Ernest Thorwald Johnson Sr. (June 16, 1924 – August 12, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between and . He played the majority of his career with the

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 ...

and remained with the team when they became the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

in . Johnson was a member of the world champion 1957 Milwaukee Braves. He played his final season with the Baltimore Orioles. After his playing career, he became a longtime television color commentator on the TBS television network. In 2001, Johnson was inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame. He is the father of

Ernie Johnson Jr. Ernest Thorwald Johnson Jr. (born August 7, 1956) is an American sportscaster for Turner Sports. Johnson is currently the television voice and a studio host for Major League Baseball on TBS, hosts ''Inside the NBA'' for TNT, and NBA TV and co ...

Baseball career

After serving three years in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

, Johnson made his major league debut in relief on April 28, 1950, against the

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 ...

at Shibe Park. His first big league win was also in relief, coming against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

on June 30, 1950, at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

. Johnson led Western League pitchers with a .750 winning percentage while playing for the Denver Bears in 1949. He spent part of 1950 in the Eastern League and all of 1951 in 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 ...

before returning to the major leagues for good in 1952. He started 10 games for Boston in 1952 and then appeared almost exclusively in relief thereafter. He led American Association pitchers with a .789 winning percentage and an ERA of 2.62 while playing for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

in 1951. From 1953 to 1957, the first five years that the Braves were in Milwaukee, Johnson made 175 relief appearances, an average of 35 per season. Playing for the

1957 World Series The 1957 World Series featured the defending champion New York Yankees of the American League playing against the Milwaukee Braves of the National League. After finishing just one game behind the N.L. Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, the Brav ...

Champion

Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

, Johnson had a 7–3 record and four saves in 30 games. In three World Series appearances against the New York Yankees that October he gave up only one

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

and two hits and one walk in seven

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 ...

s, but it happened to be a game-winning home run by

Hank Bauer Henry Albert Bauer (July 31, 1922 – February 9, 2007) was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees (–) and Kansas City Athletics (–); he batted and threw right-handed. He served as ...

in the seventh inning of Game 6. In nine seasons, Johnson had a losing record only once (1955) and had an overall winning percentage of .635. Career totals include a record of 40–23 in 273 games, 19 games started, three complete games, one shutout, 119 games finished, 19 saves, and an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

of 3.77.

Broadcasting career

Following his playing days Johnson was a longtime color commentator and play-by-play broadcaster on Braves radio and television, working from

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. He became an icon in Atlanta after the team moved there in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, and in the 1980s gained national exposure through his work with Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren on "Superstation" TBS. He was elected to the Braves' Hall of Fame on August 24, 2001. His son,

, worked with him on SportSouth telecasts from

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. The broadcast booth at Atlanta's

Truist Park Truist Park (originally SunTrust Park) is a baseball stadium in the Atlanta metropolitan area, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Atlanta in the unincorporated community of Cumberland, in Cobb County, Georgia. Opened in 2 ...

bears his name. In 2014, Johnson was inducted into the

Vermont Sports Hall of Fame The Vermont Sports Hall of Fame is an athletics hall of fame in the U.S. state of Vermont. Above all, induction "is for accomplishments in sports and recreation that generate a great source of pride to the state." Launched as a project in 2011, t ...

Death

Johnson died on August 12, 2011, after a long illness.

References

*1955 Baseball Register published by The Sporting News

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Ernie 1924 births 2011 deaths Atlanta Braves announcers Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Vermont Boston Braves players Denver Bears players Hartford Bees players Hartford Chiefs players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Braves players Pawtucket Slaters players People from Brattleboro, Vermont Wichita Braves players Radio personalities from Atlanta United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II