Johnny Callison was born on Sunday, March 12, 1939, in Qualls, Oklahoma. Callison was 19 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 9, 1958, with the Chicago White Sox. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Johnny Callison baseball stats page.
"Early in his 16-year major-league career, Johnny Callison was labeled 'the next Mickey Mantle.' His manager with the Phillies, Gene Mauch, said Callison could 'run, throw, field, and hit with power. There's nothing he can't do well on the ball field.' These encomiums proved burdens that the always sensitive Callison found difficult to live up to. His career, spent briefly with the Chicago White Sox and then for ten years with the Phillies before finishing with short stays with the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees, was marked by what-ifs and what might-have-beens." - Rossi, John. Author. The Year of the Blue Snow: The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies. SABR Publishing. 2 July 2013. Page 84.
Johnny Callison![]() Johnny Callison Autograph on a 1971 Topps Baseball Card (#12 | Checklist) |
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Johnny CallisonJohnny Callison Pitching Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
| - | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
Johnny CallisonJohnny Callison Hitting Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 1958 | 19 | White Sox | 18 | 64 | 10 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .297 | .352 | .469 |
| 1959 | 20 | White Sox | 49 | 104 | 12 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .173 | .271 | .288 |
| 1960 | 21 | Phillies | 99 | 288 | 36 | 75 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 30 | 45 | 2 | 70 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .260 | .360 | .427 |
| 1961 | 22 | Phillies | 138 | 455 | 74 | 121 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 47 | 69 | 5 | 76 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 7 | .266 | .363 | .418 |
| 1962 | 23 | Phillies | 157 | 603 | 107 | 181 | 26 | 10 | 23 | 0 | 83 | 54 | 1 | 96 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 8 | .300 | .363 | .491 |
| 1963 | 24 | Phillies | 157 | 626 | 96 | 178 | 36 | 11 | 26 | 0 | 78 | 50 | 4 | 111 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 8 | .284 | .339 | .502 |
| 1964 | 25 | Phillies | 162 | 654 | 101 | 179 | 30 | 10 | 31 | 1 | 104 | 36 | 3 | 95 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 5 | .274 | .316 | .492 |
| 1965 | 26 | Phillies | 160 | 619 | 93 | 162 | 25 | 16 | 32 | 1 | 101 | 57 | 2 | 117 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | .262 | .328 | .509 |
| 1966 | 27 | Phillies | 155 | 612 | 93 | 169 | 40 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 55 | 56 | 4 | 83 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 11 | .276 | .338 | .418 |
| 1967 | 28 | Phillies | 149 | 556 | 62 | 145 | 30 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 64 | 55 | 17 | 63 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | .261 | .329 | .408 |
| 1968 | 29 | Phillies | 121 | 398 | 46 | 97 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 40 | 42 | 4 | 70 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | .244 | .319 | .415 |
| 1969 | 30 | Phillies | 134 | 495 | 66 | 131 | 29 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 64 | 49 | 11 | 73 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 | .265 | .332 | .440 |
| 1970 | 31 | Cubs | 147 | 477 | 65 | 126 | 23 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 68 | 60 | 11 | 63 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | .264 | .348 | .440 |
| 1971 | 32 | Cubs | 103 | 290 | 27 | 61 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 55 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | .210 | .298 | .341 |
| 1972 | 33 | Yankees | 92 | 275 | 28 | 71 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 34 | 18 | 1 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6 | .258 | .299 | .393 |
| 1973 | 34 | Yankees | 45 | 136 | 10 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | .176 | .197 | .228 |
| Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
| 16 Years | 1,886 | 6,652 | 926 | 1,757 | 321 | 89 | 226 | 5 | 840 | 650 | 73 | 1,064 | 51 | 43 | 41 | 98 | .264 | .331 | .441 | ||
Johnny CallisonJohnny Callison Fielding Stats |
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| Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1958 White Sox | LF | 18 | 18 | 479 | 42 | 2.3 | 41 | 39 | 2 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .976 | 2.31 |
| 1959 White Sox | LF | 41 | 27 | 813 | 57 | 1.4 | 56 | 53 | 3 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 1.86 |
| 1960 Phillies | CF | 16 | 13 | 352 | 46 | 2.9 | 45 | 44 | 1 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .978 | 3.45 |
| 1960 Phillies | LF | 42 | 28 | 766 | 67 | 1.6 | 67 | 66 | 1 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.36 |
| 1960 Phillies | RF | 38 | 36 | 879 | 67 | 1.8 | 66 | 61 | 5 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 2.03 |
| 1961 Phillies | LF | 89 | 81 | 2,274 | 186 | 2.1 | 180 | 175 | 5 | 6 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .968 | 2.14 |
| 1961 Phillies | RF | 36 | 36 | 904 | 57 | 1.6 | 55 | 50 | 5 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .965 | 1.64 |
| 1962 Phillies | CF | 5 | 0 | 57 | 2 | 0.4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.95 |
| 1962 Phillies | LF | 3 | 1 | 36 | 6 | 2.0 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.50 |
| 1962 Phillies | RF | 151 | 146 | 3,840 | 349 | 2.3 | 342 | 319 | 23 | 7 | 7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .980 | 2.40 |
| 1963 Phillies | LF | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1963 Phillies | RF | 156 | 152 | 4,153 | 326 | 2.1 | 324 | 299 | 25 | 2 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .994 | 2.11 |
| 1964 Phillies | LF | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1964 Phillies | RF | 162 | 159 | 4,272 | 344 | 2.1 | 340 | 320 | 20 | 4 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .988 | 2.15 |
| 1965 Phillies | RF | 159 | 154 | 4,172 | 344 | 2.2 | 338 | 317 | 21 | 6 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .983 | 2.19 |
| 1966 Phillies | RF | 154 | 150 | 4,040 | 289 | 1.9 | 286 | 274 | 12 | 3 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .990 | 1.91 |
| 1967 Phillies | RF | 147 | 144 | 3,843 | 304 | 2.1 | 297 | 286 | 11 | 7 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 2.09 |
| 1968 Phillies | RF | 109 | 107 | 2,702 | 197 | 1.8 | 197 | 187 | 10 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.97 |
| 1969 Phillies | RF | 129 | 128 | 3,357 | 285 | 2.2 | 282 | 272 | 10 | 3 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .989 | 2.27 |
| 1970 Cubs | CF | 3 | 2 | 57 | 3 | 1.0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.42 |
| 1970 Cubs | RF | 143 | 128 | 3,430 | 258 | 1.8 | 251 | 243 | 8 | 7 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .973 | 1.98 |
| 1971 Cubs | LF | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1971 Cubs | RF | 88 | 82 | 2,175 | 162 | 1.8 | 159 | 156 | 3 | 3 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .981 | 1.97 |
| 1972 Yankees | RF | 74 | 69 | 1,747 | 132 | 1.8 | 131 | 127 | 4 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .992 | 2.02 |
| 1973 Yankees | RF | 32 | 29 | 756 | 47 | 1.5 | 45 | 43 | 2 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .957 | 1.61 |
| Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| RF Totals | 1,578 | 1,520 | 40,270 | 3,161 | 2.0 | 3,113 | 2,954 | 159 | 48 | 29 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 2.09 | |
| LF Totals | 199 | 155 | 4,384 | 358 | 1.8 | 350 | 338 | 12 | 8 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .978 | 2.16 | |
| CF Totals | 24 | 15 | 466 | 51 | 2.1 | 50 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .980 | 2.90 | |
| 16 Years | 1,801 | 1,690 | 45,120 | 3,570 | 2.0 | 3,513 | 3,341 | 172 | 57 | 34 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .984 | 2.10 | |
Johnny CallisonJohnny Callison Miscellaneous Stats |
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| Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
| Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 1958 White Sox | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 64.0 | 4.6 | 5.3 | - | - | - |
| 1959 White Sox | 0 | 1 | .000 | 5 | 6 | n/a | 34.7 | 5.2 | 8.7 | - | - | - |
| 1960 Phillies | 0 | 4 | .000 | 17 | 0 | n/a | 32.0 | 4.1 | 9.6 | - | - | - |
| 1961 Phillies | 10 | 4 | .714 | 17 | 1 | n/a | 50.6 | 6.0 | 9.7 | - | - | - |
| 1962 Phillies | 10 | 3 | .769 | 10 | 0 | n/a | 26.2 | 6.3 | 7.3 | - | - | - |
| 1963 Phillies | 8 | 3 | .727 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 24.1 | 5.6 | 8.0 | - | - | - |
| 1964 Phillies | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | 1 | n/a | 21.1 | 6.9 | 6.3 | - | - | - |
| 1965 Phillies | 6 | 5 | .545 | 6 | 0 | n/a | 19.3 | 5.3 | 6.1 | - | - | - |
| 1966 Phillies | 8 | 8 | .500 | 4 | 1 | n/a | 55.6 | 7.4 | 11.1 | - | - | - |
| 1967 Phillies | 6 | 12 | .333 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 39.7 | 8.8 | 8.7 | - | - | - |
| 1968 Phillies | 4 | 3 | .571 | 13 | 0 | n/a | 28.4 | 5.7 | 10.0 | - | - | - |
| 1969 Phillies | 2 | 1 | .667 | 6 | 0 | n/a | 30.9 | 6.8 | 7.7 | - | - | - |
| 1970 Cubs | 7 | 2 | .778 | 4 | 2 | n/a | 25.1 | 7.6 | 7.0 | - | - | - |
| 1971 Cubs | 2 | 1 | .667 | 15 | 1 | n/a | 36.3 | 5.3 | 7.6 | - | - | - |
| 1972 Yankees | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 21 | 1 | n/a | 30.6 | 8.1 | 8.1 | - | - | - |
| 1973 Yankees | 1 | 1 | .500 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 136.0 | 5.7 | 13.6 | - | - | - |
| Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 16 Years | 74 | 51 | .592 | 135 | 13 | 10 | 29.4 | 6.3 | 7.9 | - | - | - |
Johnny CallisonJohnny Callison Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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| Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
| 1958 Chicago White Sox | 9 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1959 Chicago White Sox | 9 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1960 Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1961 Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1962 Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
| 1963 Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1964 Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
| 1965 Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
| 1966 Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1967 Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1968 Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1969 Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1970 Chicago Cubs | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1971 Chicago Cubs | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
| 1972 New York Yankees | 25 | $37,500.00 | - | - |
| 1973 New York Yankees | 25 | $42,500.00 | - | - |
| Johnny Callison Stats by Baseball Almanac | ||||

John Wesley Callison was a Major League Baseball player with the Chicago White Sox (1958-1959), Philadelphia Phillies (1960-1969), Chicago Cubs (1970-1971), and New York Yankees (1972-1973). In 1965, Johnny, his nickname, hit a National League (NL) leading sixteen triples, and through today, he remains the last Phillies left-handed hitter to ever hit 15-or-more triples in the same season! [Year by Year Leaders for Triples]
In 1962, Johnny Callison led the National League in triples as well, recording a league high ten three-baggers. Callison was only the second Philly to lead the NL in triples twice (or more), joining hall of famer Richie Ashburn (1950 & 1958), a feat since matched by Juan Samuel (1984 & 1987), Jimmy Rollins (2001, 2002, 2004, 2007) and Shane Victorino (2009 & 2011).
Johnny Callison was a rocket-armed right fielder. Period. One of the best of the decade. Jim Bunning said, "He did an unbelievable job playing right field and knocking in a lot of key runs." Dick Allen said, "He was a terrific player with a great arm from right field." Tim McCarver said, "Cannon for an arm. Compact power. Just a superb ballplayer. He was the whole package."
"The best player on the Phillies in 1964, however, was rightfielder Johnny Callison. An extraordinary athlete, Callison was what baseball men would late refer to as a five-tool player: he could hit for average, hit for power, run, throw and field.
Callison was having his best year in 1964 with 31 home runs and 104 RBIs and would finish second in the voting for MVP.
Callison had a cannon for an arm; a hose; a howitzer, a rifle. In other words, he could throw very well. When baseball men discussed great arms from the outfield in the sixties, there were three men who were far above everyone else: Roberto Clemente, Rocky Colavito and Johnny Callison."
Source: Fred Hutchinson and the 1964 Cincinnati Reds. Wilson, Doug. Author. McFarland Publishing. 6 October 2010. Page 170.
Johnny Callison | 1964 All-Star Game Walk-Off Home Run | MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
After hanging up his cleats, Johnny Callison had gunned down 159 base runners from right field, 11th most in baseball history, behind Roberto Clemente (253), Harry Hooper (250), Paul Waner (238), Mel Ott (235), Sam Rice (198) Ross Youngs (190), Tommy Griffith (186), Hank Aaron (178), Harry Heilmann (174) and Chuck Klein (172). [Bold=HOF]