Bob "Tassie" Johnson was born on 2nd December 1937 and first played senior football for North Launceston.
His father Bob senior; a member of the 1926 Melbourne premiership team; had moved to Tasmania after finishing his football career in Melbourne.
He played in the 1964 Melbourne premiership win over Collingwood in one of the epic VFL premiership battler.The following quote is from the AFL website describing the game:
Melbourne's great premiership run to 1960 ended when Footscray defeated the Demons in the 1961 preliminary final and although the navy blue and red made the finals each year from 1961-63, just could not reach the big one. All that changed, however, in 1964 when it again finished on top of the ladder, half a game clear of Collingwood, Essendon and Geelong in one of the tightest final fours in football history. Indeed, Hawthorn missed the finals altogether but was just one game adrift of Melbourne.
Then, when Melbourne thrashed Collingwood by 89 points in the second semi-final, Demon fans dreamed of yet another premiership. The Magpies might have fought back with a four-point preliminary final win over Geelong, but how on earth could they turn the tables on Melbourne, brilliantly led by the game's most ferocious competitor, Ron Barassi? Fans were not to know they were about to experience one of the great grand finals.
Collingwood might have been undermanned, but its spirit was exemplary and the Magpies tackled Melbourne with every fragment of energy. They ran hard at the ball and did not allow the Demons to get their free-flowing game going. Collingwood led by two points at half time and there was more than a hint of an upset in the air, even though Melbourne bounced back to lead by 11 points at the final change.
The final quarter was a thriller and, when Ray Gabelich bounced, bounced and bounced his way to a goal to give Collingwood the lead late in the match, Magpie fans believed the flag would be unfurled at Victoria Park. However, a fortunate bounce off a pack landed favorably for Melbourne. The ball went straight into the hands of back pocket Neil Crompton, who had wandered 100 metres out of position to follow his opponent. Crompton kicked a goal and the Demons won by just four points.
Best
MELBOURNE: Adams, Dixon, R. "Tassie" Johnson, Wise, H. Mann, Williams.
COLLINGWOOD: Hill, Steer, Bone, Potter, Henderson, Dalton.
He was named in Melbourne’s Team Of The Century on 24 June 2000 at Full Back joining other Tasmanian football legends Stuart Spencer
and Ivor Warne Smith
in receiving this honour.
Johnson ended his playing career as captain-coach of VFA 2nd
Division side Box Hill.
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Bob "Tassie" Johnson - A Tasmanian Football Legend
