Wednesday, March 4, 2015

REST IN PEACE: ALEX JOHNSON: 1942-2015


Alex Johnson: 12/7/42-2/28/15

Ugh, just got word from "Reader Jim" that former batting champ Alex Johnson passed away the other day at the age of 72.
Man this seems to be happening more frequently lately huh?
Johnson was quite a "character" during his playing days, something I touched upon on July 27th, 2013 in my post for the card shown up above.
Regardless, he put together a decent 13-year career that saw him play for eight different teams, before retiring from the game after 1976 and taking over his father's trucking business.
The highlights of his career would have to be his 1970 American League batting championship, which he won by the slightest margin over Carl Yastrzemski, and his National League Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1968 while playing for the Cincinnati Reds.
The card shown above was one I created to fill-in for his "missing" 1976 edition, but I'll be recreating it shortly with him properly shown as a New York Yankee, for whom he suited up in 1975.
Rest in Peace Mr. Johnson.

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