Rafer Johnson walks through entrance of the Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open like any other parent of one of the competitors. Toting two portable chairs, he checks the competition board to see where his daughter is playing. "Where is court one?" asks Johnson to an official walking by. The young lady points him in the right direction; he thanks her and heads over.
Very few people take notice of the still athletic-looking 71-year-old wearing a black and white sweat suit and straw panama hat. One person sees him and tells his friend, "That's Rafer something, I think he played pro football. I've seen him on TV."
What that person didn't realize is that Jenny Johnson Jordan's dad is a true sports legend, winning two Olympic medals in the decathlon, the silver in 1956 and gold in 1960. In 1968 it was Johnson, and football star Rosey Grier who grabbed assassin Sirhan Sirhan after he fatally shot Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel after the senator won the California presidential primary.
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