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 ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

, 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 hav ...

(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 The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

(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.

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* 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 {{US-baseball-pitcher-1900s-stub