Bob Johnson (baseball)

Robert Lee Johnson, Jr. (November 26, 1905 - July 6, 1982), nicknamed "Indian Bob", was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball. A native of Pryor Creek, Oklahoma, he grew up in Tacoma, Washington and made the city his home. His nickname was derived from his lineage, one-quarter Cherokee. He batted and threw right-handed. His brother, outfielder Roy Johnson, played for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Boston Braves from 1929-38.

Quotation

• Bob Carroll, whose writing I enjoy very much, commented on this phenomenon in his 1985 article for the National Pastime ("For the Hall of Fame: Twelve Good Men"). "Consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds," wrote Carroll, "but it can also make certain ballplayers nigh unto invisible. Indian Bob Johnson never had one of those super seasons that make everyone sit up and whistle. While phenoms came, collected their MVP trophies, and faded, he just kept plodding along hitting .300, with a couple dozen homers and a hundred ribbies year after year...like a guy punching a time clock." --Bill James, excerpt from his book Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?, Fireside, 1995