The “smiling Swedish southpaw” spent two seasons with the Red Sox before enlisting in the Army right after Pearl Harbor. He returned with a Silver Star, Bronze Star, and a cluster for heroism earned during the Battle of the Bulge. Back to the baseball wars, Johnson won the opening game of the 1946 WS in relief and in 1948 won an AL-high nine out of the bullpen. His brother Chet pitched briefly with the Browns in 1946.
