Lou Johnson: Difference between revisions

Lou Johnson
Lou Johnson
	Outfielder
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
	April 17, 1960, for the Chicago Cubs
Last appearance
	September 6, 1969, for the California Angels
Career statistics
Batting average	.258
Home runs	48
Runs batted in	232
Teams
	Milwaukee Braves (1962); The minor leagues (1963 - 64); Los Angeles Dodgers (1965 - 67); Chicago Cubs (1968); Cleveland Indians (1968); California Angels (1969);
Career highlights and awards
	1965 World Series; 1966 World Series;

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 06:18, 21 August 2010

Louis Brown Johnson (born September 22, 1934 in Lexington, Kentucky), nicknamed "Sweet Lou" and "Slick", is a former [[Major League Baseball outfielder. From 1962 through 1969, Johnson played for the 1962 Milwaukee Braves, was back in the minor league for '63 and '64, then played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1965 - 67), 1968 Chicago Cubs, 1968 Cleveland Indians, and the 1969 California Angels. Johnson both batted and threw right-handed.

A star in basketball as well as baseball in high school, Johnson dreamt of playing basketball at the University of Kentucky under the legendary coach Adolph Rupp. However, at the time, members of the Southeastern Conference (of which Kentucky is an affiliate) weren't recruiting black athletes. Some colleges didn't even allow black students to enroll. [1]

Johnson was signed up by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1953. After moving around from team to team in the minor leagues for about a decade. Then, he played in 61 games for the 1962 Milwaukee Braves. However, after that, the Braves traded Johnson to the Detroit Tigers system, which sent him back to the minor leagues for the 1963 and '64 seasons, and then traded him to the L.A. Dodgers of the pitcher Larry Sherry.

Then Johnson finally made it into the major leagues for a stretch beginning in 1965 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, when a broken ankle in early May sidelined Tommy Davis, their regular left fielder, for the remainder of the season.^[1] Johnson filled in for Davis, playing in 130 games for the Dodgers that season. In that season, Johnson scored the only run in Sandy Koufax's perfect game victory when he walked, went to second base on a sacrifice bunt, stolen [third base, and then scored on a throwing error by the Chicago Cubs catcher. The Dodgers made it to the 1965 World Series, and in this series, Johnson hit two home runs, including the game-winning one in the decisive seventh game.

^[2]

In his approximately eight-year-long Major League career, Johnson posted a .258 average with 48 home runs and 232 RBI in 677 games.

Today, Sweet Lou is an integral part of the Dodgers’ Community Relations efforts and a member of the Dodgers Speakers’ Bureau, while remaining active with various charities in Southern California and nationally, as well. Johnson serves as a member of the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro League players through financial and medical difficulties.

References

^ Murray, Jim (27 August 1965). "Lou Johnson keeps Dodgers in pennant race". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 7. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnslo01.shtml

External links

Baseball Library - profile
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference

[1] Murray, Jim (27 August 1965). "Lou Johnson keeps Dodgers in pennant race". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 7. Retrieved 4 June 2010.

[2] ttp://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnslo01.shtml

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 | finaldate =September 6
 | finalyear =1969
-| finalteam =[[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim|California Angels]]
+| finalteam =[[California Angels]]
 | stat1label = [[Batting average]]
 | stat1value =.258
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 | stat3value =232
 | teams =<nowiki></nowiki>
-*[[Chicago Cubs]] (1960)
-*[[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim|Los Angeles Angels]] (1961)
 *[[Milwaukee Braves]] (1962)
+* The minor leagues (1963 - 64)
 *[[Los Angeles Dodgers]] (1965 - 67)
 *[[Chicago Cubs]] (1968)
 *[[Cleveland Indians]] (1968)
-*[[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim|California Angels]] (1969)
+*[[California Angels]] (1969)
 | highlights =<nowiki></nowiki>
-*[[1965 World Series]] Championship
+*[[1965 World Series]]
-*Participated in [[1966 World Series]]
+*[[1966 World Series]]
  }}
 '''Louis Brown Johnson''' (born September 22, 1934 in [[Lexington, Kentucky]]), nicknamed "''Sweet Lou''" and "''Slick''", is a former [[Major League Baseball [[outfielder]]. From 1962 through 1969, Johnson played for the [[1962 Milwaukee Braves season|1962 Milwaukee Braves]], was back in the minor league for '63 and '64, then played for the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] (1965 - 67), [[1968 Chicago Cubs season|1968 Chicago Cubs]], [[1968 Cleveland Indians season|1968 Cleveland Indians]], and the [[1969 California Angels season|1969 California Angels]]. Johnson both batted and threw right-handed.
@@ Line 38: / Line 37: @@
 A star in [[basketball]] as well as baseball in high school, Johnson dreamt of playing basketball at the [[University of Kentucky]] under the legendary coach [[Adolph Rupp]]. However, at the time, members of the [[Southeastern Conference]] (of which Kentucky is an affiliate) weren't recruiting black athletes. Some colleges didn't even allow black students to enroll. [http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/rupp.html#evidencepro]
-Johnson was signed up by the [[New York Yankees]] as an amateur [[free agent]] in [[1953 in baseball|1953]]. After moving around from team to team in the [[minor league baseball|minor leagues]] for a decade, Johnson finally made it into the major leagues for a stretch beginning in [[1965 in baseball|1965]] with the Los Angeles Dodgers, after a broken ankle in early May sidelined their regular left fielder, [[Tommy Davis]], for the remainder of the season.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hFAaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rxAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7247,4480835&dq=lou-johnson+baseball+tommy-davis&hl=en|title=Lou Johnson keeps Dodgers in pennant race|last=Murray|first=Jim|date=27 August 1965|work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|Milwaukee Sentinel]]|page=7|accessdate=4 June 2010}}</ref>
+Johnson was signed up by the [[New York Yankees]] as an amateur [[free agent]] in [[1953 in baseball|1953]]. After moving around from team to team in the [[minor league baseball|minor leagues]] for about a decade. Then, he played in 61 games for the [[1962 Milwaukee Braves season|1962 Milwaukee Braves]]. However, after that, the Braves traded Johnson to the [[Detroit Tigers]] system, which sent him back to the minor leagues for the 1963 and '64 seasons, and then traded him to the L.A. Dodgers of the pitcher [[Larry Sherry]].
-In the 1965 season, Johnson scored the only run in [[Sandy Koufax]]'s [[perfect game]] when he [[base on balls|walked]], went to [[second base]] on a [[sacrifice bunt]], [[stolen base|stole]] [[third base]], and then [[run (baseball)|scored]] on a throwing [[error]] by the [[Chicago Cubs]] [[catcher]], [[Chris Krug]]. In the [[1965 World Series]], Johnson hit two [[home run]]s, including the game winning one in the decisive  seventh game.
+Then Johnson finally made it into the major leagues for a stretch beginning in {{By|1965}} with the Los Angeles Dodgers, when a broken ankle in early May sidelined [[Tommy Davis]], their regular left fielder, for the remainder of the season.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hFAaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rxAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7247,4480835&dq=lou-johnson+baseball+tommy-davis&hl=en|title=Lou Johnson keeps Dodgers in pennant race|last=Murray|first=Jim|date=27 August 1965|work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|Milwaukee Sentinel]]|page=7|accessdate=4 June 2010}}</ref> Johnson filled in for Davis, playing in 130 games for the Dodgers that season. In that season, Johnson scored the only run in [[Sandy Koufax]]'s [[perfect game]] victory when he [[base on balls|walked]], went to second base on a sacrifice bunt, stolen [third base, and then scored on a throwing [[error]] by the [[Chicago Cubs]] [[catcher]].
+The Dodgers made it to the [[1965 World Series]], and in this series, Johnson hit two [[home run]]s, including the game-winning one in the decisive seventh game.
+<ref>http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnslo01.shtml</ref>
 In his approximately eight-year-long Major League career, Johnson posted a .258 [[batting average|average]] with 48 home runs and 232 [[run batted in|RBI]] in 677 [[games played|games]].

v t e Los Angeles Dodgers 1965 World Series champions
3 Willie Davis 5 Jim Lefebvre (NL ROY) 6 Ron Fairly 8 John Roseboro 9 Wally Moon 10 Jeff Torborg 11 John Kennedy 15 Bob Miller 16 Ron Perranoski 19 Jim Gilliam 21 Jim Brewer 22 Johnny Podres 23 Claude Osteen 28 Wes Parker 30 Maury Wills 31 Don LeJohn 32 Sandy Koufax (CYA & World Series MVP) 35 John Purdin 37 Mike Kekich 39 Howie Reed 41 Lou Johnson 43 Willie Crawford 44 Dick Tracewski 45 Nick Willhite 53 Don Drysdale
Manager 24 Walter Alston Coaches 18 Preston Gómez 19 Jim Gilliam 33 Danny Ozark 36 Lefty Phillips
Regular season