John Ralph "Spud" Johnson (Born: 1860 in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

) was a 19th century Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 player for three seasons, two for the Columbus Solons

Columbus Solons

The Columbus Solons were a baseball team in the American Association from 1889 to 1891. In three seasons, they won 200 games and lost 209 for a winning percentage of .489. Their home games were played at Recreation Park in Columbus, Ohio....

 of the American Association

American Association (19th century)

The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...

 and one season for the Cleveland Spiders

Cleveland Spiders

The Cleveland Spiders were a Major League Baseball team which played between 1887 and 1899 in Cleveland, Ohio. The team played at National League Park from 1889 to 1890 and at League Park from 1891 to 1899.- 1887-1891 :...

 of the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

. Johnson played mainly in the outfield

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 during his career, but did spend some time at third base

Third Base

is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...

 in his rookie

Rookie

Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...

 season of .

Career

Johnson was signed by the Solons on January 15, 1889, when after the season the Kansas City team of the Western Association folded and was sold to the Kansas City

Kansas City Cowboys (American Association)

The Kansas City Cowboys were a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri for two seasons from to in the American Association. They were the third, and last incarnation of this franchise name, following the Kansas City Cowboys of the Union Association in and the Kansas City...

 team of the American Association. A dispute quickly surfaced between the two teams about Johnson and his rights. On March 19, Columbus settled the dispute by paying Kansas City $500. His best season came in when he led the Association in runs batted in with 113, while finishing in the top five in most offensive categories including his .346 batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

, 18 triples

Triple (baseball)

In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

, and 186 hits

Hit (baseball)

In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

.

Nothing much is known of his whereabouts after he left organized baseball.

External links