Roy and his brother, the A’s “Indian Bob” Johnson, were part-Indian, from Oklahoma. A strong-armed outfielder, Roy twice led the league in assists and twice in errors; as a Tiger rookie in 1929, he set the still-standing AL record of 31 outfield errors. Also in 1929, he led the league with 640 at-bats and tied for the top spot with 45 doubles. He led the AL with 19 triples for the 1931 Tigers and often finished among the league leaders in stolen bases. A four-time .300 hitter, he became a genuine team leader. Johnson, Smead Jolley, and Earl Averill formed one of the all-time great-hitting minor league outfields with the Pacific Coast League San Francisco Seals.
