#253 Jerry Johnson - Philadelphia Phillies

Jerry Michael Johnson
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  200
Born:  December 3, 1943, Miami, FL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1968-1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1970; San Francisco Giants 1970-1972; Cleveland Indians 1973; Houston Astros 1974; San Diego Padres 1975-1976; Toronto Blue Jays 1977

Died:  November 15, 2021, Canyon Lake, CA (age 77)

Drafted as a third baseman by the Mets, Jerry Johnson's defensive struggles led to a switch to the pitching mound early in his career.  He spent six seasons working his way up through the Mets' minor league system, and got his chance in the majors after the Phillies selected him in the 1967 minor league draft.  Johnson would spend two seasons with the Phillies before being sent to the Cardinals as part of the historic Curt Flood (#540) deal.  He'd spend a short time in St. Louis before another trade in May 1970 sent him to the Giants, his home for the the next three seasons.  

From the 1969 Phillies Yearbook

Johnson's best seasons came as a reliever with the Giants, and he pitched in a career-high 67 games in 1971, saving 18 games and finishing sixth in that year's Cy Young Award voting.  He'd find steady work in other team's bullpens throughout the 1970s, culminating with 43 appearances in 1977 for the expansion Blue Jays.  Johnson had a lifetime record of 48-51, with a 4.31 ERA in 365 games pitched.  He earned 41 career saves.

Building the Set / Card #243
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March last year, over a year ago at this point, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 166th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me $1.25.

The Card / Phillies Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This is Johnson's rookie card and I always thought the card looked as if it could have been painted.  It's quite the contrast to the recent card of Ron Kline (#243)!  The back of the card explains how Johnson found himself on the Phillies and also provides the helpful fun fact that he's an iron worker in the offseason.

Accuracy Index:  Johnson's steely gaze earns a +5.

Phillies Career / 1969 Season
Johnson was drafted from the Mets on November 28, 1967 in the minor league draft, spending the first part of the 1968 season with the San Diego Padres, then the Phillies' top farm team.  He was brought up to the big club in mid-July, ultimately appearing in 16 games in 1968, making 11 starts.  The Phillies broke camp in 1969 with Johnson as their fourth starter behind Chris Short (#395), Rick Wise (#188) and Woodie Fryman (#51).  Used as a swing man for most of the season, Johnson appeared in 33 games total, making 21 starts.  He'd throw four complete games, including two shutouts, and finish the season with a 6-13 record to go with a 4.28 ERA.

On October 7th, he was packaged with Dick Allen (#350) and Cookie Rojas (#507) in a trade with the Cardinals in exchange for Byron Browne, Flood, Joe Hoerner (#522) and Tim McCarver (#475), with Flood famously refusing to report to the Phillies.  In 49 games with the Phillies over two seasons, Johnson was 10-17 with a 3.91 ERA.

1970 Topps #162

1971 Topps #412

1972 Topps #36

1975 Topps #218

1978 Topps #169

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #253
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1969-1973, 1975-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #440
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  32 in the Beckett online database as of 2/14/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
The Phillies Room

#252 Chuck Cottier - California Angels / #254 Joe Schultz MG - Seattle Pilots