George Howard "Chief" Johnson (March 20, 1886 – June 11, 1922) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1913 to 1915, for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

of the National League and Kansas City Packers of the Federal League. He surrendered the first home run in the history of Wrigley Field, to Art Wilson on April 23, 1914. Johnson was of

Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iow ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Irish ancestry. He identified as Ho-Chunk and was depicted in the media as a Native American. A 1913 feature by ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...

'' reported his full name as George Washington Murphy Johnson. Johnson was shot to death in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 11, 1922, at the age of 36. He had been in town to host a medicine show and had gotten into an argument during a dice game. The shooter, despite having confessed to police and being identified by witnesses, was eventually acquitted of first degree murder.

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* 1886 births 1922 deaths Baseball players from Nebraska Cincinnati Reds players Deaths by firearm in Iowa Ho-Chunk people Kansas City Packers players Lincoln Railsplitters players Major League Baseball pitchers American murder victims Nebraska people of French descent People murdered in Iowa San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Sioux City Packers players St. Joseph Drummers players Vernon Tigers players 1922 murders in the United States 20th-century Native Americans {{US-baseball-pitcher-1880s-stub