Don Johnson (second baseman)

Donald Spore Johnson (December 7, 1911 – April 6, 2000), nicknamed "Pep", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman for the Chicago Cubs from 1943 to 1948. A native of Chicago, he attended Oregon State University before beginning his professional baseball career.

Don Johnson
Second baseman
Born: (1911-12-07)December 7, 1911
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died: April 6, 2000(2000-04-06) (aged 88)
Laguna Beach, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 26, 1943, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
May 16, 1948, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Batting average.273
Home runs8
Runs batted in175
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Johnson's best seasons were during World War II. In 1944, a season in which he had a career-high 71 runs batted in, he was selected for the All-Star Game. In 1945, he was an important part of the last Cubs team until 2016 to win a pennant, hitting a career-high .302 and scoring 94 runs, tenth in the league. He was also selected for the unofficial "All-Star Game" that was organized by the Associated Press after the official game was canceled.

Until Dexter Fowler led off in the 2016 World Series, Johnson was the last Cub to come to bat in a World Series game. He grounded into a force out to end the 1945 World Series defeat to the Detroit Tigers.

Career totals for 511 games include 528 hits, 8 home runs, 175 runs batted in, 219 runs scored, a .273 batting average, and an on-base percentage of .315.

His father was former major league shortstop Ernie Johnson.

See also

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References

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  • "1944 All Star Game". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved May 15, 2006.
  • Career statistics from MLB, or Baseball Reference
  • Retrosheet