Adley officially named to the AL all star team

Don "Pep" Johnson played for Slats GIll on the 1932 Oregon State team.  Johnson then appears to have dropped out of school to play minor league baseball.  He tooled around the minors until 1940 before the Cubs picked him up.  He then spent another three years working his way through the Cubs' system before getting the call-up to Chicago eight days before the season ended, a couple of months short of his 32nd birthday.

There was no All-Star Game in 1945, because of World War II.  The entire 1945 season was in jeopardy, but baseball cut a deal with the Office of Defense Transportation to reduce the amount of travel by 25% from the previous year.  Because the All-Star Game was scheduled to be at Fenway (not centrally-located), the All-Star Game was the first thing that was cut shortly after the season started.  The 1945 All-Stars are "unofficial" and "mythical" and involved newspapermen compiling a list, using input from all of the NL managers.  Johnson had a much better 1945 then 1944 and would have started but for cancellation.  Instead of one All-Star Game, most of the teams played an interleague opponent.  The Cubs played the White Sox in an exhibition game at Comiskey to support the American Red Cross and War Relief.  

There was an All-Star Game in 1944.  Johnson did not start and was one of three NL position players who did not see the field, the others being 1B Frank McCormick and C Mickey Owen.

I guess that I should add that the 1945 World Series is the Billy Goat World Series.

Johnson was the best defensive player in the National League in 1945 and the led the NL in sacrifice hits.  Johnson finished sixth in the majors in base hits.

Johnson hit second behind Stan Hack.  Hal Newhouser, the Tigers' ace, pitched in Game One.  Johnson had the first hit in the 1945 World Series, a base hit to center.  Johnson then stole second, advanced to third on an infield single, and scored on a two-out passed ball.  The Cubs scored three more runs in the first.  The first two Tigers reached, but Johnson helped kill the rally with a 6-4-3 double-play.  Johnson kicked off a 4-6-3 double-play in the second.  Johnson led off the third with a double to deep center.  Johnson was sacrificed over and then was driven in on a base hit to center for a 5-0 lead.  The Cubs won 9-0.

Hack singled to start Game Two.  Johnson bunted Hack over to second.  That should have driven Hack in, but Hank Greenberg threw Hack out at the plate.  Johnson went 0/3 the rest of the way with two strikeouts.  The Tigers won 4-1.

Johnson went 0/5 in Game Three but reached on two errors by the Tigers' second baseman, Eddie Mayo, but nothing ever came of either error.  The Cubs' starter, Clyde Passeau, threw the second ever complete game one-hitter at the World Series.  Passeau also walked one, but Johnson erased the walk with a 4-3 double play.

The Cubs were up 2-1 in Game Four.  The Tigers would need to win three of four games to win the World Series.  Game Four was the Billy Goat Game.  Prim Ray retired the first 10 batters only to melt down and give up four runs in the fourth.  Johnson led off the bottom of the fourth with a base hit but was stranded at third.  Johnson led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple and scored on a groundout.  4-1 Tigers.

Johnson was 0/3 in Game Five.  He would have been 0/4 but confusingly sacrificed with one out in the eighth, down three.  Johnson started a 4-6-3 double-play in the fifth to preserve a 1-1 tie before things went sideways, 8-4 Tigers.

Johnson was 0/4 in Game Six with two successful bunts, neither of which contributed to a run.  Claude Passeau threw on two days' rest.  Johnson allowed the leadoff batter in the fourth to reach, which helped contribute to a bases loaded, two-out situation.  However, Passeau induced Skeeter Webb to flyout to deep center.  Passeau helped turn a 6-4-3 double-play to end the 10th.  The Cubs won 8-7 on Hacks' walk-off double in the 12th.  Hank Borowy threw the final four innings without giving up a run to pick up a win, the final win for a Cubs' pitcher in the World Series for more than 71 years.

Borowy started Game Seven on one day's rest and gave up three base hits without logging an out, 1-0 Tigers.  The two runners on were bunted over.  The Cubs intentionally walked the next batter only to walk in a run and then gave up a three-run triple for a 5-0 deficit.  Johnson hit a double to left-center and scored a base hit to pull within 5-1.  Johnson went 0/4 the rest of the way.  Johnson was actually the final Cub hitter at the plate, hitting a ground ball to short to end the 1945 World Series, a 9-3 Tigers win.  The next Cub hitter a the World Series would not come to the plate for more than 71 years.