Roy Johnson (pitcher)

Roy Johnson
Roy Johnson
	Pitcher
	Born: October 1, 1895; Madill, Oklahoma
	Died: January 10, 1986 (aged 90); Scottsdale, Arizona
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
	August 7, 1918, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
	September 2, 1918, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	1–5
Earned run average	3.42
Strikeouts	12
Teams
	As player Philadelphia Athletics (1918); As manager Chicago Cubs (1944) (one game);

Roy Johnson (October 1, 1895 – January 10, 1986) was an American right-handed pitcher and longtime coach in Major League Baseball. He also was the interim manager of the Chicago Cubs for one game in 1944. He was nicknamed "Hardrock" as a minor league manager because his teams played in a tough, uncompromising way.

Born in Madill, Oklahoma, Johnson had a mediocre pitching record. In his only big league season, the war-shortened 1918 campaign, he compiled a 1–5 win–loss mark (.167) and a 3.42 earned run average in ten games and 50 innings pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics. He returned to the minor leagues as a pitcher thereafter and became a manager with Bisbee of the Class D Arizona–Texas League in 1929.

In 1935, Johnson was promoted to a coaching position with the Cubs by manager Charlie Grimm. He was associated with the Cubs for the remainder of his career as a coach (1935–39; 1944–53), minor league pilot, and scout. In early May 1944 he served as interim manager of the Cubs, between Jimmie Wilson and Grimm's second term, for one game, which Chicago lost. The Cubs, however, won three National League pennants (1935, 1938 and 1945) during his 15 years as a coach.

Johnson died at age 90 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

References

J.G. Taylor Spink, ed., The Baseball Register. St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1949.
The Baseball Encyclopedia, Macmillan Books, 10th edition.

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)