Don LeJohn
From BR Bullpen
Donald Everett LeJohn (Ducky)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.
- Debut June 30, 1965
- Final Game October 3, 1965
- Born May 13, 1934 in Daisytown, PA USA
- Died February 25, 2005 in California, PA USA
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[edit] Biographical Information
Don LeJohn, sometimes called "Ducky", had a long career in professional baseball but is best remembered for his one year in the major leagues, when he played third base and appeared in the 1965 World Series for the world champion 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers.
LeJohn was born in Daisytown, PA, only 15 miles from Donora, PA (birthplace of both Stan Musial and Ken Griffey). He attended California High School and played sandlot ball as a youth.
Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954, he played in 1954 with Shawnee hitting .359, and was on the Sooner State League All Star team. He played at Great Falls in 1955 where he was also on the All Star team, and at Wichita Falls hitting .345 in 1956. He was at Macon in 1957. In 1958 he was at Des Moines. He was in Asheville in 1959. He spent two seasons in Atlanta, 1960 and 1961. In 1962, he played for the Omaha Dodgers of the American Association, managed by Danny Ozark. He was an All Star in 1964 with Albuquerque.
In 1965, he was hitting .395 at Albuquerque as a player/coach, in his 12th year in the minors, when he was finally called up to the major league Dodgers. He was a 31-year-old rookie. He hit singles in his first two major league at-bats, driving in a run with the first single, and scoring the go-ahead run after the second single. The Dodgers' win in that game put them two games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out in one at bat as a pinch-hitter in the World Series that season.
LeJohn finished his full-time playing days in 1971. Even before that, he had starting managing in 1967.
He was a minor league manager and scout for over 20 years. From 1977-1982, LeJohn managed in San Antonio, and was 427-373 in the first six seasons of the Dodgers era in San Antonio. His teams made the playoffs three straight seasons from 1979-1981.
[edit] Year-by-Year Managerial Record
[edit] Notable Achievement
- Won a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965
