Arthur in Texas, to now ruling Fox’s NFL Sunday coverage, it was a 59-year journey filled with two Super Bowls, two Hall of Fame inductions, and a legacy very few can replicate. However, in all the noise his NFL accolades have created, seldom do people look back at where it all began…

On February 4 though, things changed. An X user decided to dig up the past by sharing a YouTube video that detailed Johnson’s journey with the Yellow Jackets, the school’s football team. The video shared by ‘Long Lost Film’ was captioned, “Jimmy Johnson’s Career Started with Texas High School Football”. What’s even more interesting was the description the channel decided to write with it.

“Here’s a rare look at Jimmy Johnson’s career starting with Texas High School Football. By a fluke, a rare 1959 game film from Port Arthur, TX Thomas Jefferson High School has been found. Jimmy Johnson (#56) is captured on film playing in the 1959 Texas State 4A Quarterfinal Game (highest UIL conference back then) between the Port Arthur Thomas Jefferson High School Yellow Jackets and Houston’s John Reagan High School played on December 5, 1959, at Jeppesen Stadium at the University of Houston, in Houston, TX. The game film content is from TJHS 16mm color game film shot (without sound) at the game by the athletic department. Sound effects were added to this video to bring the film to life.”

“Backstory: A TJHS classmate of Lynda Stanley, sister of QB Ronnie Stanley featured in 1957 game videos on this channel called her sometime before 1995 to tell her that TJHS would be discarding old football game films (possibly a move to a new field house or building) and that the films from 1957 were among those that would be thrown out. Lynda immediately went down to the school and got the films and gave them to Ronnie who held onto them all these years. Lynda Stanley deserves the credit for saving these films. It’s unfortunate that so many other films may have been lost that could have made amazing content for YouTube for future generations to enjoy.”

“Thank you to Ronnie’s daughter Sally for reaching out to me for help with converting the films after she found my YouTube video; it was from the 1957 TJHS vs. Bellaire game that included my grandfather’s 8mm home movies shot at that game. Sally had the 65-year-old films from TJHS digitized by Kodak in early 2023, and then we edited them for YouTube videos. By a fluke, a single reel of 1959 game film was mixed in with the 1957 films. That film was a portion of the TJHS vs Houston’s John Reagan High School in the Texas State 4A Quarterfinal game. Jimmy Johnson was on the 1959 TJHS team,” the caption concluded.

The video opened with a yearbook photo of a young Jimmie, smiling wide, with one of his milk tooths missing. The scene then cut to a photo captioned, “LINEBACKER JIMMIE JOHNSON (56) and cornerback Mills (24) stop Baytown’s back after he made a short gain.” The video also featured a rare, and nostalgic, clip of the Jackets’ team during their game against Reagan (which the latter lost 41-13), from December 5, 1959—a quarterfinal playoff game at Jeppesen Stadium, back when Texas 4A football was the biggest stage around. And somehow, against all odds, this single film survived the test of time.

Having said that, in another photo, the Hall of Famer was featured in a All State Honors page, as a “Honorable Mention Guard”, alongside several others.

“Football, 58-61, All-District , 60-61, Honorable Mention All-State , 60-61, HR Treas., 58-59; JCL, 58-59; Jr. Lion, 60-61”, it further read. The trip down memory lane finally concluded with a mention of the 81-year-old’s achievements both as a player and as a coach.

Long before he was hoisting Lombardi trophies with the Cowboys or running up the score at the University of Miami, he was just a tough kid from Port Arthur with a chip on his shoulder. And now, six decades later, he gets to relive those moments—seeing himself move, block, hit—like a ghost from the past, frozen in time. How often does a Hall of Fame career get an origin story this real?

But do you know what’s more interesting? His NFL Draft story…

Jimmy Johnson: the COWBOY Jerry Jones didn’t deserve

Jimmy Johnson’s football story didn’t end when the NFL draft passed him by. It just took a detour. At Arkansas, he was a force—helping the Razorbacks win a national title in ‘64, lining up next to Jerry Jones, completely unaware of what they’d cook (even if it was short-lived). Johnson was a standout. No question. But the pros didn’t come calling. Now, while some guys would have hung it up right there, Johnson said: ‘No, this can’t be it’.

So, coaching became his game, and if football had a Hall of Fame for turning setbacks into fuel, he’d be a first-ballot lock.

By 1989, football fate had a sense of humor. Johnson and Jones—college teammates turned NFL power duo—were back together in Dallas. And the Cowboys? A full-blown disaster. The first season was a brutal 1-15. Then came The Trade. Herschel Walker to Minnesota. Picks in return. Aikman. Emmitt. Woodson. A rebuild straight out of a Madden franchise mode fever dream. Two Super Bowls followed in ‘93 and ‘94, and Johnson stamped his legacy with the phrase still echoing in every Cowboys fan’s head: “How ’bout them Cowboys!”

But for all the rings, the Coach of the Year awards, the Hall of Fame induction in 2020—sometimes, the small moments hit the hardest. A random clip from 1959. Ahh! Nothing beats nostalgia. 

Johnson’s NFL days may be behind him, but football never really let go. He’s been a fixture on Fox NFL Sunday since ‘94 (that’s a record 31 years completed when the calender read Jan. 7), breaking down games with the same sharp mind that built dynasties. His voice is still part of every Sunday, his insight just as sharp, his presence as legendary as ever. He didn’t just coach football—he helped shape how we talk about it… How we hear it.