Darrell Johnson

He then became a minor league manager in the Orioles system and won championships with the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League in 1964 and Elmira Pioneers of the Double-A Eastern League in 1966. His demotion was the result of an exchange requested by Red Wings president Morrie Silver, who was disappointed with a losing 1965 campaign and wanted the Pioneers' Earl Weaver, coming off a winning season, to manage his team instead.[7]

After a year spent scouting for the 1967 Yankees, Johnson was named pitching coach of the Boston Red Sox on October 31, 1967, succeeding Sal Maglie who had been released after the World Series.[8] When manager Dick Williams was fired in September 1969, Johnson was retained by the Red Sox as a scout in 1970,[9] then managed Boston's Louisville Colonels International League affiliate in 1971–72. In 1973, he became the first manager of the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, finishing 78–68 and winning his second Governors' Cup, emblematic of the International League's playoff championship, in his only PawSox season. That championship earned him a promotion to the parent club as Red Sox manager.

Johnson (left) with President Gerald Ford and Sparky Anderson in 1975

As a big-league manager, Johnson led three different teams over eight seasons. His career began when he succeeded Eddie Kasko following the conclusion of the Red Sox's 1973 campaign on September 30.[10] His biggest success came during his Red Sox posting when he compiled a win–loss record of 220–188 for a .539 winning percentage. He guided Boston to a 95–65 (.594) mark in 1975 and a first-place finish in the AL East. The Sox then swept the three-time defending world champion Oakland Athletics in the playoffs, 3–0, to win the American League pennant. But they lost to the Cincinnati "Big Red Machine" in the thrilling 1975 World Series, four games to three. In an interview conducted by Tim Russert on CNBC in 2003, Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk named Johnson as the biggest influence in his professional life.[11] Johnson also had his detractors, such as Bill Lee, who stated that the team won "despite our manager", who did not communicate well with his players and even had his pitching coach stationed in the Red Sox bullpen rather than the dugout during the 1975 Series.[12]

In 1976, Boston started poorly, losing 15 of its first 21 games, then rallied and finally climbed above the .500 mark on July 6 (38–37). As the incumbent pennant-winning manager, Johnson skippered the 1976 American League All-Star team (with the Junior Circuit losing 7–1 at Veterans Stadium on July 13). But by then the Red Sox were mired in another slump, and only five days later on July 19, Johnson was fired in favor of third-base coach Don Zimmer after the team had lost eight of its last 11 games. At the time of his dismissal, Boston was out of contention with a 41–45 record, in fifth place and 13 games behind the Yankees.[13] Johnson then briefly returned to scouting for the Red Sox.

Johnson was hired to become the first-ever manager of the expansion Seattle Mariners on September 3, 1976.[14] Lou Gorman, Seattle's director of baseball operations, stated that Johnson would also assist in scouting players for the upcoming expansion draft. Johnson said that he was looking for players with "pride, aggressiveness, and the right mental attitude."[15] Johnson skippered the Mariners for approximately three and a half seasons until he was fired on August 3, 1980, and posted an overall win–loss mark of 226–362 (.384).

Johnson then worked as third-base coach for the Texas Rangers, under Zimmer, starting in 1981 before taking over as interim manager on July 30, 1982.[16] Six years earlier, the roles had been reversed when third-base coach Zimmer succeeded Johnson as manager in Boston on July 18, 1976. In his final managerial role, Johnson's Rangers went 26–40 (.394) in the 1982 season's final two months. He finished with a 472–590 record for a .444 career percentage as an American League skipper.[17]

He then moved to the New York Mets as minor league coordinator of instruction and a longtime scout. He also served as the Mets' bench coach on the staff of Dallas Green from May 20, 1993,[18] through the end of that season.[19]

Johnson died from leukemia at the age of 75 in 2004 in Fairfield, California.[20]