Hank Johnson

Henry Ward Johnson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11½", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Manatee County High School
• Debut April 17, 1925
• Final Game September 19, 1939
• Born May 21, 1906 in Bradenton, FL USA
• Died August 20, 1982 in Bradenton, FL USA

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Biographical Information

Hank Johnson pitched 12 seasons in the big leagues, more than half of it with the great New York Yankees during the time of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He went 14-9 in 1928, 14-11 in 1930, and 13-8 in 1931.

Hank was born and died in Bradenton, FL and began his minor league career playing two seasons (1923-1924) with the Florida State League team in Bradenton. His best years in the minors were 1927, when he went 18-10 for Milwaukee, 1937, when he was 11-7 for Montreal, 1939-1940 when he was 9-3 and then 12-5 for Birmingham, and 1941, when he was 13-12 for Birmingham and Memphis.

When he first came up to the majors, Johnson was the youngest player on the 1925 Yankees. He pitched in 24 games but then spent virtually all of 1926 and all of 1927 in the minors, missing a chance to play in the World Series.

From 1933 to 1935 he was with the Boston Red Sox. With the 1933 Red Sox, his 8-6 record was accomplished on a team that went 63-86. In 1934 and 1935, as Lefty Grove and other pitchers joined the team, the team's win-loss record improved but Johnson's ERA got worse. He was then with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1937 and the Chicago Cubs in 1939.

He finished in the minors in 1943 with Memphis.

Related Sites

• Hank Johnson at the SABR Bio Project