Roy Johnson (October 1, 1895 – January 10, 1986) was an American right-handed pitcher and longtime

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 ...

in Major League Baseball. He also was the interim manager of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

for one game in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

. He was nicknamed "Hardrock" as a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

manager because his teams played in a tough, uncompromising way.

Early life and career

Johnson was born in Madill, Oklahoma. He entered pro baseball in 1915, and, in his only big league season, the war-shortened

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

campaign, he compiled a 1–5 win–loss mark ( .167) and a 3.42 earned run average in ten

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 ...

and 50

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

. He returned to the minor leagues as a pitcher thereafter and became a manager with Bisbee of the Class D Arizona–Texas League in 1929. In

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

, Johnson was promoted to a coaching position with the Cubs by manager Charlie Grimm. He was associated with the Cubs for the remainder of his career as a coach (1935–39; 1944–53), minor league pilot, and scout. The Cubs won three National League pennants (, and ) during Johnson's 15 total years as a coach. On May 3, 1944, with the Cubs having lost nine of their first ten National League games, he served as interim manager for one game, between Jimmie Wilson and Grimm's second term; Chicago lost to 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 ...

, 10–4, their tenth defeat in a row. Johnson died at age 90 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

References

*J.G. Taylor Spink, ed., ''The Baseball Register.'' St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1949. *''The Baseball Encyclopedia'', Macmillan Books, 10th edition.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Roy 1895 births 1986 deaths Baseball players from Oklahoma Bisbee Bees players Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs managers Chicago Cubs scouts Danville Veterans players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball pitchers McAlester Miners players Minor league baseball managers Oklahoma City Indians players People from Madill, Oklahoma Philadelphia Athletics players Terrell Terrors players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players