The Ring of Honor at Arizona Stadium will add three more names during the Wildcats’ game against No. 12 USC on Oct. 29 for homecoming.
Arizona will add UA legends Vance Johnson, Ortege Jenkins and “Bear Down” creator John “Button” Salmon to the Ring of Honor, the program announced Thursday.
The UA said in a press release that all three inductees met the Ring of Honor qualifications for bringing “recognition, distinction and honor to the sports program.”
“Arizona athletics regularly reviews and evaluates the criteria and candidacies for all departmental awards, inductions and recognitions based on new information, updated resources and reflections on historical context,” the statement said. “A heritage committee, made up of current and former longtime athletics department staff, conducts these thorough reviews and makes recommendations based on all available information and considerations.”
University of Arizona receiver Vance Johnson against Oregon in 1983.
Johnson was a two-sport athlete at the UA from 1981-84. Along with earning All-Pac-10 honors as a running back in 1982, Johnson was an NCAA national champion long jumper for the Wildcats. Despite standing out as a rusher at Arizona, Johnson played in three Super Bowls for the Denver Broncos as a wide receiver.
Jenkins currently ranks 10th all-time in program history with 5,424 passing yards and 42 touchdowns. Jenkins and fellow Ring of Honor teammate Keith Smith split time at quarterback for the Wildcats and led Arizona to a 12-1 season and a win in the Holiday Bowl in 1998, marking the best season in program history. Jenkins’ most memorable play was his game-winning rushing touchdown in the road win over No. 20 Washington — also known as “The Leap by the Lake.”
Salmon was a UA student body president and the team’s quarterback in 1924 and ’25. Before dying in an automobile accident in 1926, Salmon told UA athletic director J.F. “Pop” McKale, “tell them to bear down.” The phrase Bear Down since then has served as the school’s rally slogan.
John "Button" Salmon. Photo courtesy University of Arizona.
The Oct. 29 game begins at 4 p.m. and will air on Pac-12 Networks.
