Darrell Johnson

Darrell Dean Johnson (August 25, 1928 — May 3, 2004) was an American Major League Baseball catcher, coach, manager and scout.

Playing career

Johnson was born in Horace, Nebraska, and made his Major League debut on April 20, 1952. Johnson, a catcher, played in six major league seasons between 1952 and 1962. He was listed as ft 6 in (1.85 m), 180 lb (82 kg), bats right, throws right.

Johnson graduated from Harvard, Nebraska, High School in 1944. He was signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent in 1949, and played for the Browns, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, who released him on June 12, 1962, ending his playing career. Johnson finished with a career batting average of .234. He appeared in the 1961 World Series for the Reds against the Yankees and had two singles in four at-bats.

Manager of Red Sox, Mariners and Rangers

Johnson had more success as a manager, leading three different teams during eight seasons. His biggest success was as manager of the Boston Red Sox from 1974 through 1976, when he compiled a record of 220-188 for a .539 percentage. He guided the Red Sox to a 95-65 .594 mark in 1975 and a first-place finish in the AL East. The Sox swept the Oakland A's in the playoffs, 3-0, then lost to the Cincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine" in the thrilling World Series, four games to three. But when the Sox slumped the following season, Johnson was fired by the middle of July.

Johnson served as the original manager of the Seattle Mariners from 1977 to 1980, and also managed the Texas Rangers in 1982. He finished with a record of 472-590 for a .444 career percentage as a manager.

Coach and scout

Johnson's playing career was interrupted by eleven months spent as an MLB coach. In August 1960, Johnson was released as a player and added to the coaching staff of Cardinals manager Solly Hemus, then reappointed for 1961. When the Redbirds fired Hemus on July 8, 1961, Johnson also was released. The following day, he signed a playing contract with the Phillies, and spent five weeks (catching in 21 games) in Philadelphia before finishing the year as one of the catchers with the Reds' National League champions. Johnson had two singles in four at bats for the Reds in the 1961 World Series against his old team, the Yankees, who won in five games. Cincinnati released Johnson only a few days into the 1962 season, and he signed with the Orioles as a backup catcher. Then, in June 1962, Johnson retired from the active ranks again and served out the year as Baltimore's bullpen coach.

He then became a minor league manager in the Baltimore system and won championships with the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League (1964) and Elmira Pioneers of the Double-A Eastern League (1966). After a year as a scout for the 1967 Yankees, he was named pitching coach of the defending AL champion Red Sox under Dick Williams in 1968–1969. After Williams' firing, Johnson was retained by the Red Sox as a scout in 1970, then managed Boston's Triple-A Louisville Colonels in 1971–1972. He became the first manager of the AAA version of the Pawtucket Red Sox, finishing 78-68—and winning the Governor's Cup, emblematic of the IL's playoff championship—in his only PawSox season in 1973. That championship earned him a promotion to the Red Sox managing job.

After his firing in Seattle in 1980, Johnson served as third-base coach on Don Zimmer's Ranger staff beginning in 1981, before taking over for Zimmer as manager on July 30, 1982. Ironically, six years earlier, the roles had been reversed when coach Zimmer had relieved Johnson of his managerial duties in Boston. Johnson then moved to the New York Mets as a Major League coach, minor league coordinator of instruction, and longtime scout.

He died from leukemia in Fairfield, California, at the age of 75.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Baseball-Reference.com - career managing record
• Darrell Johnson at Find-A-Grave
• New York Times Obituary