Silas Kenneth Johnson (October 5, 1906 – May 12, 1994) 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
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
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, a right-handed
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
who appeared in 492
Major League games pitched
In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...
over 17 seasons 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 ...
(1928–36),
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 ...
(1936–38),
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
(1940–43; 1946) and
Boston Braves (1946–47). He was born in
Danway, near
Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Riv ...
, and was listed as tall and .
Johnson led 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 ...
in losses in 1931 (19) and 1934 (22). He also led the National League in earned runs allowed (125) in 1934.
Missing the 1944–45 baseball seasons, Johnson served with the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
during World War II.
In 17 seasons Johnson had a 101–165 win–loss record, 492 games, 272 games started, 108 complete games, 13 shutouts, 115 games finished, 15 saves, 2,281 innings pitched, 2,510 hits allowed, 1,226 runs allowed, 1,036 earned runs allowed, 120 home runs allowed, 687 walks allowed, 840 strikeouts, 36 hit batsmen, 26 wild pitches, 9,903 batters faced, 3 balks and a 4.09 ERA.
Johnson remained in baseball for two seasons after his active career ended, serving as batting practice pitcher and then pitching coach of the Braves (1948–49); he was a member of Boston's
1948 National League champions. He died in
Sheridan, Illinois
Sheridan is a village in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village's population was 2,431, up from 2,137 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Sheridan is locate ...
at the age of 87.
References
External links
*
1906 births
1987 deaths
American people of Norwegian descent
Baseball players from Illinois
Boston Braves coaches
Boston Braves players
Cincinnati Reds players
Columbus Senators players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball pitching coaches
People from LaSalle County, Illinois
Philadelphia Phillies players
Rochester Red Wings players
Rock Island Islanders players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players
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