Ernest Thorwald Johnson of Brattleboro, Vermont. Johnson served in the Marine Corps from 1943 to 1946 and fought in the Battle of Okinawa.
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Ernie Johnson

Marine Corps Service

Ernest Thorwald “Ernie” Johnson entered the United States Marine Corps before the 1943 baseball season, interrupting a professional career he had begun with Hartford the previous August. He deployed to the Pacific and took part in the invasion of Okinawa, the final major amphibious campaign of World War II.

Johnson remained in the Corps after the fighting ended and was discharged as a staff sergeant in February 1946. He then returned to Brattleboro and resumed his baseball career. Unlike the general wartime service descriptions attached to many ballplayers, both his participation at Okinawa and his final rank are preserved in the biographical record.

Baseball Career

Born in Brattleboro, Vermont, on June 16, 1924, Johnson signed with the Boston Braves after graduating from high school in 1942. He made his Major League debut against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 28, 1950, and developed into a durable right-handed relief pitcher whose palmball produced ground balls and kept opposing hitters off balance.

Johnson’s breakthrough professional season came with the minor-league Milwaukee Brewers in 1951. He went 15–4, led the American Association with a 2.62 earned-run average and .789 winning percentage, and helped Milwaukee win both the Governors’ Cup and the Junior World Series. Including the postseason, he won 20 games that year.

He became a mainstay of the Braves’ bullpen after the franchise moved from Boston to Milwaukee. Johnson posted a 2.67 ERA in 1953 and a 2.81 mark in 1954. His most memorable work came during Milwaukee’s 1957 championship season: he appeared three times against the New York Yankees in the World Series, allowing two hits and one run over seven innings while striking out eight. The Braves won the Series in seven games.

The only run Johnson allowed in that Series came from another Marine. In the seventh inning of Game 6, Yankees outfielder Hank Bauer drove Johnson’s pitch off the left-field foul pole for the home run that gave New York a 3–2 victory and forced a seventh game. Asked afterward whether the shot had been cheap, Johnson defended his fellow Marine: “There was nothing cheap about that home run. He hit it so hard it may have bent the pole.” The two had entered the Corps during World War II, served in the Pacific, and met twelve years later at the center of a World Series.

Johnson finished his playing career with the Baltimore Orioles on September 12, 1959. Across nine Major League seasons, he appeared in 273 games, compiled a 40–23 record with a 3.77 ERA, and earned a World Series ring.

Later Life and Legacy

After his playing career, Johnson remained with the Braves and gradually moved from the front office into broadcasting. He called Braves games from 1962 through 1991 and again from 1995 through 1999, working more than 4,100 games over 32 years in the booth. He also helped establish the club’s radio and television networks before its move to Atlanta and called several milestones in Hank Aaron’s career, including home runs 500, 600, and 700.

Johnson was named Georgia Broadcaster of the Year three times and received three television Emmy Awards. The Braves inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2001, and he was also honored by the Atlanta Sports, Georgia Radio, Georgia Television, and Georgia Sports halls of fame. His son, Ernie Johnson Jr., followed him into broadcasting and became one of the country’s most recognizable studio hosts.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame named Johnson a finalist for its Ford C. Frick Award in 2023. He died in Cumming, Georgia, on August 12, 2011, after more than half a century associated with the Braves as a player, administrator, and broadcaster.

Sources and Further Reading

  1. Society for American Baseball Research, Ernie Johnson Sr. biographical record
  2. Baseball-Reference, Ernie Johnson Major League record
  3. Atlanta Braves, Braves Hall of Fame members
  4. National Baseball Hall of Fame, 2023 Ford C. Frick Award ballot
  5. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Johnson a beloved figure in Atlanta sports history”
  6. RIP Baseball, “Grave Story: Ernie Johnson”
  7. Wikipedia, Ernie Johnson