John H. Johnson (September 26, 1921 – January 12, 1988) was an American baseball executive, whose most significant role was as president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues from 1979 through 1988. He was born in

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and ...

. ''New York Times''. Retrieved on December 5, 2015. Johnson was credited with helping the then struggling organization stabilize and grow. During his ten-year tenure, he was in charge of 17 minor league circuits and 176 teams throughout the United States. One of his most important achievements was an extensive overhaul of the master player development contract, which governs the relations between

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

organizations and their mostly independently owned Minor League affiliates.

Early life

Johnson, whose strength was as an administrator, joined the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

organization in 1947, working for them for 24 years. He served initially as secretary to

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

George Weiss. Johnson was later promoted as general manager of the Double-A

Binghamton Triplets The Binghamton Triplets were a minor league baseball team based in Binghamton, New York between 1923 and 1963. The franchise played as members of the New York–Penn League (1923–1937), Eastern League (1938–1963), New York–Penn League (19 ...

farm club, traveling secretary for the Yankees, and finally as vice president for minor league operations. ''MiLB.com.'' Retrieved on December 5, 2015. When

Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for Ma ...

was elected

baseball commissioner The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

in 1969, Johnson joined his office staff for the next eight years. Following his stint as administrator for Kuhn, Johnson was unanimously elected as president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

held in 1978, succeeding

Bobby Bragan Robert Randall Bragan (October 30, 1917 – January 21, 2010) was an American shortstop, catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball and an influential minor league executive. His professional baseball career encompassed 73 years, fro ...

. Johnson received a five-year contract extension in 1981 and was re-elected to a three-year term in 1986. With Johnson at the helm, the NAPBL attendance soared to more than 20 million fans in 1987, a figure not matched since the 1953 season. Johnson was diagnosed with chest cancer in September 1987. He was a long-time resident of

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, where he died in January 1988 at the age of 66. The John H. Johnson President's Award, is considered the most prestigious recognition given by Minor League Baseball and is awarded annually to honor the complete minor league franchise, based on franchise stability, contributions to league stability, contributions to baseball in the community, and promotion of the baseball industry. Originally known only as the President's Award when it was created in 1974, it was renamed in Johnson's honor starting with the 1988 season.Minor League Baseball Awards
''MiLB.com''. Retrieved on December 5, 2015.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, John H. 1921 births 1988 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in Florida Major League Baseball farm directors Minor league baseball executives New York Yankees executives Sportspeople from Staten Island