Born in the Pitsmoor area of Sheffield, Johnson attended the Firth Park Grammar School and later served in the navy.
[1] On returning to civilian life, Johnson trained to be an accountant and worked as a finance clerk while playing football part-time for Norton Woodseats.
[1] Johnson began make regular appearances during the 1953–54 promotion season but was soon relegated to bit-part status once more as he had to compete with Joe Shaw in central defence.
[1] Johnson remained with the Blades until the summer of 1957, and despite having played most of his career as a defender, his final four games for the club were as a makeshift centre forward.
[1] Despite never really holding down a first team place with Sheffield United, Johnson left the club having made over 100 appearances, scoring one goal.