Oscar "Heavy" Johnson (1895–1960) was a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player in the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

. He played

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. Johnson was one of the Negro league's foremost power hitters in the 1920s, reportedly weighing 250 pounds, and known for hitting home runs. . Longtime

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

umpire

Jocko Conlan John Bertrand "Jocko" Conlan (December 6, 1899 – April 16, 1989) was an American baseball umpire who worked in the National League (NL) from 1941 to 1965. He had a brief career as an outfielder with the Chicago White Sox before entering umpirin ...

once said that Johnson "could hit a ball out of any park." Johnson was part of the all-black 25th Infantry Wreckers, a teammate of other future Negro leaguers including

Bullet Rogan Wilber Joe Rogan, also known as "Bullet Joe" (July 28, 1893 – March 4, 1967), was an American pitcher, outfielder, and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro baseball leagues from 1920 to 1938. Renowned as a two-way player who could ...

Lemuel Hawkins Lemuel Hawkins (October 2, 1895 – August 10, 1934) was an American first baseman in Negro league baseball. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs, Chicago Giants and Chicago American Giants from 1921 to 1928. He was 5'10" and weighed 185 poun ...

, and

Dobie Moore Walter "Dobie" Moore (February 8, 1896 - August 20, 1947) was an American shortstop and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues who played his entire career with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League. His career ended after only s ...

. He briefly played for the

St. Louis Giants The St. Louis Stars, originally the St. Louis Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently from as early as 1906 to 1919, and then joined the Negro National League (NNL) for the duration of their existence. After the 192 ...

in 1920 while on Army furlough, hitting .300 in three games,Seamheads.com Negro Leagues Database but did not join the Negro leagues until his discharge in 1922. In his rookie season with the Kansas City Monarchs, Johnson batted .406, and posted a .345 average in the Cuban winter league. Johnson won a retroactive

triple crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

in 1923 with a .406 batting average, 20 home runs and 120 RBI in 98 games.Peter Ventura and Patrick Rock (2004). Negro National League 1923 Yearbook. Ohiopyle: Replay Publishing He was the first player in Negro league history (1920-1948) to win two league batting titles (having led the Negro National League in 1922 and 1923 with a .406 batting average). Just eight more players would win at least two batting titles over the next two decades, and four of them matched Johnson in winning consecutive batting titles (of the nine, only Johnson and

Artie Wilson Arthur Lee Wilson (October 28, 1920October 31, 2010) was a professional baseball player. He was an all-star for the Birmingham Black Barons of Negro league baseball before playing part of one season in Major League Baseball for the New York Gia ...

are not currently inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame). Johnson was also the first member of the Monarchs to hit a home run at the new

Kansas City Municipal Stadium Kansas City Municipal Stadium was an American baseball and football stadium in the central United States, located in Kansas City, Missouri. It was located at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and E. 22nd Street. Municipal Stadium hosted both the mi ...

. Johnson was credited with more than 60 home runs against all opposition in 1924, and batted .296 in the

1924 Colored World Series The 1924 in baseball, 1924 Colored World Series was a best-of-nine match-up between the Negro National League (1920–31), Negro National League champion Kansas City Monarchs and the Eastern Colored League champion Hilldale Club, Hilldale. In a te ...

, which was won by the Monarchs. Johnson then moved to the

Baltimore Black Sox The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team active between 1913 and 1936, based in Baltimore, Maryland. Founding The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six ...

, where he posted averages of .345 and .337 in his 2 seasons with the club. In 1927, with the

Harrisburg Giants The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional Negro league baseball team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Originally formed in April 1890 by Colonel William "C.W." Strothers as an amateur team, they became semi-professional by 1894. They joined ...

, Johnson hit .316, teaming with John Beckwith and

Oscar Charleston Oscar McKinley Charleston (October 14, 1896 – October 5, 1954) was an American center fielder and manager in Negro league baseball. Over his 43-year baseball career, Charleston played or managed with more than a dozen teams, including the Home ...

. Johnson split the 1928 season between the Cleveland Tigers and the

Memphis Red Sox The Memphis Red Sox were an American Negro league baseball team that was active from 1920 to 1959. Originally named the Barber College Baseball Club, the team was initially owned and operated by Arthur P. Martin, a local Memphis barber. In the la ...

, posting a .315 average overall. Former pitcher Bill "Plunk" Drake said that Johnson was once sleeping on the bench when he was awoken and told to pinch-hit; he grabbed a fungo bat and hit a home run. Despite Johnson's weight, he was described as a "remarkably fast runner for his bulk." He was also described as temperamental and moody, one of the "nasty boys". Johnson finished his career in 1933 with a .337 lifetime batting average. In 2012, he was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame along with several other Negro League players.

References

External links

an
Seamheads

Heavy Johnson
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Oscar 1895 births 1960 deaths Baltimore Black Sox players Harrisburg Giants players Kansas City Monarchs players Memphis Red Sox players St. Louis Giants players Leopardos de Santa Clara players Newark Browns players Louisville White Sox players People from Atchison, Kansas American expatriate baseball players in Cuba 20th-century African-American sportspeople United States Army soldiers