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Larry Doby Johnson - 1972
As I was scanning my Indians players for those 1972 uniforms, I vaguely remembered this guy from the 70s: catcher Larry Doby Johnson.
(images are from 1970 with the Indians and 1978 with the White Sox)
From his wikipedia page:
A catcher, he appeared in a total of 12 games over five seasons for the Indians (1972; 1974), Expos (1975–1976), and White Sox (1978). Johnson was born in Cleveland in 1950 and was named for Hall of Fame outfielder Larry Doby, the first African-American to play in the American League and a star for Johnson's hometown Cleveland Indians the year of his birth.
Johnson was selected by the Indians in the ninth round of the 1968 MLB draft. Although he had a 14-year career in the minor leagues and hit an even 100 career minor league home runs, his longest stint as a Major League player was six games for the Expos in 1976.
However, Johnson and his namesake, Larry Doby (then a coach), were teammates on three separate MLB clubs during the 1970s: the 1974 Indians, 1976 Expos and 1978 White Sox. Johnson's last game as a Major Leaguer, on May 25, 1978, preceded by five weeks Doby's July 1 appointment as the new manager of the White Sox.
Johnson died suddenly on May 26, 2013. A day earlier he had spoken to his beloved son, Josh, a player for Harrisburg (AA-Eastern League), to congratulate him on hitting two homers in one game.
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