Rippel: Former major-leaguer Bob Johnson dies at 83
From SABR member Joel Rippel at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on November 20, 2019:
A headline in the April 8, 1962, edition of the Minneapolis Sunday Tribune read, “Senators Count on Edina’s Johnson.”
The article, published the day before the 1962 major-league baseball season opener, mentioned that Bob Johnson, an infielder, was one of keys to the upcoming season for the Washington Senators.
The next day, the Senators opened the season against the Detroit Tigers in the first baseball game in the new District of Columbia Stadium (now called RFK Stadium).
Johnson, beginning his third season in the big leagues, provided the crowd of 44,383 — which included the president and vice president, Cabinet members and members of Congress — with the first highlights of the season.
Playing shortstop, Johnson singled in the second inning for the Senators’ first hit and then hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning for the first home run in the new stadium. Johnson finished the day with three hits as the Senators defeated the Tigers 4-1.
Read the full article here: http://www.startribune.com/former-major-league-baseball-player-bob-johnson-dies-at-83/565242932/
- Related link: Read our biography of Bob Johnson at the SABR BioProject
Originally published: November 25, 2019. Last Updated: November 25, 2019.