National Football League

Jimmy Johnson will finally take his place in Canton after Hall of Fame surprise

Updated Aug. 5, 2021 8:04 p.m. ET

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Jimmy Johnson knew what was coming the moment he saw David Baker walk into the studio.

At 6-foot-9, Baker makes an entrance into any room – but for Johnson, Baker’s size was dwarfed by the magnitude of the message he came to deliver.

"Normally, in real life, when you have a guy the size of David Baker knocking on the door, you’re not answering the door," FOX NFL reporter Jay Glazer joked. "But he’s the biggest teddy bear in the world, and David Baker makes the ultimate dream come true."

Relive Jimmy Johnson's surprise of a lifetime finding out about enshrinement into Pro Football Hall of Fame ' NFL on FOX

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As the President of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, Baker has the privilege of welcoming new members into football’s most prestigious club every year.

It is Baker, who makes the rounds of homes, hotel rooms and, yes, TV studios and broadcast booths to inform Hall of Famers that they’re going to wear the gold jacket.

On the second weekend of January 2020, Johnson had all but given up on getting a visit from Baker. 

Despite a résumé that boasts back-to-back Super Bowl titles with the Dallas Cowboys in 1993 and 1994, 80 regular-season victories and a playoff record of 9-4, Johnson was convinced his wait for Canton was going to extend yet another year.

"On Saturday (Jan. 11), David Baker goes on the CBS pregame show and announces that Bill Cowher is going in," FOX NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee recalled. "Jimmy was like, ‘Well, if it’s gonna happen, it’ll probably happen this weekend.’

"And so, we go into Sunday, and our pregame show happens, and there’s no David Baker. … So Jimmy believes that there’s no chance he’s going in."

Little did Johnson know that FOX Sports CEO and Executive Producer Eric Shanks had collaborated with the Hall of Fame for Baker’s surprise visit to occur at halftime of the NFC divisional playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.

"We honestly didn’t do it to torment him," Shanks said. "We knew more people would be watching at halftime."

And everyone was watching Johnson when the double doors to the studio swung open and Baker walked in with the news Johnson had been waiting for since he became eligible for selection in 2004.

Initially, Johnson appeared stunned to see Baker. "You could see the look on his face, and first it was aghast," Menefee said.

That shock quickly gave way to tears, as Johnson was overwhelmed with emotion, while his FOX NFL Sunday colleagues Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Tony Gonzalez and Menefee all clapped and pumped their fists in celebration. 

Bradshaw let out a "Whoop!" when Baker officially proclaimed Johnson as the 328th member of the Hall.

Johnson wasn’t the only one shedding tears. More than 2,000 miles away in Green Bay, FOX broadcaster and fellow Hall of Famer Troy Aikman was wiping his cheeks as producers cut to a live shot of the former Cowboys quarterback watching his former coach.

"What was special about this one was not just that it was on national TV," Baker said, "but that there were other guys there who could feel that they were a part of it. I think the surprise worked exactly how we hoped it would. Maybe better than we had hoped it would."

Choked up and barely able to speak, Johnson finally said, "This is so special to me. Because when you put in the work that we put in, it’s nice to know people appreciate it."

Said Shanks, "That moment will never be matched."

Now, after a 19-month wait and seeing the 2020 Hall of Fame induction ceremonies postponed due to COVID-19, Johnson will finally take his place in Canton on Saturday.

The weekend got off to a great start for Johnson on Thursday night when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced the coach would be inducted into the team's Ring of Honor as well.

Aikman will serve as the presenter for Johnson in this weekend’s ceremony. Bradshaw, a member of the Hall’s Class of 1999 and Johnson’s longtime FOX NFL Sunday colleague, will put the gold jacket on the former Cowboys and Miami Dolphins coach.

Johnson was the first coach to win both a Super Bowl and a college football national championship. He has since been joined in that rare club by Barry Switzer and Pete Carroll.

The primary architect of the Cowboys' 1990s dynasty and responsible for the franchise’s resurrection following the low of a 1-15 season in 1989, Johnson will be one of 28 inductees this weekend as the Hall welcomes a 20-member centennial Class of 2020 and eight members for the Class of 2021. 

The group includes quarterback Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos), wide receiver Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions), defensive back Charles Woodson (Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers) and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. FOX play-by-play broadcaster Joe Buck will be inducted as the recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.

There will definitely be a lot of parties in Canton, but they might not match the post-show celebration the FOX team had for Johnson on that January night in 2020.

The group feted Jimmy at Dan Tana’s, a legendary Italian restaurant in West Hollywood.

The evening featured several rounds of song by the entire restaurant, and even a cameo from ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, who took a seat next to Johnson and later broke out his guitar as the evening progressed. 

A day that began with the secret arrival of David Baker ended with the FOX team providing a lift home for one of the bearded wonders of ZZ Top.

"That’s one of those moments that you’ll tell everybody about for the rest of your life," Menefee said.

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