Chris Wright and his friend Drew Johnson were at a local fair in 2001 when they approached one of the games where players threw balls trying to knock over milk bottles to win stuffed animal prizes. Johnson told Wright to “give the man some money.”
The once star pitcher for the New Hope High School baseball team proceeded not only to knock over each of the milk bottles, but to call which one he would hit before he did, throwing the balls hard enough they hit the canvas behind the bottles with a loud pop, Wright remembered. Every time Johnson won a stuffed animal, he turned and gave it to one of the children in the growing crowd that had gathered to watch him play.
“That was my friend,” Wright said. “I’ll love and miss him until I die. That was Drew.”
Life cut short
At 40, Johnson’s life was cut short this week after an apparent altercation at his home in southern Lowndes County. Deputies with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office were called to the home Drew shared his with 69-year-old father Larry Johnson Tuesday where responders found Drew dead from a gunshot wound. He and his father had apparently gotten into a fight Monday night when Larry allegedly shot him.
The news of Johnson’s sudden violent death saddened those who knew him — whether it was from his legendary baseball skills at New Hope or his Facebook personality “Diamond Parrot” — a nickname that started as a joke in Johnson’s 20s when he became a big fan of rap music, said Johnson’s friend Brad Haines.
In later years, Johnson wanted to be known by that name. That preference went hand-in-hand with a serious drug addiction that Johnson never shook, Haines said.
“He was a sweet soul that got lost in a dark world,” Haines said.
Haines and Johnson grew up together in New Hope. They knew each other’s parents growing up, played baseball together in high school, partied together in college and remained friends throughout their 20s. In the last eight or so years, their lives “took different paths,” Haines said, and their relationship dwindled to the random run-in around town or phone calls at night.
Johnson’s baseball skills earned him accolades in high school and college. He pitched for Meridian in the Junior College World Series before moving on to Southern Mississippi University to pitch for a season. The Texas Rangers drafted him, but he never played professionally.
“He’s probably one of the top three baseball players I’ve ever played against,” said newly-elected Caledonia alderman Matt Furnari, who played baseball at Caledonia High School when Johnson played at New Hope. “One of those was Kirk Presley from Tupelo who I think got drafted in the first round, number seven pick or something like that. And Drew had every bit of that talent. Fantastic player.”
Johnson quit baseball after his junior year at USM because he wanted to come home to New Hope — a decision he always regretted, Haines said.
Pain and addiction
Haines said Johnson was a big guy, almost intimidating looking, who would stick up for his friends no matter what. He loved sports and being outdoors, either hunting or fishing. He was also creative, Haines said. He would come up with design ideas for sports jerseys and wanted to be a published author.
But Johnson’s life was dogged by tragedy, Haines said. When he was 12 or 13, his mother died, and Johnson never quite got over it.
“That really was a theme throughout his life, his love for his mama and missing his mother,” Haines said.
As a teenager and in college, Haines said Johnson had a drinking problem, and by the time he was in his 30s, he was hooked on drugs.
“People look at (him) and they immediately write him off (as crazy),” Haines said. “But that was the ‘Diamond Parrot moniker,’ the alter ego. … The real Drew Johnson was a sweet friend and a sweet brother. He would do anything for his friends.”
Haines, a recovering addict himself now five years sober, said he believes Johnson wanted to quit using drugs.
“He didn’t enjoy it,” he said. “Most addicts don’t.”
In one of their last conversations, a phone call a few a weeks ago, Haines and Johnson talked about how bad drugs had gotten — not just in New Hope but all over the country. Johnson told Haines he was going to quit, going to get his life together, write a book about kicking the addiction and use it to inspire people.
“He always wanted to be that kind of hero,” Haines said. “He always talked about that, even when we were younger. When we were 12 years old, he wanted to be the kid that hit the grand slam to win the game. … He wanted to be that hero that went through all that adversity but came out of it and was somebody that people would look at and say, ‘Hey, I admire that guy.'”
Haines said he believes his friend is in a much better place, one far away from the darkness of drug addiction.
“I take peace and joy knowing (Drew is now) with his mother, and I know he’s happy,” he said.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.