Friday, December 28, 2012

no. 128 - frank johnson


Who is the man: Frank Johnson was entering what would be his final major league season when this card arrived. Johnson was a lifetime utility player for the Giants, playing from 1966-71. This is his final card.

Can ya dig it: This is one of just two solo cards that Johnson had during his career. The other is in the 1969 Topps set.

Right on: Johnson's jersey looks like he's wearing an advertisement for KFAN, a sports radio station in Minnesota.

You see this cat Johnson is a bad mother: Johnson hit his first major league home run after filling in for an injured Jim Ray Hart in 1968. The home run led the Giants to victory and kicked off a four-game winning streak.

Shut your mouth: When a fan asked Johnson for his memories of Kentucky, Johnson responded with "Kentucky is a good state. Memories you don't want to know."

No one understands him but his woman: Johnson was traded to a Japanese team in 1972 in a deal for Toru Hamaura. It was termed the first international baseball trade in history. Johnson played in Japan for a year, but Hamaura never played in the majors.


(A word about the back): Lots of information about Johnson's minor exploits on the back. He played in the minors for six years before getting called up to the majors.

2 comments:

  1. Hamaura was 10 years younger than Johnson. He played for two years in A ball, then presumably went back to Japan.

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  2. Steve from the WhiteSoxCards blog made a 1968 Giants Rookies card (something Topps forgot to do) featuring Frank Johnson and Bobby Bonds. There's a link to it on this page.

    ReplyDelete