Johnny Lindell
From BR Bullpen
John Harlan Lindell (Lindy)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 217 lb.
- Schools University of Southern California
- Debut April 18, 1941
- Final Game May 9, 1954
- Born August 30, 1916 in Greeley, CO USA
- Died August 27, 1985 in Newport Beach, CA USA
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[edit] Biographical Information
Johnny Lindell was a pitcher turned outfielder turned pitcher for 18 years (1936-1953), 12 in the Major Leagues (1941-1950;1953-54) and ten in the minors (1936-1941;1950-1952), losing ½ year to the Military.
Lindell was born on Wednesday, 30 August 1916, in Greeley, CO. He attended the University of Southern California (USC) for six months. He was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1936 by scout Bill Essick for a bonus of $150. He married Esther Kent 12 June 1938. He was 24 years old when he broke into the big leagues on 18 April 1941 with the Yankees. He entered the U.S. Army 8 June 1945 and was discharged 22 March 1946. He played his last game in MLB on 9 May 1954 at age 37 for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Lindell made the transition from a pitcher to an outfielder in the major leagues, then battled back to the majors again as a pitcher near the end of his career. After signing with the Yankees while at USC, he posted outstanding minor league pitching marks, including 23-4 at Newark in 1941. He was called up to the majors at the end of that season and spent 1942 on the Yankee staff. He threw a knuckleball and curve, but Yankee manager Joe McCarthy did not believe he had a major league fastball and switched him to the outfield in 1943. In his best season, 1944, he hit .300 with 18 home runs and 103 RBI. After WWII ended, he was used mostly as a reserve. All told, he played on three pennant winners (1943, '47, '49).
Sold to the Cardinals in May 1950, he managed only a .186 batting average. At the end of the season, he was sold again, this time to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), where manager Fred Haney put him back on the pitching mound. In 1952 he posted a 24-9 pitching record, batted fourth, and occasionally played the outfield. He was easily the league MVP. At age thirty-six he returned to the majors, pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies in 1953 for a combined 6-17 mark. He had trouble putting his knuckleball over (his 139 bases on balls led the league) and hitters sat on his fastball. (BC)
He played for Joplin in the Western Association (1936); Binghamton in the New York-Pennsylvania League (1937); Newark in the International League (1938); the Oakland Oaks in the PCL (1938), the Kansas City Blues in the American Association (1939-1940); Newark in 1941; the Yankees (1941-1950); Cardinals (1950); Columbus in the American Association (1950); the Hollywood Stars in the PCL (1950-1952); the Pirates (1953) and the Phillies (1953-1954)
His hobbies were hunting, fishing and golf. He died three days short of his 70th birthday from lung cancer in Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, CA and was cremated. He was survived by his wife, Esther, and two children.
[edit] Career Highlights
- Tied for lead in most wins in the American Association, 1940 (18)
- Led International League in Winning Percentage (.852) and Earned Run Average (2.05), 1941
- Led American League in extra-base hits, 1944 (67)
- Led National League in walks allowed, 1953 (139)
- Led National League in wild pitches, 1953 (11)
- Led Pacific Coast League in Wins (24), Winning Percentage (.724), strikeouts (190) and walks (108), 1952
[edit] Records Held
- Tied MLB record by hitting four doubles in a game, 17 August 1944
- Tied with Pepper Martin for highest batting average in 7-game World Series, 1947 (.500) although he played in only six games due to a broken rib
[edit] Chronology
- Before 1936 Season:
- Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent.
- 1940:
- On 19 March, in an exhibition game, the Kansas City Blues humiliate the Washington Senators, 22–5. The Blues collect 23 hits for 46 bases. Frenchy Bordagaray starts the scoring with a home run in the first; Jack Saltzgaver is 3-for-3 with three triples and five RBIs. Another familiar name, Johnny Lindell, yields three hits in three innings for the Blues.
- 1944:
- On 18 April, Hank Borowy of the Yankees shuts out the Boston Red Sox 3-0, as Lindell hits the first home run of 1944.
- On 17 August, Lindell hits four straight doubles to share a major-league mark.
- On 23 November, Lindell is part of one of five groups totaling 23 players, managers, umpires and writers who visit war theatres as part of the USO program.
- 1947:
- On 13 May, the Yankees pound the St. Louis Browns 9–1 with Charlie Keller, Joe DiMaggio and Lindell combining for consecutive homers off starter Fred Sanford in the sixth inning.
- 1948:
- On 20 May at Comiskey Park, Joe DiMaggio hits for the cycle and adds another homer to drive in six runs, as the Yankees coast, 13–2. Lindell adds a homer to back Vic Raschi's pitching over Orval Grove.
- 1949:
- On 5 May 5, before the start of a series with the Yankees, the Chicago White Sox abandon their trick left field fence. The 5-foot chicken wire fence, erected to cut the distance by 20 feet, resulted in 11 home runs in eight games, but opponents hit seven of them. The American League will subsequently rule that fences cannot be moved more than once a season. The Yanks still win, 7–5, to go 13–3. Tommy Henrich has the only homer, while Lindell, Yankee left fielder, twice makes catches that would have cleared the wire fence. Allie Reynolds, with help from Joe Page, is the winner.
- On 1 October 1, the Red Sox need to win just one of the final two games against New York to clinch the title. Before a crowd of 69,551 at Yankee Stadium, New York overcomes a 4-0 deficit, as Page is nearly untouchable in five innings of relief. Lindell's home run wins it 5-4.
- 1950:
- On 15 May, the Yankees sell Lindell to the St. Louis Cardinals.
- On 30 July, Lindell is traded by the Cardinals to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Glen Moulder.
- Before 1951 Season:
- Lindell is returned to Hollywood (PCL) by the Dodgers after expiration of a minor league working agreement. He is then obtained by the Pittsburgh Pirates from Hollywood as part of a minor league working agreement.
- 1953:
- On 3 May Lindell pitches the Pirates to their fifth straight win, beating the Cardinals, 6–2. Lindell drives in the 4th run with a double to beat Harvey Haddix and earn his first win since 1942.
- On 31 August, he is purchased by the Phillies from the Pirates.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 1941 Minor League Player of the Year, Newark Bears, International League
- 1952 MVP Pacific Coast League, Hollywood Stars
- AL All-Star (1943)
- AL Total Bases Leader (1944)
- 2-time AL Triples Leader (1943-1944)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1944)
- Won three World Series with the New York Yankees (1943, 1947 & 1949)
[edit] Sources
Principal sources for Johnny Lindell include newspaper obituaries (OB), government records (VA,CM,CW), Sporting Life (SL), Baseball Digest, The Sporting News (TSN), The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball 2006 by David Neft & Richard Cohen (N&C), old Who's Who in Baseballs (1944-1950) (WW), old Baseball Registers (44-50;1953) (BR), TSN's Daguerreotypes (none) (DAG), The Historical Register, The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee (BN), Pat Doyle's Professional Ballplayer DataBase(PD), The Baseball Library (BL); various Encyclopediae including The Official Encyclopedia of Baseball by Turkin & Thompson (T&T), MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia (Mac), Total Baseball (TB), The Bill James Historical Abstract (BJ) and The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (LJ); Retrosheet (RS), The Baseball Chronology (BC), Baseball Page (BP), The Baseball Almanac (BA), Baseball Cube (B3) and obituaries at deadballera.com (DBE) as well as research by Reed Howard (RH), Pat Doyle (PD) and Frank Hamilton (FH).
