Paul Johnson

Paul Oscar Johnson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 160 lb.

• Debut September 13, 1920
• Final Game October 2, 1921
• Born September 2, 1896 in North Grosvenor Dale, CT USA
• Died February 14, 1973 in McAllen, TX USA

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Biographical Information

Paul Johnson was a World War I veteran. He had two cups of coffee with the Philadelphia Athletics and continued in the minor leagues until 1931, giving him some 17 years in OB. He lived in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas for 50 years and was a retired oil field gauger. He died at age 76 from a cerebral hemorrhage and is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Mission TX.

Johnson's second year in the majors is interesting. With the 1921 Philadelphia Athletics who lost 100 games, Johnson hit .315 and slugged .416 in 127 at-bats. Those stats are extremely close to the stats of Whitey Witt, an outfielder one year older than Johnson who had the highest batting average among regulars on the team, also hitting .315. Witt's slugging percentage was .417, one point higher than Johnson's. Johnson also had exactly the same range factor in the field as Witt, 1.97, but Witt was the right fielder while Johnson was mostly playing center field where Frank Welch was the regular. Witt was 25, Johnson was 24, and Welch was 23 years old.

Witt played 10 years in the majors, Welch played nine years in the majors, and Johnson played only the one year in the majors while spending many years in the minors.

Related Sites

Find-A-Grave Memorial for Paul Johnson