Following his discharge in 1946, Johnson returned to the Monarchs and went 9-3 with a 3.46 earned run average,[3] helping his team win another pennant, even though he did not pitch in the Series.[2] He went 4-1 in the next two seasons,[3] but rebounded in 1950 with an 11-2 mark and a 2.17 ERA while appearing in his second All-Star Game.[2]
In 1952, Johnson was assigned to Class A Colorado Springs, where he finished 18-9 with a 3.38 ERA and set a Western League record with 233 strikeouts. He then was promoted to the White Sox, and made his major league debut at the age of 30 on April 17, 1953.[4]
During his rookie season at Chicago Johnson pitched in 14 games, starting ten of them, going 4–4 with a 3.56 ERA and 44 strikeouts.[4] After spending the entire 1954 season in the minors with Triple A Charleston Senators, Johnson started 16 games for Chicago in 1955. He finished the season 7–4 with a 3.45 ERA and 72 strikeouts.
In his first two years Johnson sandwiched between Triple A Toronto Maple Leafs and the Sox. As a result, in 1956 he pitched in five games with Chicago and went 0–1 with six strikeouts and a 3.65 ERA.
Overall, Johnson went 11–9 with a 3.51 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 36 games (28 starts) with the White Sox, starting 28 of them, and going 11–9 with 122 strikeouts.[4] During the midseason, Johnson was traded by Chicago along with Mike Fornieles, George Kell and Bob Nieman to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Jim Wilson and Dave Philley.[4]
Baltimore Orioles
Johnson started 25 games for the Orioles in 1956, going 9–10 with a 3.43 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 183+2⁄3 innings, including two shutouts and nine complete games.[4]
On June 21, 1956, Johnson was on the losing end of a double one-hitter, Jack Harshman winning, 1-0.[5]
His most productive season came in 1957, when he finished 14–11 with a 3.20 ERA
for a lousy team that finished in fifth place in the then eight team American League.[4] Besides, Johnson posted career numbers in starts (30), complete games (14), shutouts (3) and innings (242.0).[4]
In a five-year major league career, Johnson finished with a 40-39 record and 3.44 ERA in 123 pitching appearances (100 starts), including 34 complete games and eight shutouts, while striking out 497 and walking 257 in 716.0 innings of work[4]
In between, Johnson played winter ball with the Spur Cola Colonites club of the Panamanian League, who won the 1950-51 pennant and represented Panama in the 1951 Caribbean Series. The team's only victory in the series came behind a strong pitching effort from Johnson, who pitched a two-run, eight-hit complete game over the highly favored Leones del Habana Cuban team.[6]
Afterwards, Johnson pitched for the Tigres de Marianao in the 1954-55 Cuban League season, and was a bright spot for the last-place Marianao, going 12-11 with a 3.29 ERA while leading the league in strikeouts (123), shutouts (5) and innings pitched (174⅔).[7]
^On December 16, 2020, Major League Baseball declared the Negro leagues, from the span of 1920–1948, to be a "Major League".[1] Johnson's statistics reflect his time in the Negro leagues from 1940–1948.
