1955 Bowman: #101 Don Johnson - Baltimore Orioles (Error)

Donald Roy Johnson / Baltimore Orioles / Pitcher
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'3" Weight: 200
Born: November 12, 1926, Portland, OR
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
As a Player: New York Yankees 1947, 1950; St. Louis Browns 1950-51; Washington Nationals 1951-52; Chicago White Sox 1954; Baltimore Orioles 1955; San Francisco Giants 1958
Died: February 10, 2015, Portland, OR (88)

His career interrupted for two seasons due to military service during World War II, Don Johnson pitched professionally for 15 seasons, with parts of seven seasons in the big leagues. He'd pitch briefly for the Yankees before a seven-player deal sent him to the Browns in June 1950. Johnson was frequently on the move, earning playing time in St. Louis, Washington and Toronto before finding a steady home for the 1954 season in Chicago with the White Sox. Johnson appeared in 46 games for the White Sox, going 8-7 with a 3.13 ERA in 144 innings pitched. He struck out a career-best 68 while serving mainly in a relief role, but he did have three shutouts to go along with his seven saves. Dealt to the Orioles following the season, Johnson couldn't repeat the success he had had with the White Sox. He'd make a brief major league comeback in 1958, pitching in 17 games in relief for the Giants.

Johnson would pitch until the 1960 season before retiring. He was 27-38 for his career, with a 4.78 ERA in 198 games and 631 innings pitched.

1955 Season / Baltimore Orioles

Johnson, along with Matt Batts (#161), Don Ferrarese and Fred Marsh, was traded to the Orioles for Jim Brideweser (#151), Bob Chakales (#148) and Clint Courtney (#34), on December 6, 1954. With the Orioles, he was 2-4 with a 5.82 ERA in 31 games, including five starts. He recorded one save for the club. From his SABR biography, written by Nicholas Diunte:

While Johnson was pleased with his performance [in 1954], White Sox general manager Frank Lane was looking for help behind the plate. Lane shipped Johnson to the Baltimore Orioles in a seven-player deal that brought catcher Clint Courtney to Chicago.

Johnson was unhappy about the move. "I didn’t want to go to Baltimore; I wanted to stay in Chicago. I had good friends on the White Sox, guys like Nellie Fox (#33) and Virgil Trucks. (#26)" Johnson’s memories of Baltimore are dark. "I got in trouble while I was over there. I got into a scrap at a hotel bar. You have to stay on the straight-and-narrow if you play big-league baseball." He also faced suspension by the team for missing a game against the Kansas City Athletics after discovering he was being sued for an accident he was involved in during the off-season.

Building the Set / Card #4

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ / Original 17 from the Magic Box

Last fully retold with the Al Dark (#2) post, this Johnson card was one of the 17 cards from the 1955 Bowman set contained within the Magic Box. I had no idea the player on the front was not the person whose biography appeared on the back - see below.

The Card / 1955 Bowman & Topps / Bio on Back / Orioles Team Set

Pay no attention to the man shown on the front of this card, as this is the error version of Johnson's card, with the Braves' Ernie Johnson (#157) pictured. Bob Lemke covered the Johnson error in a wonderful article on the 1955 Bowman set back in the October 1985 issue of Baseball Cards magazine. I'm going to collect each of the six variations/errors available as part of my version of a 1955 Bowman master set. Johnson is also in the 1955 Topps set, and Topps was able to use the correct photo for that card. The bio on the back presents nothing but the facts, dryly recounting Johnson's 1954 season and his career travels so far.