Jay Johnstone suffered with dementia in recent years before falling ill to COVID-19 according to his daughter Mary Jane Sarah Johnstone. At the age of 74, Johnstone died in a nursing home in Granada Hills. Johnstone enjoyed a long career in Major League Baseball, playing on the New York Yankees from 1978 to 1979, followed by a brief stint on the San Diego Padres before heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1980. He was then traded to the Chicago Cubs in 1982 and returned to the Dodgers in 1985. Johnstone played on 2 World Series Championship Teams in 1978 with the Yankees and 1981 with the dodgers. He was known for having a good sense of humor and kept clubhouses loose with pranks and gimmicks! After his career as an athlete, Johnstone was a radio color commenter for the Yankees (1989 – 1990) and Phillies (1992 – 1993). Along with his career in sports, Johnstone starred in the movie The Naked Gun and Solid Gold. He took the role of a baseball player in each. Jay Johnstone had an outstanding career that will forever leave a legacy on the sports community.

As seen in People Magazine.