 |
.jpg) |
Robert Wallace Johnson
Atlanta Braves
Infield
Born: March 4, 1936, Omaha, NE
Acquired: Sent from Pauls Valley (Sooner State) to the Detroit Tigers in an unknown transaction before 1955 season
Major League Teams: Kansas City Athletics 1960; Washington Senators 1961-1962; Baltimore Orioles 1963-1967; New York Mets 1967; Cincinnati Reds 1968; Atlanta Braves 1968; St. Louis Cardinals 1969; Oakland Athletics 1969-1970
Died: November 9, 2019, St. Paul, MN (age 83)
A super utility player and pinch-hitter throughout his 11 years in the big leagues, Bob Johnson wore the uniform of seven different teams, spending parts of five seasons with the Orioles. He was a member of the expansion Washington Senators, hitting the first home run in D.C. Stadium history (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) on opening day 1962. Johnson was dealt to Baltimore before the 1963 season, and he'd spend the next four-plus seasons as the Orioles, and one of the league's, top pinch-hitters. In 1964, he led the American League with 15 pinch hits, and he set a record (since broken) with six consecutive pinch hits. Johnson would win a World Series ring with the Orioles in 1966, although he didn't appear in that series. Johnson was on the move again in 1967, traded to the Mets, and he'd lead the National League with 13 pinch hits. He'd finish up his major league career in 1970, after playing for four teams over three seasons. In 874 games, Johnson batted .272 with 628 hits, 44 home runs and 230 RBIs.
A super utility player and pinch-hitter throughout his 11 years in the big leagues, Bob Johnson wore the uniform of seven different teams, spending parts of five seasons with the Orioles. He was a member of the expansion Washington Senators, hitting the first home run in D.C. Stadium history (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) on opening day 1962. Johnson was dealt to Baltimore before the 1963 season, and he'd spend the next four-plus seasons as the Orioles, and one of the league's, top pinch-hitters. In 1964, he led the American League with 15 pinch hits, and he set a record (since broken) with six consecutive pinch hits. Johnson would win a World Series ring with the Orioles in 1966, although he didn't appear in that series. Johnson was on the move again in 1967, traded to the Mets, and he'd lead the National League with 13 pinch hits. He'd finish up his major league career in 1970, after playing for four teams over three seasons. In 874 games, Johnson batted .272 with 628 hits, 44 home runs and 230 RBIs.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #247
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index -10
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 170th 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 / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index -10
That's an Orioles uniform and hat Johnson is wearing, and the palm tree in the background means the photo was likely taken at the same time as the photo used for his 1967 Topps card. On the back, Topps briefly mentions Johnson's strength as a pinch-hitter by way of his six consecutive pinch hits during the 1964 season.
Accuracy Index: Johnson didn't play for the Braves in 1969 (-2), and he's wearing an Orioles jersey (-5) with a blank hat (-3).
1969 Season
On March 25th, the Braves traded Johnson to the Cardinals for catcher Dave Adlesh (#341). In 19 games with the Cardinals, Johnson batted .207 (6 for 29) primarily as a pinch-hitter, although he did make four starts at third base. On July 12th, Johnson was dealt again, heading to the Athletics in exchange for outfielder Joe Nossek (#143). He'd come alive in Oakland, batting .343 (23 for 67) in 51 games. The Athletics pursued Johnson after the Cardinals had placed him on waivers at the suggestion of manager Hank Bauer (#124), who had played with Johnson back in 1960 when the Athletics were still in Kansas City.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #519
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1962-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2009 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BJ
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 45 in the Beckett online database as of 2/16/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
On March 25th, the Braves traded Johnson to the Cardinals for catcher Dave Adlesh (#341). In 19 games with the Cardinals, Johnson batted .207 (6 for 29) primarily as a pinch-hitter, although he did make four starts at third base. On July 12th, Johnson was dealt again, heading to the Athletics in exchange for outfielder Joe Nossek (#143). He'd come alive in Oakland, batting .343 (23 for 67) in 51 games. The Athletics pursued Johnson after the Cardinals had placed him on waivers at the suggestion of manager Hank Bauer (#124), who had played with Johnson back in 1960 when the Athletics were still in Kansas City.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #519
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1962-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2009 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BJ
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 45 in the Beckett online database as of 2/16/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#260 Reggie Jackson - Oakland Athletics / #262 Mike Kekich - New York Yankees
No comments:
Post a Comment