I know i've caught a lot of flack for this sentimental nomination, but my grandfather knew Johnny when he moved to the Chicago area back in the 1960's. By all accounts, he was a fascinating character and was never at a loss for a great baseball story. I'm currently playing with his 1945 card in a face to face league (I had it made by strat)--he's hitting .205 in 12 games (not great, but better than Willie Mays' .191, Wee Willie Keeler's .196, and Wade Boggs' .200 at the moment
).