William F. Johnson (September 28, 1861 – July 17, 1942) was an American

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), ...

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 played all or parts of five seasons in the majors. Nicknamed "Lefty" and "Sleepy Bill", Johnson made his debut with the Philadelphia Keystones of the

Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...

in , playing just one game in left field and going 0-for-4. He did not play in the majors again until , when he played in 11 games for the

Indianapolis Hoosiers Indianapolis Hoosiers was the name of three major league and at least three minor league baseball clubs based in Indianapolis. * Indianapolis Hoosiers (American Association), which played in 1884 * Indianapolis Hoosiers (National League), which pla ...

. He played all 11 games in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

, batting just .190. He was one of 19 different players to appear in right field that season for the Hoosiers. Once again, Johnson spent two seasons out of the majors, returning in for the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. After batting .295 in 24 games that season, he would be one of the Orioles' primary outfielders in , playing at least 24 games at all three positions while batting .271 with 79 RBI. However, after the Orioles moved to the National League in , Johnson got off to a slow start. He went just 2-for-15 in his first four games and was let go, ending his major league career.

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1861 births 1942 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball outfielders Baltimore Orioles (AA) players Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Indianapolis Hoosiers (NL) players Philadelphia Keystones players Hartford Dark Blues (minor league) players Baseball players from New Jersey {{US-baseball-outfielder-1860s-stub