WALLACE JOHNSON

Wallace Johnson, a graduate of Gary Roosevelt High School, is a former professional baseball player and coach. He was a first baseman with the Montreal Expos and San Francisco Giants, as well as serving a stint as the Chicago White Sox third base coach. He was known for his skill as a pinch hitter and was also a switch hitter that threw right-handed. Johnson graduated from Indiana State University and was named to the CoSida Academic All-American team and received the McMillan Memorial Award for leadership. He was a Co-Captain of Indiana State's first Missouri Valley Conference baseball championship and led the nation in hitting (.502) during the regular season. He was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial Team and was enshrined in the Indiana State University Hall of Fame in 1985. Wallace was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the sixth round of the 1979 amateur draft and was one of the first Indiana ballplayers selected. He began his professional career in the New York-Penn League that summer, and by the next season (1980) he was leading the Florida State League in batting (.334) and stolen bases (58). He was named the MVP of the FSL Southern Division and received the Topps chewing gum George M. Trautman Award for Minor League Player of the Year for the FSL. He played on the 1981 Denver Bears (AAA) and 1986 Indianapolis Indians (AAA) championship teams. He made his major league debut for the Expos in September 1981 and on October 3, Johnson delivered a pinch-hit triple (scoring 2 runs) off New York Mets ace reliever Neil Allen that helped propel the team to its first ever NL East title. Johnson was the Expos' all-time pinch-hit leader with 86. On May 2, 1988, Johnson broke up the perfect game bid of Ron Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds when he got a single with two outs and two strikes in the 9th inning. Johnson led the major leagues in pinch-hits during the period of 1986-1990. He played his final major league game on August 3, 1990. He spent one season as the hitting instructor for the 1994 Gulf Coast League Expos, three years (1995-1997) coaching in the Atlanta Braves minor league system and five years as the third base coach with the Chicago White Sox. He was part of the 2000 AL Central Division championship team that led the league in runs scored and offense. Former major leaguer and TV analyst Hawk Harrelson gave him the nickname "Wavin' Wally". His coaching career included instructing two Hall of Famers, Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas and Vladimir Guerrero.