Ken Johnson (johnske02)

Kenneth Travis Johnson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 210 lb.
• School University of South Carolina
• High School Palm Beach High School
• Debut September 13, 1958
• Final Game April 18, 1970
• Born June 16, 1933 in West Palm Beach, FL USA
• Died November 21, 2015 in Pineville, LA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ken Johnson pitched two-thirds of an inning in Game 5 of the 1961 World Series for the Cincinnati Reds against the New York Yankees. He came on in the top of the 2nd, with one out, already being the Reds' third pitcher of the game, relieving Jim Maloney, who had relieved Joey Jay. Johnny Blanchard was on first base. Johnson got Elston Howard to line to third and Moose Skowron to fly out to center. The Reds lost the game, 13-5, and lost the series, 4 games to 1.

He is the only major league pitcher to lose a nine-inning complete game no-hitter. On April 23, 1964, while with the Houston Colt .45's he was beaten 1 - 0 by the Reds despite having thrown a no-hitter. After eight innings of no-hit ball, in the top of the 9th, Johnson faced his counterpart, Joe Nuxhall, who grounded out to third. Then Pete Rose reached second after Johnson made an errant throw to first on a bunt. After a sacrifice to the pitcher, Rose was 90 feet from home with two outs. Vada Pinson then sent a grounder to second baseman Nellie Fox who booted it, allowing the run to score. Johnson got the next batter to fly out, but the Colt .45's couldn't score in the last of the 9th, pegging him with the loss.

After his retirement, he was a coach for Louisiana College in Pineville, LA. He died there in 2015 at the age of 82 of a kidney infection; he had been bedridden with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

Notable Achievements

• 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (1965)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (1963-1967)

Further Reading

• Bruce Weber: "Ken Johnson, Only Loser of 9-Inning No-Hitter, Dies at 82", The New York Times, November 23, 2015. [1]

Related Sites

• Ken Johnson at the SABR Bio Project
• Retrosheet Boxscore of No-hitter