What years did Ben Johnson play?

Ben Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1960.

Was Ben Johnson a pitcher?

Yes. Ben Johnson pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 15 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Ben Johnson hit?

Ben Johnson hit 0 career home runs.

What teams did Ben Johnson play for?

Ben Johnson played for one team, the Chicago Cubs (1959–1960).

What were Ben Johnson's career stats?

In 21 games, Ben Johnson went 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA, 15 strikeouts, 46.0 innings pitched, and 1 saves.

What position did Ben Johnson play?

Ben Johnson played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Ben Johnson and how much did he weigh?

Ben Johnson was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 190 pounds.

What was Ben Johnson's career ERA?

Ben Johnson finished with a 3.91 career ERA, going 2-1 with 15 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Ben Johnson have?

Ben Johnson recorded 15 career strikeouts.

Is Ben Johnson in the Hall of Fame?

No. Ben Johnson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ben Johnson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1959-1960)

Ben Johnson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1960 for the Chicago Cubs, a span of 2 seasons. Across 21 career appearances, he went 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA and 15 strikeouts.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 24, 2026

W–L 2–1

ERA 3.91

WHIP 1.54

SO 15

Pitcher PIV -235.9

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 190 lb
Born: 5/16/1931 in Greenwood, SC, USA
Died: 5/8/2020 in Greenwood, SC, USA
MLB Debut: 1959-09-06
Last Game: 1960-06-12

Full name: Benjamin Franklin Johnson

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Career Pitching Statistics

Ben Johnson — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
2	1	21	2	0	0	1	46.0	56	20	4	15	15	3.91	-235.9

Career ERA 3.91 vs. league average 3.86 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ben Johnson — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1959	CHN	NL	0	0	4	2	0	16.2	17	4	4	6	2.16	3.90 (+45%)	242.9
1960	CHN	NL	2	1	17	0	1	29.1	39	16	11	9	4.91	3.82 (-29%)	-478.9
Career · 2 seasons			2	1	21	2	1	46.0	56	20	15	15	3.91	—	-236

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Ben Johnson — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
21	6	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ben Johnson — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	RBI	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1959	CHN	NL	4	4	1	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1960	CHN	NL	17	2	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 2 seasons			21	6	1	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (42 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Ben Johnson — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	10	3	0	0	0	1	.000
Away	11	3	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Ben Johnson — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	10	23.2	36	11	9	9	4.18
Away	11	22.1	20	9	6	6	3.63

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ben Johnson — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	SO
1960-06-12	CHC	PHI	W	0	0
1960-06-08	CHC	PIT	L	0	0
1960-06-04	CHC	LAD	L	0	0
1960-06-03	CHC	LAD	W	0	0
1960-05-30	CHC	SFG	L	0	0
1960-05-23	CHC	CIN	W	0	0
1960-05-21	CHC	ATL	L	0	0
1960-05-17	CHC	PIT	L	0	0
1960-05-12	CHC	CIN	L	0	0
1960-05-03	CHC	PHI	L	1	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Ben Johnson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1960-06-12	CHC	PHI	—	2.1	3	2	2	0	1	0
1960-06-08	CHC	PIT	—	0.1	1	1	0	1	0	0
1960-06-04	CHC	LAD	—	1.0	3	1	1	0	0	0
1960-06-03	CHC	LAD	—	0.1	2	2	2	0	0	1
1960-05-30	CHC	SFG	—	3.0	2	1	1	2	0	0
1960-05-23	CHC	CIN	W	2.0	1	1	1	1	1	1
1960-05-21	CHC	ATL	—	3.2	4	2	2	1	1	1
1960-05-17	CHC	PIT	—	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	0
1960-05-12	CHC	CIN	—	1.0	5	6	3	2	0	0
1960-05-03	CHC	PHI	—	3.0	2	0	0	0	3	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ben Johnson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	21	2	4	9	0	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ben Johnson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1959	CHN	P	4	2	2	1	0	0
1960	CHN	P	17	0	2	8	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ben Johnson — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	21

Ben Johnson: the record in brief

The profile opens with Ben Johnson's first major league game on September 6, 1959; the last one listed came on June 12, 1960. All of the seasons listed were played for the Chicago Cubs. Born on May 16, 1931, in Greenwood, SC, USA, Johnson is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 6 feet, 2 inches and 190 pounds. The bio records the death on May 8, 2020, in Greenwood, SC, USA. The given name on file is Benjamin Franklin Johnson.

The pitching table credits Johnson with a 2-1 record and a 3.91 ERA in 21 games. Also on Johnson's record: 15 strikeouts. Johnson's 3.91 ERA was close to the 3.86 league figure for those seasons. 1960 was Johnson's sharpest full season, a 4.91 ERA against the league's 3.82.

The game-log section draws on 42 games of Retrosheet box scores for Johnson.

The position breakdown shows 21 games, all at pitcher. The fielding table credits Johnson with 4 putouts, 9 assists and 0 errors on the mound.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ben Johnson

What years did Ben Johnson play?: Ben Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1960.
Was Ben Johnson a pitcher?: Yes. Ben Johnson pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 15 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ben Johnson hit?: Ben Johnson hit 0 career home runs.
What teams did Ben Johnson play for?: Ben Johnson played for one team, the Chicago Cubs (1959–1960).
What were Ben Johnson's career stats?: In 21 games, Ben Johnson went 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA, 15 strikeouts, 46.0 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
What position did Ben Johnson play?: Ben Johnson played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Ben Johnson and how much did he weigh?: Ben Johnson was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 190 pounds.
What was Ben Johnson's career ERA?: Ben Johnson finished with a 3.91 career ERA, going 2-1 with 15 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Ben Johnson have?: Ben Johnson recorded 15 career strikeouts.
Is Ben Johnson in the Hall of Fame?: No. Ben Johnson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.