On 3/1/2012 7:51 PM, Ruth Barton wrote: > Ernie died fairly recently, I think last year. He went to Atlanta in the > end, I'm pretty sure. Ruth Correct. > And how about Ernie Johnson, one of my Dad's friends, worked with Dad at A. > G. Spaulding in Brattleboro. Think he was first with the Red Sox, then > traded to Washington? Not sure of the teams as I didn't follow baseball. > Neysa Neysa and Ruth: Ernest Thorwald Johnson Born: 6 / 16 / 1924 at Brattleboro, VT (US) Died: 8 / 12 / 2011 at Cumming, GA (US) Ernie was a genuine star of the game of baseball, both as a pitcher and as a broadcaster. His first Major League team was in Boston, but it was the Boston Braves of the National League -- although the Red Sox did show some interest. There is a great write-up on him, with a lot of mention of Brattleboro, at: <http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/971186d2> "The youngest of three children, Ernest Thorwald Johnson was born in Brattleboro on June 16, 1924. His father, Thorwald, and his mother, Alina "Inkie" Ingeborg, had emigrated from Sweden in the early 1900s. They were lured to Brattleboro by the Estey Organ Company, a world-famous manufacturer of pipe organs. With many Swedes among its 300 employees, Estey was one of the biggest employers in Vermont around the turn of the century, and the neighborhood where Ernie Johnson grew up, just up the bank from the Estey factory, was known as Esteyville." The Braves moved to Milwaukee before the 1953 season. There, Ernie Johnson's career as a relief pitcher took off. Here is another excerpt from the sabr.org biography: "The Braves won the 1957 World Series [against the New York Yankees] in seven games, and Ernie played a major role. Pitching in games one, three and six, he gave up only two hits and one run in seven innings, striking out eight and walking only one. The only run he gave up was a homer off the foul pole by Hank Bauer that proved to be the winning run in game six, but when asked if he thought it was a cheap shot, Johnson replied with characteristic modesty: 'There was nothing cheap about that home run. He hit it so hard it may have bent the pole.'" When his playing career with Milwaukee ended he had a short stint with the Baltimore Orioles (probably where the "Washington" idea came from) then retired. He got involved in the Milwaukee Braves front office, which led to a long career in broadcasting. In 1965 he moved, with the Braves, to Atlanta. He was still broadcasting, part time, in 2000. Darrell

This kind of adds to what I knew about he and Dad being friends. We lived in Esteyville until I was in the 8th grade (1947). Dad probably knew Ernie's dad first; then Ernie from A.G. Spaulding. Also, Dad was repair and maintenance man at Estey Organ company until he and Mom moved to RI, where I was living, about 1954. Neysa ----- Original Message ----- From: Darrell A. Martin To: vermont@rootsweb.com Sent: Friday, March 02, 2012 12:45 AM Subject: Re: [VERMONT] Ernie Johnson, baseball star from Brattleboro On 3/1/2012 7:51 PM, Ruth Barton wrote: > Ernie died fairly recently, I think last year. He went to Atlanta in the > end, I'm pretty sure. Ruth Correct. > And how about Ernie Johnson, one of my Dad's friends, worked with Dad at A. > G. Spaulding in Brattleboro. Think he was first with the Red Sox, then > traded to Washington? Not sure of the teams as I didn't follow baseball. > Neysa Neysa and Ruth: Ernest Thorwald Johnson Born: 6 / 16 / 1924 at Brattleboro, VT (US) Died: 8 / 12 / 2011 at Cumming, GA (US) Ernie was a genuine star of the game of baseball, both as a pitcher and as a broadcaster. His first Major League team was in Boston, but it was the Boston Braves of the National League -- although the Red Sox did show some interest. There is a great write-up on him, with a lot of mention of Brattleboro, at: <http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/971186d2> "The youngest of three children, Ernest Thorwald Johnson was born in Brattleboro on June 16, 1924. His father, Thorwald, and his mother, Alina "Inkie" Ingeborg, had emigrated from Sweden in the early 1900s. They were lured to Brattleboro by the Estey Organ Company, a world-famous manufacturer of pipe organs. With many Swedes among its 300 employees, Estey was one of the biggest employers in Vermont around the turn of the century, and the neighborhood where Ernie Johnson grew up, just up the bank from the Estey factory, was known as Esteyville." The Braves moved to Milwaukee before the 1953 season. There, Ernie Johnson's career as a relief pitcher took off. Here is another excerpt from the sabr.org biography: "The Braves won the 1957 World Series [against the New York Yankees] in seven games, and Ernie played a major role. Pitching in games one, three and six, he gave up only two hits and one run in seven innings, striking out eight and walking only one. The only run he gave up was a homer off the foul pole by Hank Bauer that proved to be the winning run in game six, but when asked if he thought it was a cheap shot, Johnson replied with characteristic modesty: 'There was nothing cheap about that home run. He hit it so hard it may have bent the pole.'" When his playing career with Milwaukee ended he had a short stint with the Baltimore Orioles (probably where the "Washington" idea came from) then retired. He got involved in the Milwaukee Braves front office, which led to a long career in broadcasting. In 1965 he moved, with the Braves, to Atlanta. He was still broadcasting, part time, in 2000. Darrell *************************************** List Guidelines: http://home.sprynet.com/~darrellm/list_rules.htm Visit the Gateway to Vermont Web Site: http://www.rootsweb.com/~vermont/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to VERMONT-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message