Vinny Johnson

“Sometimes I wish I could rewind to the old days and press pause, just for a little while.”

Carving a football space at Hoboken High School from the ‘60s and ‘70s, a few stellar names come to mind who made their gridiron statement like, Ollie Jackson, Steve, Michael and Bobby Pellechia, Guy and Peter Federico, Rufus Dennis, Gerard Johnson, Jimmy Foster, Ricky Addeo, Michael Peluso, Hector Morales, Andrew Fernandez and Michael Rubino, not all grew up in the Harrison and Jackson Projects near 4th Street but most knew about the railroad rumbling reaching behind the buildings when a few sweaters and other goods were unhinged from the boxes. Yet one player who made his mark was Hoboken’s Alfred Johnson, one of ten siblings of Mary Elizabeth Johnson on Jackson Street.

Alfred was a super force playing on an unkept field in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s making All County and state football honors later serving in the Marine for four years. Upon leaving the military, Alfred faced a number of challenges some of which he met and other fell short. Preserving his memory and his family’s tradition in Red Wing winning ways, should be part of the Mile Square sports past.

Vinny Johnson, like his brother, never met the level of Alfred’s field force but was an above average athlete in football grabbing All County honors in the ‘70s. What made Vincent a voice of Hoboken in his forty years of working for the Hoboken Board of Education currently in charge of field operations at the high school and moving cargo between school buildings was his coaching and memories storage.

Mr. Johnson had a vivid recall and quality talk about both baseball and football high school history even citing the Lisa Brothers applause and credit of the ‘50s.

In addition to Vincent’s sense of the Mile Square community, he still is coaching, providing guidelines to Red Wing players especially in girl’ softball where he was named Coach of the year 2025. Perhaps he caught his mom’s passion and purpose when in 2013 the new reconstructed field on 400 Jackson Street was named Mama Johnson Field for the community service she provided over 40 plus years in the 4th ward and the downtown projects.

What makes Vinny so unique and separate while football and softball are front and center, he could back track about Hoboken High baseball pointing to the buildings, tennis courts and parking lots where players like Mike Milne, Marc Taglieri,

Ralph and Michael Eusebio, landed baseball during the Buddy Mathews era.

He was quick with a broad smile. They all carried aluminum bats to the plate which gave pop and bang but recollected that there were teams in the 50’s and 60’s that might have done the same given the tubular sticks.

Mr. Johnson made a turn to football by remembering during the fabulous 90’s of incredible gridiron play under Coach Stinson that Tyrell Dortch was a cut above all with a laughing smile if it was first and long, Dortch gets the ball first!

Hoboken is a better place with people like Vinny, preserving memories that fade fast.

Dennis Sevano was born and raised in Hoboken. He writes frequently about sports figures and notables in the Mile Square City. He currently resides in Teaneck.