Johnny Earl Jackson was born on September 1, 1967 to Essie B. Larry and Roy Jackson in Greenville, Mississippi. He was the only child born at his parent's house. All his other siblings were born in the hospital. He would always crack jokes about that saying, " I know I'm my mama's child". His grandfather, L.B. Moore moved Johnny and his mother to Los Angeles, CA in 1968 while his father continued working at US Gypsy Mill in Greenville, Mississippi.
Growing up he lived on Denker Ave in Los Angeles where he attended Santa Barbara Ave Elementary. He loved riding bikes with his friends in the neighborhood and playing touch football on the grass in front of their houses with a host of childhood friends. During that time, he was intrigued by football and began to excel and loved the sport. He was also introduced to baseball by his grandmother, Johnnie Mae Blackwell who loved baseball. She supported and encouraged him to try all sports.
He attended Foshay Junior High School from 1978 to 1981. At that time Foshay had no football program so he tried out for the Wrestling team and was accepted. That year Foshay won their first Championship in wrestling. During this time, he was also fascinated with watching birds flying in the sky. Johnny was introduced to flying pigeons by his friends and started flying his own kit (group of pigeons). These were no ordinary street pigeons. They were Birmingham Rollers which is a breed of domesticated pigeons. They originated in England, where they were developed via selective breeding, for their ability to do rapid backward somersaults while flying. Some fly their rollers in competition, both locally and nationally.
After graduating from Foshay Junior High he attended Crenshaw High School from 1982 to 1985. He played quarterback for the Crenshaw Cougars he loved passing and running the ball breaking the High school level passing yards in the city of Los Angeles, winning a Championship with the Cougars. The love of football captured his heart, mind, body and soul. He was a true competitor with any sport he tried. When he put his mind to something, he would never give up being the best at it.
After graduating Crenshaw, he went to Southwest Community College. While attending Southwest his drive to go to the next level became clearer, breaking passing yard records, game winning plays and championships. Johnny's hard work finally paid off. Scouts from Michigan State came to see him play and gave him an offer for a full ride scholarship to play quarterback for them. He went to Michigan for one semester but had to return home after receiving the news that his first son (Johnny Jackson Jr.) mother, Galinda was in a tragic motorcycle accident and passed away. Johnny vowed to take care of his son and left Michigan State to stay home and raise his son with the help of his mother.
Johnny started working at Manual Arts High School as a janitor. He was still involved and had a passion for football when he befriended Hollis and Spence, two people that became great mentors to him. They gave him the opportunity to become an assistant coach. He helps them to coach the football and track teams. Johnny had to prove himself and they really wanted to see if he had the knowledge of the game. He learned plays that Spence and Hollis had created and studied film on how to stop any play on defense and offense.
He was blessed with two beautiful children Dashon Jackson and Johnesha Jackson with Monique Hicks. A few years later he met and fell in love with Pamela Shell. On February 14, 1998 they were married. To this union three children were born Jordan Jackson, Jalen Jackson and Damario Jackson. Johnny continued to play football at the Semi-Pro Football level with various teams. One team would prove to be the team he always called home, the Inglewood Blackhawks. He began playing with the Blackhawks in 2002. He played with them for 7 years as a quarterback and 9 years as a coach, which they went on to win 6 Championships together. After coaching Semi-Pro, he went on to coach Pop Warner Football, the Jets, Palmdale, Eastside Lions, and the AV Lopes. He loved teaching the youth. He took pleasure in teaching the ones that never played before, seeing their potential and nurturing it. Johnny could also see the potential in the ones who had been playing but never taught the fundamentals or grasp the concept of the game. Building upon that to make them a better player even when players thought they could not do it. He made them see that they could do anything. He is loved by all the kids he trained, mentored, or just had a conversation with. It gave him great joy into knowing that he was able to touch a child’s life and help them gain confidence in themselves and stay humble and hungry. He always encouraged them to be a student first and an athlete second. His success as a coach can be directly attributed to his natural love for the game and people. His attention to detail was phenomenal. He took pride in the fact that he always tried to bring the best out of others.
Johnny leaves to cherish his memory, his loving wife of 22 years Pamela Jackson and sons Jordan Jackson, Jalen Jackson, Damario Jackson, Johnny Jackson Jr., Dashon Jackson, Dominique Jones and daughters Johnesha Jackson, and Brandi Elledge. Siblings Sherry Taylor, Frederick "Ricky" Larry, Benjamin Jackson, Albert Chatman (predeceased). Followed by his grandchildren Galinda Jackson, Johnny Jackson III, Lil Jordan Jackson, Jazz Jackson, Egypt Jackson, Janae Taylor, Brittany Taylor, Leah Jones. Nephews Darion Jackson and Jonathon and a host of cousins and nieces.
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