Walter Johnson

Baseball Player

• Born: November 6, 1887
• Birthplace: Humboldt, Kansas
• Died: December 10, 1946
• Place of death: Washington, D.C.

Sport: Baseball

Early Life

Walter Perry Johnson was born in Humboldt, Kansas, on November 6, 1887. His family was of Swedish descent, and they had moved to Kansas from Pennsylvania to farm. Life was difficult, and in 1901, the Johnsons moved again, this time to California, where they hoped to make money in the oil fields around the town of Olinda. Although the Johnson family did not get rich from oil, they did make a living by providing the mule teams needed by the oil-drilling companies. Walter developed into an extremely powerful and athletic youth, and by the age of fourteen, he was a regular member of a local baseball team, the Oil Field Juniors. Although he was already an outstanding pitcher, Walter had to play catcher for the Juniors because there was no one on the team who could handle his fastball.

The Road to Excellence

At 6 feet 1 inch, the young Walter was a natural athlete. His pitching skill depended on his amazing fastball and his accurate control; later in his career, he developed a curveball, but he was basically a fastball pitcher. In 1901, Walter was working for the telephone company in Idaho and playing semiprofessional baseball. A traveling salesman and part-time scout saw Walter pitch and was so impressed that he sent a telegram to Joe Cantillon, the owner and manager of the Washington Senators. Cantillon was interested, because his team was one of the worst in baseball at the time and desperately needed new talent. Cliff Blankenship, a catcher for the Senators, was sent to investigate the new discovery and reported that Walter had one of the best fastballs he had ever seen.

The Senators quickly offered Walter a contract. His father insisted that it be changed to include travel expenses, and when this was done, Walter joined the Senators. In July, 1907, he was on his way from Idaho to Washington, D.C. He made his major-league debut on August 2, 1907, when the Senators played the Detroit Tigers, then led by Ty Cobb. The Tigers won the American League pennant that year while the Senators finished in last place with a 49-102 record. Despite this difference in team ability, Walter kept the game tied 1-1 until late in the eighth inning, when Cobb put the Tigers ahead with his typically bold baserunning.

This sort of game would be typical of Walter’s career with Washington. Generally unsupported by the team’s offense, Walter relied on his speed and control to silence opponents’ bats. He had such remarkable skill that he was often successful. He pitched in sixty-four games with scores of 1-0, and he won thirty-eight of them.

The Emerging Champion

In his rookie season, Walter had a 5-9 record. However, he showed his control by striking out seventy men and walking only seventeen in the 111 innings he pitched. The next year, Walter won fourteen games and pitched six shutouts. Three of his shutout victories came in a row against the New York Yankees. In 1909, Walter and the Senators had a bad year; he had only thirteen wins and Washington again fell to last place.

In 1910, Walter pitched the Opening Day game for Washington. This became a tradition; he started the season for the Senators fourteen times, winning nine of the games, with seven shutouts. In 1910, he won twenty-five games, the first of his ten consecutive seasons of twenty or more victories. He also won the first of his twelve strikeout titles, striking out 313 batters. In 1912, he had 303 strikeouts, then more than 200 for each of the next four seasons.

Walter had good seasons in 1911 and 1912, but 1913 was the best of his career. He won thirty-six games and had eleven shutouts and five one-hit games. His blazing fastball and accurate control accounted for 243 strikeouts. As a fitting cap to the season, Walter won the American League most valuable player award. From 1913 through 1919, Walter was at the top of his form. He became known as “The Big Train” because of the speed of his pitches, and his fastball won him twenty games every year during that span. He led the league in such important categories as complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts.

Continuing the Story

For years the Senators had been known as a poor baseball club, but in 1924, they managed to win the American League pennant. Walter helped by once again leading the league in pitching performance, capturing his second most valuable player trophy. The Senators won the 1924 World Series, the only world championship the team ever gained, by beating the New York Giants. Walter pitched in three games, losing two and winning one. The game he won clinched the series for Washington. The next year the Senators again played in the World Series, and Walter won two games for Washington. However, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the series in seven games.

Walter’s last good season was 1925. He had a leg broken by a line drive in spring training in 1927 but returned to finish the season with a 5-6 record. The next year he was stricken with a bad case of influenza, then was sent to manage a team in the International League. In 1929, Walter was chosen as the Senators’ manager. He managed the team for four years, but the team never finished higher than second place. In 1933, he became manager of the Cleveland Indians and remained there until August, 1935. His Cleveland teams never ended higher than third in the standings.

Walter retired to a farm he had in Maryland. He had married in 1913 and had five children, but his wife died in 1936. That same year, Walter was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He was a member of the inaugural group of players to be inducted into the hall; other players inducted included Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, and Christy Mathewson. In April, 1946, Walter was stricken with a brain tumor. He died in December of that year in Washington, D.C.

Summary

Walter Johnson was one of the great pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. He used his fastball and pinpoint control to achieve records that have endured as benchmarks for the game. His accomplishments are truly remarkable because he played most of his career with a mediocre team.

Bibliography

Deveaux, Tom. The Washington Senators, 1901-1971. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2001.

Frommer, Frederic J. The Washington Nationals 1859 to Today: The Story of Baseball in the Nation’s Capital. Lanham, Md.: Taylor Trade, 2006.

Koppett, Leonard, and David Koppett. Koppett’s Concise History of Major League Baseball. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2004.

Thomas, Henry W. Walter Johnson: Baseball’s Big Train. Reprint. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998.