Athlete – Baseball
Lou Johnson, also known as “Sweet Lou,” was the first African-American baseball player from Lexington to play in the major leagues. Born in 1934 to parents Sidney Bell and Shirley Johnson, Mr. Johnson is best known for hitting one of the more memorable home runs in Major League Baseball history. The left fielder’s 4th-inning home run helped the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Minnesota Twins 2-0 in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series.
Prior to playing in the Major Leagues, the Pralltown product attended the original Dunbar High School, where he played basketball for the Bearcats under the tutelage of Coach S.T. Roach. Since Dunbar didn’t field a baseball team, Mr. Johnson played baseball for the semi-pro Lexington Hustlers and minor league Lexington Colts. After a stint with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro League, Mr. Johnson was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1953.
Mr. Johnson made his major league debut in 1960 with the Chicago Cubs. He also played for the Los Angeles Angels (now the California Angels), the Milwaukee Braves, and the Cleveland Indians. When Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect 1-0 game for the Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs in 1965, it was Mr. Johnson who got the only hit off opposing pitcher Bob Hendley to secure the no-hitter.
After retiring from his 17-year baseball career (eight years in the Majors) in 1969, Mr. Johnson worked in community affairs for the Dodgers. He is fondly remembered in Los Angeles for giving selflessly to his community. Mr. Johnson also served as an ambassador for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, MO.
In 1978, the city of Lexington honored the World Series hero by naming a local neighborhood park as “Lou Johnson Park,” located at 190 Prall Street. A local T-ball league was also named after Mr. Johnson. In 1998, a portion of the street near his childhood home in Pralltown was named “Lou Johnson Way” in his honor. Mr. Johnson died in Los Angeles in October 2020, shortly after his 86th birthday.
