Bob Johnson (outfielder)
Bob Johnson | ||
---|---|---|
Hits 2,051 | | |
Home runs | 288 | |
Runs batted in | 1,283 | |
Teams | ||
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Career highlights and awards | ||
Robert Lee Johnson (November 26, 1905 – July 6, 1982), nicknamed "Indian Bob", was an American professional baseball player. He played as a left fielder in Major League Baseball for three American League teams from 1933 to 1945, primarily the Philadelphia Athletics. His elder brother Roy was a major league outfielder from 1929 to 1938.
Johnson was the fifth player to have nine consecutive seasons of 20 or more
Early years
Born in Pryor Creek, Oklahoma, Johnson grew up in Tacoma, Washington, and thereafter made the city his home. His nickname was derived from his lineage, which was one-quarter Cherokee. Due to the abundance of quality outfielders in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he did not reach the major leagues until 1933, when he was 27.
Major league career
Philadelphia Athletics
Johnson joined the Athletics in 1933, replacing Al Simmons, who had been traded to the Chicago White Sox. Philadelphia had won three straight pennants from 1929 to 1931, but after a second-place finish in 1932 owner-manager Connie Mack began gradually dealing away most of his star players in order to keep the club afloat financially during the Great Depression. As a rookie Johnson hit .290 with 20 home runs, 103 runs and 93 RBI, and was second in the AL with 44 doubles. But the team ended the season in third place; their 79–72 record was their last winning season until 1947, and they would occupy last place in six of Johnson's 10 seasons, along with two seventh-place finishes. Catcher Mickey Cochrane and pitcher Lefty Grove were traded in December 1933, speeding the team's decline.
Johnson took full advantage of playing in
After hitting .306 and .313 in 1937 and 1938, Johnson posted a career-high mark of .338 in
Washington Senators
In March 1943, after complaining that he was underappreciated, Johnson was traded at his request to the
Boston Red Sox
At the end of the 1943 season, Johnson's contract was purchased by the Boston Red Sox, a deal Washington owner Clark Griffith later described as his worst ever. At 38, Johnson had an excellent 1944 season for the Sox, collecting 106 RBI and 106 runs (both second in the league) in 144 games and leading the AL with a .431 on-base percentage. He hit for the cycle on July 6,[2][3] came in third in the batting race with a .324 average (behind Lou Boudreau, .327, and teammate Bobby Doerr, .325), lost the slugging title to Doerr by a fraction of a point, and was 10th in the Most Valuable Player Award voting. He was named to the All-Star team in both 1944 and 1945, although the 1945 All-Star game was not played due to World War II travel restrictions. With numerous players returning to the major leagues from military service, he retired at the end of the 1945 season after hitting .280 with 12 home runs and 74 RBI.
Statistics
Johnson compiled a .296 career batting average with 2,051 hits, 396 doubles, 95 triples and 96 stolen bases in 1,863 games. His 1,592 games in left field then put him behind only Goose Goslin (1,949) and Bobby Veach (1,671) in AL history. Many modern baseball fans are unfamiliar with Johnson, but he posted excellent totals in 13 years before quietly retiring.
Seasons | BA | G | AB | R | H | TB | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | OBP | SLG |
OPS | FLD% |
13 | .296 | 1863 | 6920 | 1239 | 2051 | 3501 | 396 | 95 | 288 | 1283 | 1075 | 851 | 96 | .393 | .506 | .899 | .967 |
While primarily a left fielder, Johnson also played 167 games in center field, 39 games at first base, 28 games at second base, 27 games in right field, and 20 games at third base. He was ejected only once in his career, in 1937 by umpire Charles Johnston, for arguing balls and strikes.[4]
Johnson spoiled no-hit games by getting the only hit for his club three times, one of them a homer off Yankee ace Lefty Gomez on June 30, 1937.[5]
Johnson is one of three players in major league history to drive in all his club's runs in a single game (minimum eight runs);
- On June 14, 1924, first baseman New York Giants runs in an 8–6 win over the Cincinnati Reds.[6]
- Johnson matched this one-man offensive on June 12, 1938, when the Athletics beat the St. Louis Browns 8–3, driving in all the runs with two home runs (one a grand slam, his second of the month) and a single.[7]
- The mark was surpassed on September 2, 1996, in a ten-inning game, when Mike Greenwell got all nine RBI in a Boston 9–8 victory over the Seattle Mariners.[8]
Johnson was the first of only two players (the other was Ichiro Suzuki) to make his major league debut after his 27th birthday, and still finish with over 2000 hits. [9]
Later years
After leaving the major leagues, Johnson spent five more seasons in the
Legacy
In 1964, Johnson was inducted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.[10] He was honored by the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in 1989.
Baseball author Bob Carroll commented on Johnson; "Indian Bob Johnson never had one of those super seasons that make everyone sit up and whistle. While phenoms came, collected their MVP trophies, and faded, he just kept plodding along hitting .300, with a couple dozen homers and a hundred ribbies year after year. Like a guy punching a time clock."[11]
See also
- List of lifetime home run leaders through history
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
- List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
References
- ^ "Bob Johnson Boxscore of 6-Hit Game at Retrosheet". retrosheet.org. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ Smith, Christopher (June 17, 2015). "List of the 20 Boston Red Sox players who have hit for the cycle starting with Brock Holt". masslive.com. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 13, Detroit Tigers 3". Retrosheet. July 6, 1944.
- ^ "Chicago White Sox 9, Philadelphia Athletics 3". Retrosheet. September 22, 1937.
- ^ "New York Yankees 5, Philadelphia Athletics 1". Retrosheet. June 30, 1937.
- ^ "New York Giants 8, Cincinnati Reds 6". Retrosheet. June 14, 1924.
- ^ "Philadelphia Athletics 8, St. Louis Browns 3 (1)". Retrosheet. June 12, 1938.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 9, Seattle Mariners 8". Retrosheet. September 2, 1996.
- ^ @EliasSports (March 21, 2019). "Ichiro Suzuki, who made his major-..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "1964 Inductees". washingtonsportshof.org. 27 December 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ "Bob Johnson Books". Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
Further reading
- Bob Johnson Outfielder MLB at Baseballbiography.com
- Obituary Archived 2017-11-17 at the Wayback Machine from The Deadball Era
- Frambes, Doug (August 8, 1982). "'Indian Bob' Johnson a star in spite of A's". Courier-Post. Camden, New Jersey – via newspapers.com.
- McGrath, Patrick J.; McGrath, Terrence K. (2002). Bright Star in a Shadowy Sky: The Story of Indian Bob Johnson. Pittsburgh: ISBN 0805951253.
- Nowlin, Bill. "Bob Johnson". SABR.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet