Don Johnson (second baseman)

Donald Spore Johnson (December 7, 1911 – April 6, 2000), nicknamed "Pep," was a Major League Baseball second baseman for the Chicago Cubs from 1943 to 1948. A native of Chicago, Illinois, he attended Oregon State University before beginning his professional baseball career.

Johnson's best seasons were during World War II. In 1944, a season in which he had a career-high 71 runs batted in, he was selected for the All-Star Game. In 1945, he was an important part of the last Cubs team to win a pennant, hitting a career-high .302 and scoring 94 runs, tenth in the league. He was also selected for the unofficial “All-Star Game” that was organized by the Associated Press after the official game was canceled.

To date, Johnson is the last Cub to come to bat in a World Series game. He grounded into a force out to end the 1945 World Series defeat to the Detroit Tigers.

Career totals for 511 games include 528 hits, 8 home runs, 175 runs batted in, 219 runs scored, a .273 batting average, and an on-base percentage of .315.

His father was former major league shortstop Ernie Johnson.

Trivia

• Johnson led the National League with 22 sacrifice hits in 1945.
• His nickname was "Pep."

See also

• List of second generation MLB players

References

• Baseball Reference
• Retrosheet