 |
.jpg) |
Alexander Johnson
Cincinnati Reds
Outfield
Born: December 7, 1942, Helena, AR
Signed: Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent, July 11, 1961
Major League Teams: Philadelphia Phillies 1964-1965; St. Louis Cardinals 1966-1967; Cincinnati Reds 1968-1969; California Angels 1970-1971; Cleveland Indians 1972; Texas Rangers 1973-1974; New York Yankees 1974-1975; Detroit Tigers 1976
Died: February 28, 2015, Detroit, MI (age 72)
Alex Johnson put together a 13-year big league career, finding his most success in 1970 as a member of the Angels when he was an American League All-Star and led the league in hitting with a .329 average. He won the title on the final day of the season, getting two hits, and passing Carl Yastrzemski (#130), .3289 to .3286. He was also the National League Comeback Player of the Year in 1968 after hitting .312 for the Reds.
His mercurial demeanor saw him move frequently from team to team, and he ultimately made eight different stops beginning with the Phillies in 1964 and ending with the Tigers in 1976. Johnson battled with media members, managers, coaches and teammates throughout his career and was often criticized for failing to hustle or for his surliness. At some point, MLB Players Association leader Marvin Miller intervened and it was determined Johnson did in fact suffer from a form of mental illness. He played in 1977 with the Mexico City Reds before retiring from baseball and settling in his hometown of Detroit. There, he ran his father's truck repair and leasing company until succumbing to prostate cancer in 2015.
Alex Johnson put together a 13-year big league career, finding his most success in 1970 as a member of the Angels when he was an American League All-Star and led the league in hitting with a .329 average. He won the title on the final day of the season, getting two hits, and passing Carl Yastrzemski (#130), .3289 to .3286. He was also the National League Comeback Player of the Year in 1968 after hitting .312 for the Reds.
His mercurial demeanor saw him move frequently from team to team, and he ultimately made eight different stops beginning with the Phillies in 1964 and ending with the Tigers in 1976. Johnson battled with media members, managers, coaches and teammates throughout his career and was often criticized for failing to hustle or for his surliness. At some point, MLB Players Association leader Marvin Miller intervened and it was determined Johnson did in fact suffer from a form of mental illness. He played in 1977 with the Mexico City Reds before retiring from baseball and settling in his hometown of Detroit. There, he ran his father's truck repair and leasing company until succumbing to prostate cancer in 2015.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #259
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index -5
1969 Season
On the heels of his Comeback Player of the Year season, Johnson had another great season with the Reds. He was again their regular left fielder, appearing in 139 games and batting .315 with 17 home runs and 88 RBIs - both career highs. The Reds were on the rise, but unfortunately Johnson wouldn't be around to be a part of what was coming. On November 25th, he was traded to the Angels with Chico Ruiz (#469) for Pedro Borbon, Vern Geishert and Jim McGlothlin (#386).
Phillies Career
Johnson made his debut with the Phillies at the age of 21. He was viewed as the left fielder of the future when he arrived, but his time with the club lasted just two seasons. Johnson appeared in 43 games for the doomed 1964 Phillies, hitting .303 with four home runs and 18 RBIs. He platooned with Wes Covington in left field, seeing action against left-handed starting pitchers. Johnson and Covington shared the same platoon in 1965 with Johnson appearing in 97 games and hitting over .300 throughout most of the season. His average dropped below .300 to .294 over the final weekend of play.
In 140 total games with the Phillies, Johnson hit .296 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs. Following the 1965 season, Johnson was part of a six-player trade with the Cardinals that saw the Phils ship Johnson, Pat Corrales (#382) and Art Mahaffey to St. Louis in exchange for Dick Groat, Bob Uecker and Bill White (#588). For the Cardinals, Johnson was the key to the deal.
Along with Phillies cards in the 1965 and 1966 Topps sets, Johnson was also included in the regional 1964 Philadelphia Bulletin Phillies Album set. His 1966 Topps card is available both with and without a statement indicating he had been traded to the Cardinals.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #352
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1965-1975, 1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1977 Topps #637
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 69 in the Beckett online database as of 3/8/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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 182nd 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 a little over $2.
The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index -5
Johnson is wearing a Phillies uniform in this photo, meaning it was taken in 1964 or 1965. The back of the card explains how Johnson came to the Reds, and highlights his sensational 1968 season.
Accuracy Index: I'm docking Johnson's card only 5 points for the Phillies uniform, and his hat is tilted just enough to save him from losing 3 points for a blank hat.
1969 Season
On the heels of his Comeback Player of the Year season, Johnson had another great season with the Reds. He was again their regular left fielder, appearing in 139 games and batting .315 with 17 home runs and 88 RBIs - both career highs. The Reds were on the rise, but unfortunately Johnson wouldn't be around to be a part of what was coming. On November 25th, he was traded to the Angels with Chico Ruiz (#469) for Pedro Borbon, Vern Geishert and Jim McGlothlin (#386).
Johnson made his debut with the Phillies at the age of 21. He was viewed as the left fielder of the future when he arrived, but his time with the club lasted just two seasons. Johnson appeared in 43 games for the doomed 1964 Phillies, hitting .303 with four home runs and 18 RBIs. He platooned with Wes Covington in left field, seeing action against left-handed starting pitchers. Johnson and Covington shared the same platoon in 1965 with Johnson appearing in 97 games and hitting over .300 throughout most of the season. His average dropped below .300 to .294 over the final weekend of play.
In 140 total games with the Phillies, Johnson hit .296 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs. Following the 1965 season, Johnson was part of a six-player trade with the Cardinals that saw the Phils ship Johnson, Pat Corrales (#382) and Art Mahaffey to St. Louis in exchange for Dick Groat, Bob Uecker and Bill White (#588). For the Cardinals, Johnson was the key to the deal.
Along with Phillies cards in the 1965 and 1966 Topps sets, Johnson was also included in the regional 1964 Philadelphia Bulletin Phillies Album set. His 1966 Topps card is available both with and without a statement indicating he had been traded to the Cardinals.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #352
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1965-1975, 1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1977 Topps #637
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 69 in the Beckett online database as of 3/8/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment