Johnny Joe Lewis (August 10, 1939 – July 29, 2018) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and front-office executive. An

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 ...

, he appeared in 266

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

Major League Baseball 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), ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

from to . He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, and was listed as weighing and in height. He was born in

Greenville, Alabama Greenville is a city and the county seat of Butler County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,374. Greenville is known as the Camellia City, wherein originated the movement to change the official Alabama state flow ...

. Lewis was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, but his career record lists no games played for a Detroit

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

; his first pro season, 1959, was spent with three Class D clubs in the Cardinals' organization. In 1960, he led the Class C Northern League in

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, and was named an All-Star; the following year, he was promoted all the way to Double-A, and made the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

All-Star team as well. Lewis was an early-season member of the 1964 Cardinals, making his debut on April 14 against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. But he was sent back to Triple-A in June after playing in 40 games; he was recalled when the minor-league season ended but did not appear in a game during the Cardinals' thrilling, late-season stretch drive that brought them the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

pennant and

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

title. On December 7, 1964, he was included in a four-player transaction to the Mets, for whom he would play 226 games over three seasons. As a Met, Lewis is probably best known for breaking up a

Jim Maloney James William Maloney (born June 2, 1940) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Cincinnati Reds and California Angels (1971). One of the hardest-throwing pitchers of the 1960s, Maloney boasted a fastball ...

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in the 11th

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

with a game-winning homer. In that June 14, 1965, contest at Crosley Field, Maloney threw ten no-hit innings, until Lewis' homer in the 11th broke the skein. Two batters after Lewis,

Roy McMillan Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise t ...

reached Maloney for a

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. Maloney ended up with a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

, two-

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

defeat, 1–0, fanning 18 New York hitters. The Mets' veteran pitcher

Frank Lary Frank Strong Lary (April 10, 1930 – December 13, 2017) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (–), New York Mets (1964, ), Milwaukee Braves (1964), and Chicago White Sox (1965). He led the American League with 21 win ...

and reliever

Larry Bearnarth Lawrence Donald Bearnarth (September 11, 1941 – December 31, 1999) was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets (1963–66) and Milwaukee Brewers (1971). Bearnarth batted and threw right-handed and was listed ...

combined for the shutout, allowing seven hits. Lewis was nicknamed "The Gunner" with the Mets for his ability to throw out runners; he played most of his games in right field (175) and center field (57) during his

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), ...

tenure. Lewis' professional playing career ended in 1968 after ten seasons. He rejoined the Cardinals in 1969 and became the club's administrative coordinator of player development and scouting.Stahl, John, ''Johnny Lewis,''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

biography project He returned to the field as a coach for the Cardinals (1973–76, 1984–89) at the big-league level—the Redbirds' first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

coach—and managed their Rookie League affiliate, the

Calgary Cardinals The Calgary Cardinals were a minor league baseball team located in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta, in 1977 and 1978. The team was a member of the Pioneer League, playing at the Rookie League level, and affiliated with the St. Louis Card ...

, in 1977 and 1978. He also spent many years as a St. Louis scout. During his major league playing career, Lewis collected 174 hits, with 24 doubles, six triples and 22 home runs,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.227 with 74 career RBI. Defensively, he had 20 outfield assists. Johnny Lewis died July 29, 2018, in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

, at age 78.

References

External links

Johnny Lewis
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Johnny 1939 births 2018 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Atlanta Crackers players Baseball coaches from Alabama Baseball players from Alabama Estrellas Orientales (VPBL) players Florida Instructional League Cardinals players Hobbs Cardinals players Jacksonville Suns players Keokuk Cardinals players Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Minor league baseball managers New York Mets players People from Greenville, Alabama San Diego Padres (minor league) players St. Louis Cardinals coaches St. Louis Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals scouts Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Winnipeg Goldeyes players Wytheville Cardinals players

References

Further reading

External links