Ken Johnson ( Canadian football ) Ken Johnson ( born January 5 , 1951 ) was an all - star quarterback in the Canadian Football League . Johnson was a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder , where he played from 1971 to 1973 and earned a degree in marketing . His career record as a starter for the Buffs was 18 wins and 5 losses . He led the Buffaloes to road wins over LSU and Ohio State in 1971 ( and a # 3 national ranking ) and a home win against Oklahoma in 1972 . He began his professional career in 1974 as a back - up quarterback for the World Football League ' s Portland Storm . In June , 1977 , Johnson was signed as a free agent by the National Football League ' s Buffalo Bills . Though he was on the active roster for 14 games , he saw no action with the Bills and was released on August 22 , 1978 . A month later , Johnson signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League . Seeing limited action in 1978 , Johnson earned the Stampeders ' starting job in 1979 . Appearing in all 16 regular season games , Johnson completed 56 . 4 % of his passes ( 176 of 312 ) for 2344 yards , 19 touchdowns , and 8 interceptions as he led the Stampeders to a 12 - 4 record and a CFL playoff berth . After falling one win short of the Grey Cup game in 1979 , Johnson followed up with another solid season in 1980 setting a career high in touchdown passes ( 22 ) while completing 56 . 0 % of his passes ( 218 of 389 ) for 3019 yards . The Stampeders finished 9 - 7 in 1980 and were eliminated in the first round of the CFL playoffs . The Stampeders slide would continue in 1981 , which likely led to Johnson being traded after 12 games to the Montreal Alouettes on October 11 , 1981 . Overall , he would appear in 15 games that season , completing a career high 59 . 3 % of his passes ( 254 of 428 ) for 3364 yards , 18 touchdowns , and 13 interceptions . Johnson would not see much action with the reborn Montreal franchise , Montreal Concordes , in 1982 . He appeared in only 2 games before being traded to the Toronto Argonauts for linebacker Duncan MacKinlay on August 4 , 1982 . Eight days later , the Argonauts traded Johnson back to Montreal who immediately placed him on their injured list for the remainder of the season . Granted free agency on January 15 , 1983 , Johnson returned to the U . S . when he signed with the USFL ' s Denver Gold five days later . Though starting the season as a backup , Johnson would officially take over the starting job in Week 3 on a snowy Soldier Field in Chicago . Facing bitter cold , 20 mph winds , and George Allen ' s veteran - laden Chicago Blitz squad , Johnson would throw only 6 passes but led a 70 yard long game winning drive late in the 4th quarter . Johnson dove into the endzone on 4th down with only 22 seconds remaining to cap off the drive and seal the Gold ' s win ( Gold 16 , Blitz 13 ) . Johnson would remain the primary starter until an ankle injury ended his season during a Week 11 loss to the Boston Breakers . Johnson finished the season completing 48 . 8 % of his passes ( 121 of 248 ) for 1115 yards , 6 touchdowns , and 12 interceptions . The Gold released Johnson on January 9 , 1984 , and was awarded on waivers to the Memphis Showboats on January 16 , 1984 . Johnson saw limited action as a backup for Walter Lewis during the 1984 season and retired prior to the 1985 season .