Jimmy Johnston
Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1911-1926)
Jimmy Johnston was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1911 to 1926 for 5 teams, including the Chicago White Sox, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,377 career games, he hit .294 with 1,493 hits, 22 home runs, and 410 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,785.
- 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
- Third Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 160 lb
- Died
- 2/14/1967 in Chattanooga, TN, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1911-05-03
- Last Game
- 1926-09-11
Full name: James Harle Johnston
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,377 | 5,070 | 754 | 1,493 | 185 | 75 | 22 | 410 | 169 | 391 | 247 | .294 | .347 | .374 | .721 | 2,785 |
Career AVG .294 vs. league average .272 across their career seasons — +8.4% above league average.
Career OBP .347 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .374 vs. league average .369 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .721 vs. league average .703 across their career seasons — near 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | CHA | AL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1914 | CHN | NL | 50 | 101 | 9 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 9 | .228 | .255 (-11%) | .322 (-18%) | .339 (-4%) | .661 (-11%) | -192.1 |
| 1916 | BRO | NL | 118 | 425 | 58 | 107 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 26 | 22 | 35 | 38 | .252 | .248 (+1%) | .314 (avg) | .326 (avg) | .640 (avg) | -24.3 |
| 1917 | BRO | NL | 103 | 330 | 33 | 89 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 16 | 23 | 28 | .270 | .248 (+8%) | .312 (+3%) | .323 (avg) | .635 (+1%) | 78.3 |
| 1918 | BRO | NL | 123 | 484 | 54 | 136 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 27 | 22 | 33 | 31 | .281 | .255 (+10%) | .318 (+3%) | .326 (+6%) | .645 (+5%) | 331.5 |
| 1919 | BRO | NL | 117 | 405 | 56 | 114 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 23 | 11 | 29 | 26 | .281 | .262 (+7%) | .322 (+4%) | .347 (-3%) | .670 (avg) | 33.0 |
| 1920 | BRO | NL | 155 | 635 | 87 | 185 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 52 | 19 | 43 | 23 | .291 | .271 (+7%) | .331 (+2%) | .363 (-1%) | .694 (+1%) | 44.9 |
| 1921 | BRO | NL | 152 | 624 | 104 | 203 | 41 | 14 | 5 | 56 | 28 | 45 | 26 | .325 | .286 (+14%) | .344 (+8%) | .395 (+16%) | .739 (+12%) | 1510.5 |
| 1922 | BRO | NL | 138 | 567 | 110 | 181 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 49 | 18 | 38 | 17 | .319 | .285 (+12%) | .345 (+5%) | .397 (+1%) | .743 (+3%) | 360.3 |
| 1923 | BRO | NL | 151 | 625 | 111 | 203 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 60 | 16 | 53 | 15 | .325 | .282 (+15%) | .344 (+10%) | .390 (+9%) | .734 (+9%) | 1219.4 |
| 1924 | BRO | NL | 86 | 315 | 51 | 94 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 5 | 27 | 10 | .298 | .283 (+5%) | .345 (+3%) | .389 (-6%) | .734 (-2%) | -54.0 |
| 1925 | BRO | NL | 123 | 431 | 63 | 128 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 43 | 7 | 45 | 15 | .297 | .288 (+3%) | .349 (+5%) | .407 (-13%) | .756 (-4%) | -173.3 |
| 1926 | BSN | NL | 23 | 57 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 3 | .246 | .279 (-12%) | .345 (+4%) | .390 (-19%) | .735 (-8%) | -46.0 |
| 1926 | NY1 | NL | 37 | 69 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 5 | .232 | .279 (-17%) | .345 (-15%) | .390 (-41%) | .735 (-29%) | -46.0 |
| Career · 14 seasons | 1,377 | 5,070 | 754 | 1,493 | 185 | 75 | 22 | 410 | 169 | 391 | 247 | .294 | — | — | — | — | 3,042 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1379 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 672 | 2384 | 351 | 686 | 8 | 199 | .288 |
| Away | 707 | 2687 | 401 | 807 | 14 | 217 | .300 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926-09-11 | NY1 | BRO | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1926-09-08 | NY1 | BSN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-09-07 | NY1 | BSN | L | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1926-09-04 | NY1 | BSN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-09-03 | NY1 | BSN | W | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-29 | NY1 | BRO | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-28 | NY1 | PIT | L | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1926-08-23 | NY1 | CIN | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-20 | NY1 | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1926-08-19 | NY1 | CHC | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 49 | 0 | 424 | 38 | 12 | 16 |
| 2B | 243 | 0 | 560 | 820 | 73 | 117 |
| 3B | 448 | 0 | 473 | 815 | 103 | 70 |
| OF | 354 | 0 | 691 | 53 | 38 | 13 |
| SS | 178 | 0 | 391 | 631 | 64 | 99 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | CHA | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1914 | CHN | 2B | 4 | 0 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| 1914 | CHN | OF | 28 | 0 | 58 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| 1916 | BRO | OF | 106 | 0 | 224 | 16 | 9 | 3 |
| 1917 | BRO | 1B | 14 | 0 | 106 | 14 | 5 | 3 |
| 1917 | BRO | 2B | 3 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| 1917 | BRO | 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917 | BRO | OF | 66 | 0 | 150 | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| 1917 | BRO | SS | 4 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 1918 | BRO | 1B | 21 | 0 | 197 | 16 | 4 | 8 |
| 1918 | BRO | 2B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1918 | BRO | 3B | 4 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918 | BRO | OF | 96 | 0 | 178 | 18 | 9 | 4 |
| 1919 | BRO | 1B | 2 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1919 | BRO | 2B | 87 | 0 | 157 | 294 | 19 | 31 |
| 1919 | BRO | OF | 14 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1919 | BRO | SS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1920 | BRO | 3B | 146 | 0 | 159 | 282 | 31 | 21 |
| 1920 | BRO | OF | 7 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1920 | BRO | SS | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921 | BRO | 3B | 150 | 0 | 162 | 312 | 33 | 34 |
| 1921 | BRO | SS | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| 1922 | BRO | 2B | 62 | 0 | 162 | 210 | 21 | 36 |
| 1922 | BRO | 3B | 26 | 0 | 36 | 35 | 5 | 1 |
| 1922 | BRO | SS | 50 | 0 | 102 | 189 | 16 | 34 |
| 1923 | BRO | 2B | 84 | 0 | 221 | 291 | 28 | 49 |
| 1923 | BRO | 3B | 14 | 0 | 13 | 26 | 3 | 1 |
| 1923 | BRO | SS | 52 | 0 | 135 | 215 | 20 | 30 |
| 1924 | BRO | 1B | 4 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924 | BRO | 3B | 10 | 0 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| 1924 | BRO | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924 | BRO | SS | 63 | 0 | 136 | 203 | 22 | 32 |
| 1925 | BRO | 1B | 8 | 0 | 81 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| 1925 | BRO | 3B | 81 | 0 | 76 | 110 | 24 | 10 |
| 1925 | BRO | OF | 20 | 0 | 31 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 1925 | BRO | SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1926 | BSN | 2B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926 | BSN | 3B | 14 | 0 | 10 | 22 | 5 | 3 |
| 1926 | BSN | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926 | NY1 | OF | 14 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 49 |
| Second Base | 243 |
| Third Base | 448 |
| Shortstop | 179 |
| Left Field | 77 |
| Center Field | 130 |
| Right Field | 165 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 18th | 3.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Jimmy Johnston (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Jimmy Johnston: the record in brief
Jimmy Johnston's major league career runs from a debut on May 3, 1911 to a final game on September 11, 1926. The team column moves through the Chicago White Sox (1911), the Chicago Cubs (1914), the Brooklyn Robins (1916 to 1925), the Boston Braves (1926), and the New York Giants (1926). Johnston is listed as a third baseman at 5 feet, 10 inches and 160 pounds. Johnston both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is December 10, 1889, in Cleveland, TN, USA. The bio records the death on February 14, 1967, in Chattanooga, TN, USA. Jimmy Johnston was the playing name; the full given name is James Harle.
Johnston collected 1,493 hits in 5,070 at bats across 1,377 games, good for a .294 batting average, adding 22 homers, 410 runs batted in, and 169 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .347 and .374 give Johnston a career OPS of .721. Over the seasons Johnston played, league hitters batted .272; the .294 career figure is 8.4% above that.
Frequently Asked Questions about Jimmy Johnston
- What years did Jimmy Johnston play?
- Jimmy Johnston played in Major League Baseball from 1911 to 1926.
- Was Jimmy Johnston a pitcher?
- No. Jimmy Johnston was a position player (Third Baseman).
- How many home runs did Jimmy Johnston hit?
- Jimmy Johnston hit 22 career home runs with 1,493 hits.
- What teams did Jimmy Johnston play for?
- Jimmy Johnston played for 5 teams: the Chicago White Sox (1911), the Chicago Cubs (1914), the Brooklyn Robins (1916–1925), the Boston Braves (1926), and the New York Giants (1926).
- What were Jimmy Johnston's career stats?
- In 1,377 games, Jimmy Johnston had 1,493 hits, 22 home runs, 410 RBI, 754 runs, and 169 stolen bases, with a .294 batting average.
- What position did Jimmy Johnston play?
- Jimmy Johnston played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Jimmy Johnston and how much did he weigh?
- Jimmy Johnston was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 160 pounds.
- How many home runs did Jimmy Johnston hit each season?
- Jimmy Johnston's home runs by season: 0 in 1911, 1 in 1914, 1 in 1916, 0 in 1917, 0 in 1918, 1 in 1919, 1 in 1920, 5 in 1921, 4 in 1922, 4 in 1923, 2 in 1924, 2 in 1925, and 1 in 1926. His most in one season was 5, in 1921.
- What was Jimmy Johnston's career batting average?
- Jimmy Johnston batted .294 over his career, with 1,493 hits in 5,070 at bats.
- How many RBI did Jimmy Johnston have?
- Jimmy Johnston drove in 410 runs in his career.
- Is Jimmy Johnston in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Jimmy Johnston has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.