(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
IN MEMORIAM
...Lou Johnson...
(1934 - 2020) |
 Former Major League-outfielder Lou Johnson passed away
Nederlands
 LOS ANGELES, California (USA) -
Outfielder 'Sweet' Lou Johnson, who played for five different clubs in the Major League and was traded several times, passed away on Wednesday (September 30) at age 86.
Johnson worked for some 40 years in the organization of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Louis Brown Johnson was born on September 22, 1934 in Lexington, Kentucky.
In High School, he played both baseball and basketball.
He liked to play basketball at the University of Kentucky, but in those years, black athletes were not recruited by universities that were members of the Southeasten Conference.
As a baseball-player, he was signed by New York Yankees in 1953.
In his 8-year Major League-career, Lou Johnson played for Chicago Cubs (1960, 1968), Los Angeles Angels/California Angels (1961, 1969), Los Angeles Dodgers (1965-1967), Milwaukee Braves (1962) and Cleveland Indians (1968).
But he played in eight different organizations in his 17-year professional career.
In the Minor League, he played for teams that were affiliated to New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers.
Johnson made his professional debut in 1953 and played in two Minor League-seasons for New York, then another one for Pittsburgh Pirates.
In 1960, Johnson made his Major League-debut playing in 34 games for Chicago Cubs, then appeared in only one game for Los Angeles Angels in 1961.
During the 1962 season, the outfielder played in 61 games for Milwaukee Braves (the current Atlanta Braves).
It was with the Los Angeles Dodgers that Johnson became a regular player from 1965 on.
Lou Johnson came to Los Angeles in April 1964 from Detroit Tigers in what was the eighth trade in which he was involved.
He then initially played in Triple-A, as did in the start of the 1965 season.
He was then was called up in May to take over for leftfielder Tommy Davis, who had broken his ankle.
Johnson was 30 years old at that moment and had last played in the Major League in 1962.
Johnson got a good start with the Dodgers and became the regular leftfielder of the team.
He played in 130 games and batted .260, scored 57 runs and batted in 58.
After joining the Dodgers, Johnson got nicknamed 'Sweet Lou' for his infectious smile and always clapping his hands.
On September 9, 1965, Dodger-great Sandy Koufax threw a Perfect Game.
Los Angeles won that game with an 1-0 score and it was Johnson who scored the lone run and poduced the lone hit (a double) for his team.
In the fifth inning of that game, Johnson walked, advanced on a bunt, stole third base and scored when the throw from the catcher ended up in leftfield.
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...Lou Johnson homers for Los Angeles in the 1965 World Series... |
In the 1965 World Series, Johnson played in all seven games against Minnesota Twins.
He hit two doubles in Game 3 and homered in Game 4.
In Game 7, Johnson led off the fourth inning and then homered down the leftfield-line off of pitcher Jim Kaat to put Los Angeles ahead, 1-0.
Hereafter, Ron Fairly doubled and scored on a following single by Wes Parker.
Los Angeles won the game, 2-0 to become champion.
In 1966, Johnson was the rightfielder for Los Angeles with Tommy Davis back in leftfield.
Johnson then played in 152 games and batted .272.
Los Angeles Dodgers again played in the World Series that year against Baltimore Orioles, but then lost.
After the 1967 season, Johnson was traded to Chicago Cubs with whom he had made his MLB-debut in 1960.
He played in 62 games for Chicago, but in June 1968, he was traded to Cleveland Indians.
There, he played in 65 games in the remainder of the season.
In April 1969, he was traded again, this time to California Angels (which had become the new name of the LA Angels in September 1965).
He then played in 67 games and retired after the 1969 season.
In his eight Major League-seasons, Johnson played in 677 games.
He batted .258 (529-for-2.049) with 48 homeruns.
Johnson scored 244 runs and batted in 232.
After his career, Johnson worked for decades in the Dodgers Community Relations Department, giving many speeches about drug and alcohol abuse.
Overall, he worked for the Dodgers for 40 years.
Stan Kasten, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers, said:
,,Lou Johnson was such a positive inspiration at Dodger Stadium with our employees and our fans as well as throughout the community in the appearances he made on behalf of the organization.
Dodger fans will always remember his important home run in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series, when he was clapping his hands running around the bases''.
The webmaster of Grand Slam * Stats & News offers his condolences to the family of Lou Johnson and wishes them a lot of strength with this big loss.
(October 2)
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