Don Johnson

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1943-1948)

Don Johnson was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1943 to 1948 for the Chicago Cubs, a span of 6 seasons. In 511 career games, he hit .273 with 528 hits, 8 home runs, and 175 RBI. Don Johnson was a 2-time All-Star.

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

AVG .273
HR 8
RBI 175
H 528
OPS .653
PIV -1,463
Position
Second Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 170 lb
Born
12/7/1911 in Chicago, IL, USA
Died
4/6/2000 in Laguna Beach, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1943-09-26
Last Game
1948-05-16
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: Donald Spore Johnson

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Career Batting Statistics

Don Johnson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
511 1,935 219 528 89 6 8 175 26 112 171 .273 .315 .337 .653 -1,463

Career AVG .273 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .315 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .337 vs. league average .362 across their career seasons — 6.8% below league average.

Career OPS .653 vs. league average .693 across their career seasons — 5.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Don Johnson — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1943 CHN NL 10 42 5 8 2 0 0 1 0 2 4 .190 — — — — 0.0
1944 CHN NL 154 608 50 169 37 1 2 71 8 28 48 .278 .261 (+6%) .325 (-5%) .357 (-2%) .683 (-3%) -385.6
1945 CHN NL 138 557 94 168 23 2 2 58 9 32 34 .302 .260 (+16%) .328 (+4%) .354 (+2%) .683 (+3%) 279.6
1946 CHN NL 83 314 37 76 10 1 1 19 6 26 39 .242 .256 (-6%) .328 (-7%) .358 (-19%) .687 (-13%) -613.2
1947 CHN NL 120 402 33 104 17 2 3 26 2 24 45 .259 .262 (-1%) .336 (-10%) .376 (-11%) .712 (-11%) -743.9
1948 CHN NL 6 12 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .250 — — — — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 511 1,935 219 528 89 6 8 175 26 112 171 .273 — — — — -1,463

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Don Johnson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 29 4 5 2 1 0 0 0 8 .172

Playoff Batting by Year

Don Johnson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1945 WS CHN 7 29 4 5 2 1 0 0 0 8 .172

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (511 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Don Johnson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home257941106252781.268
Away254994113276196.278

Last 10 Games — Batting

Don Johnson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1948-05-16 CHCCINL 100000000
1948-05-15 CHCCINL 201000000
1948-05-01 CHCSTLL 301000000
1948-04-30 CHCPITL 501000001
1948-04-28 CHCCINL 100000000
1948-04-20 CHCPITL 000000000
1947-09-27 CHCSTLL 000000010
1947-09-26 CHCSTLL 100000000
1947-09-23 CHCCINW 512200001
1947-09-22 CHCSTLW 511000002

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Don Johnson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 495 0 1175 1457 94 267
3B 8 0 6 13 2 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Don Johnson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1943 CHN 2B 10 0 32 35 3 8
1944 CHN 2B 154 0 385 462 47 85
1945 CHN 2B 138 0 309 440 19 74
1946 CHN 2B 83 0 192 228 8 34
1947 CHN 2B 108 0 255 291 17 65
1947 CHN 3B 6 0 5 11 0 4
1948 CHN 2B 2 0 2 1 0 1
1948 CHN 3B 2 0 1 2 2 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Don Johnson — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Second Base 495
Third Base 8

College History

Don Johnson — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Oregon State University Corvallis OR 1932

Award Voting History

Don Johnson — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1945 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 7.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Don Johnson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Gene Paulette
    .269 avg, 2 HR
  2. 96
    Bill Hunnefield
    .272 avg, 9 HR
  3. 95
    Wally Gilbert
    .269 avg, 7 HR
  4. 94
    Tom Carey
    .275 avg, 2 HR
  5. 92
    Broderick Perkins
    .271 avg, 8 HR
  6. 91
    John Kerr
    .266 avg, 6 HR

Don Johnson: the record in brief

Don Johnson's major league career runs from a debut on September 26, 1943 to a final game on May 16, 1948. Every season row on the page belongs to the Chicago Cubs, from 1943 through 1948. Listed as a second baseman, Johnson batted and threw right-handed. Johnson is listed at 6 feet, 0 inches and 170 pounds. The birth record reads December 7, 1911, in Chicago, IL, USA. The bio records the death on April 6, 2000, in Laguna Beach, CA, USA. The given name on file is Donald Spore Johnson.

Johnson collected 528 hits in 1,935 at bats across 511 games, good for a .273 batting average; the totals also include 8 home runs, 175 runs batted in, and 26 stolen bases. Johnson's career OPS of .653 combines a .315 on-base mark with .337 slugging. Johnson hit .273 while the league hit .260 over the same span, a figure close to average. No season topped the 169 hits of 1944. Johnson drove in a season-high 71 runs in 1944. In 1945, a season of regular play, Johnson hit .302 while the league hit .260.

Frequently Asked Questions about Don Johnson

What years did Don Johnson play?
Don Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1943 to 1948.
Was Don Johnson a pitcher?
No. Don Johnson was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did Don Johnson hit?
Don Johnson hit 8 career home runs with 528 hits.
What was Don Johnson's career batting average?
Don Johnson batted .273 over his career, with 528 hits in 1,935 at bats.
How many RBI did Don Johnson have?
Don Johnson drove in 175 runs in his career.
Is Don Johnson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Don Johnson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.