Prior to playing professionally, Johnson attended Huntington Beach High School and then Orange Coast College.
He led the Northwest League in hits and RBI, tied Nelson Mathews for the lead in triples, placed second behind Ethan Blackaby in doubles and total bases and was third in at-bats.
He split 1964 between Lynchburg and the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians and hit .286 with 15 home runs, 102 RBI, 35 doubles and 10 triples in 159 games.
In the early 1970s, along with Marty Keough he launched the Scout League of Southern California, where top high school players participated.
[7] He signed Jim Campbell, Shane Costa, Donnie Murphy, Ed Pierce, Bob Hamelin and Matt Treanor for the Royals.