Bob Johnson
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1933-1945)
Bob Johnson was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1945 for the Philadelphia Athletics, the Washington Senators, and the Boston Red Sox, a span of 13 seasons. In 1,863 career games, he hit .296 with 2,051 hits, 288 home runs, and 1,283 RBI. Bob Johnson was a 8-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 37,613.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 180 lb
- Died
- 7/6/1982 in Tacoma, WA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1933-04-12
- Last Game
- 1945-09-23
- Awards
- 8× All-Star
Full name: Robert Lee Johnson
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,863 | 6,920 | 1,239 | 2,051 | 396 | 95 | 288 | 1,283 | 96 | 1,075 | 851 | .296 | .393 | .506 | .899 | 37,613 |
Career AVG .296 vs. league average .269 across their career seasons — +10.2% above league average.
Career OBP .393 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — +17.1% above league average.
Career SLG .506 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — +33.5% above league average.
Career OPS .899 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — +25.8% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | PHA | AL | 142 | 535 | 103 | 155 | 44 | 4 | 21 | 93 | 8 | 85 | 74 | .290 | .270 (+7%) | .329 (+17%) | .377 (+34%) | .707 (+26%) | 2927.0 |
| 1934 | PHA | AL | 141 | 547 | 111 | 168 | 26 | 6 | 34 | 92 | 12 | 58 | 60 | .307 | .278 (+10%) | .340 (+10%) | .392 (+43%) | .733 (+28%) | 3029.3 |
| 1935 | PHA | AL | 147 | 582 | 103 | 174 | 29 | 5 | 28 | 109 | 2 | 78 | 76 | .299 | .279 (+7%) | .342 (+12%) | .399 (+28%) | .742 (+20%) | 2584.6 |
| 1936 | PHA | AL | 153 | 566 | 91 | 165 | 29 | 14 | 25 | 121 | 6 | 88 | 71 | .292 | .283 (+3%) | .349 (+11%) | .404 (+30%) | .753 (+21%) | 2607.6 |
| 1937 | PHA | AL | 138 | 477 | 91 | 146 | 32 | 6 | 25 | 108 | 9 | 98 | 65 | .306 | .276 (+11%) | .342 (+24%) | .398 (+40%) | .740 (+32%) | 3493.6 |
| 1938 | PHA | AL | 152 | 563 | 114 | 176 | 27 | 9 | 30 | 113 | 9 | 87 | 73 | .313 | .272 (+15%) | .341 (+19%) | .392 (+41%) | .734 (+31%) | 3721.1 |
| 1939 | PHA | AL | 150 | 544 | 115 | 184 | 30 | 9 | 23 | 114 | 15 | 99 | 59 | .338 | .274 (+23%) | .342 (+29%) | .393 (+41%) | .735 (+35%) | 4311.1 |
| 1940 | PHA | AL | 138 | 512 | 93 | 137 | 25 | 4 | 31 | 103 | 8 | 83 | 64 | .268 | .267 (avg) | .335 (+12%) | .387 (+32%) | .722 (+23%) | 2470.5 |
| 1941 | PHA | AL | 149 | 552 | 98 | 152 | 30 | 8 | 22 | 107 | 6 | 95 | 75 | .275 | .262 (+5%) | .332 (+16%) | .373 (+28%) | .705 (+22%) | 2665.4 |
| 1942 | PHA | AL | 149 | 550 | 78 | 160 | 35 | 7 | 13 | 80 | 3 | 82 | 61 | .291 | .253 (+15%) | .323 (+19%) | .349 (+29%) | .672 (+24%) | 2687.9 |
| 1943 | WS1 | AL | 117 | 438 | 65 | 116 | 22 | 8 | 7 | 63 | 11 | 64 | 50 | .265 | .255 (+3%) | .324 (+12%) | .346 (+15%) | .671 (+13%) | 1186.2 |
| 1944 | BOS | AL | 144 | 525 | 106 | 170 | 40 | 8 | 17 | 106 | 2 | 95 | 67 | .324 | .261 (+24%) | .325 (+32%) | .357 (+48%) | .683 (+40%) | 4439.2 |
| 1945 | BOS | AL | 143 | 529 | 71 | 148 | 27 | 7 | 12 | 74 | 5 | 63 | 56 | .280 | .260 (+7%) | .328 (+9%) | .354 (+20%) | .683 (+15%) | 1489.1 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 1,863 | 6,920 | 1,239 | 2,051 | 396 | 95 | 288 | 1,283 | 96 | 1,075 | 851 | .296 | — | — | — | — | 37,613 | ||
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 (1863 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 909 | 3288 | 614 | 995 | 168 | 641 | .303 |
| Away | 954 | 3632 | 623 | 1057 | 120 | 642 | .291 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945-09-23 | BOS | NYY | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1945-09-23 | BOS | NYY | W | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1945-09-22 | BOS | NYY | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-09-20 | BOS | PHA | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-09-19 | BOS | PHA | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945-09-19 | BOS | PHA | W | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 1945-09-16 | BOS | CHW | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-09-14 | BOS | SLA | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945-09-13 | BOS | SLA | L | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1945-09-12 | BOS | SLA | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 39 | 0 | 328 | 27 | 5 | 39 |
| 2B | 28 | 0 | 58 | 76 | 9 | 23 |
| 3B | 20 | 0 | 27 | 41 | 8 | 5 |
| OF | 1769 | 0 | 4003 | 208 | 141 | 35 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | PHA | OF | 142 | 0 | 298 | 16 | 16 | 3 |
| 1934 | PHA | OF | 139 | 0 | 304 | 17 | 11 | 3 |
| 1935 | PHA | OF | 147 | 0 | 337 | 13 | 20 | 4 |
| 1936 | PHA | 1B | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1936 | PHA | 2B | 22 | 0 | 51 | 69 | 7 | 20 |
| 1936 | PHA | OF | 131 | 0 | 289 | 13 | 12 | 3 |
| 1937 | PHA | 2B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937 | PHA | OF | 133 | 0 | 313 | 14 | 8 | 3 |
| 1938 | PHA | 2B | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| 1938 | PHA | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938 | PHA | OF | 150 | 0 | 400 | 21 | 16 | 3 |
| 1939 | PHA | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | PHA | OF | 150 | 0 | 369 | 15 | 13 | 3 |
| 1940 | PHA | OF | 136 | 0 | 310 | 15 | 13 | 4 |
| 1941 | PHA | 1B | 28 | 0 | 254 | 18 | 5 | 29 |
| 1941 | PHA | OF | 122 | 0 | 287 | 17 | 3 | 0 |
| 1942 | PHA | OF | 149 | 0 | 318 | 18 | 13 | 1 |
| 1943 | WS1 | 1B | 10 | 0 | 69 | 9 | 0 | 8 |
| 1943 | WS1 | 3B | 19 | 0 | 27 | 41 | 8 | 5 |
| 1943 | WS1 | OF | 88 | 0 | 212 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| 1944 | BOS | OF | 142 | 0 | 270 | 23 | 7 | 3 |
| 1945 | BOS | OF | 140 | 0 | 296 | 15 | 8 | 4 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 39 |
| Second Base | 28 |
| Third Base | 20 |
| Left Field | 1586 |
| Center Field | 167 |
| Right Field | 27 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | LF |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 23th | 6.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1944 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 51.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1943 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 116.0 | 336 | 1 |
| 1939 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 8th | 52.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1938 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 17th | 13.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1933 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 15th | 5.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Bob Johnson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Bob Johnson
See Bob Johnson in Another Era
Bob Johnson: the record in brief
The profile opens with Bob Johnson's first major league game on April 12, 1933; the last one listed came on September 23, 1945. Club by club, the record runs the Philadelphia Athletics (1933 through 1942), the Washington Senators (1943), and the Boston Red Sox (1944 through 1945). Born on November 26, 1905, in Pryor, OK, USA, Johnson is listed as an outfielder and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds. The bio records the death on July 6, 1982, in Tacoma, WA, USA. On the record, Bob Johnson was born Robert Lee Johnson.
Johnson finished with 2,051 hits from 6,920 at bats in 1,863 games, which works out to .296; the totals also include 288 homers, 1,283 RBI, and 96 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .393 and .506 give Johnson a career OPS of .899. Over the seasons Johnson played, league hitters batted .269; the .296 career figure is 10.2% above that. 1934 was Johnson's biggest home run year, with 34.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Johnson
- What years did Bob Johnson play?
- Bob Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1945.
- Was Bob Johnson a pitcher?
- No. Bob Johnson was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Bob Johnson hit?
- Bob Johnson hit 288 career home runs with 2051 hits.
- What was Bob Johnson's career batting average?
- Bob Johnson batted .296 over his career, with 2,051 hits in 6,920 at bats.
- How many RBI did Bob Johnson have?
- Bob Johnson drove in 1,283 runs in his career.
- Is Bob Johnson in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bob Johnson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.