Walter Johnson
Pitcher
Born: November 6, 1887(1887-11-06) Humboldt, Kansas
Died: December 10, 1946 (aged 59) Washington, D.C.
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 2, 1907 for the Washington Senators
Final game
September 30, 1927 for the Washington Senators
Career statistics
Win-Loss	417-279
E.R.A.	2. In Baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the Pitcher's mound toward the Catcher to begin each play with the goal of Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Humboldt is a City situated along the Neosho River in the southwest part of Allen County, located in southeast Kansas, in the Central Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Champions World Series: Chicago Cubs over Detroit Tigers (4-0-1 Awards and honors Statistical Leaders The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the Headline Event of the Year Murderers' Row lead New York Yankees to World Series victory The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A win is a Statistic in Major League Baseball credited to the Pitcher for the winning team who was in the game when his team last took the lead In Baseball, a loss (denoted L) is charged to the Pitcher of the losing team who allows the run that gives the opposing team the lead with which In Baseball statistics, earned run average ( ERA) is the Mean of Earned runs given up by a Pitcher per nine Innings pitched 17
Strikeouts	3509
Teams
As Player Washington Senators (1907-1927) As Manager Washington Senators (1929-1932) Cleveland Indians (1933-1935)
Career highlights and awards
417 career wins (2nd all-time) 110 career shutouts (1st all-time) 3509 career strikeouts (9th all-time) Won MVP award in 1913 & 1924 Played in two World Series (1924 and 1925) An inaugural member of Baseball Hall of Fame Pitched 56 consecutive scoreless innings, a record that stood until 1968 He was named #60 on ESPN's top 100 athletes of the century
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Elected	1936
Vote	83. In Baseball or Softball, a strikeout or strike out (denoted by SO or K) occurs when a batter receives three strikes The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Champions World Series: Chicago Cubs over Detroit Tigers (4-0-1 Awards and honors Statistical Leaders Headline Event of the Year Murderers' Row lead New York Yankees to World Series victory The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Champions World Series: Philadelphia Athletics over Chicago Cubs (4-1 Awards and honors Champions World Series: New York Yankees over Chicago Cubs (4-0 Negro League World Series: Pittsburgh Crawfords The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Headline Event of the Year First Negro League Baseball All-Star Game. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Detroit Tigers over Chicago Cubs (4-2 All-Star Game, Champions World Series: Philadelphia Athletics over New York Giants (4-1 Awards and honors Champions World Series: Washington Senators over New York Giants (4-3 First Negro League World Series: Kansas For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation. In the 1924 World Series, the Washington Senators beat the New York Giants in seven games In the 1925 World Series, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the defending champion Washington Senators in seven games The Year of the Pitcher In Major League Baseball, the trend throughout the 1960s was of increased pitching dominance caused by enforcing a larger strike zone (top of armpit ESPN, originally an acronym for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, is an American Cable television network dedicated to Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants (4-2 All-Star Game 63%

Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "The Big Train", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between 1907 and 1927. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In Baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the Pitcher's mound toward the Catcher to begin each play with the goal of One of the most celebrated players in baseball history, Johnson established several pitching records, some of which remained unbroken for more than a half-century.

Early life

Walter Johnson was born the second of six children to Frank and Minnie Johnson on a rural farm four miles west of Humboldt, Kansas. Humboldt is a City situated along the Neosho River in the southwest part of Allen County, located in southeast Kansas, in the Central Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " ^[1] Before he reached his fourteenth birthday in 1901, his family moved to California's Orange County. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Orange County is a county in Southern California, United States. The Johnsons settled in the town of Olinda, a small oil boomtown located just east of Brea. Brea-Olinda is a small Master planned community located in the city of Brea California. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Brea is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population as of 2007 is 39560 ^[2] In his youth, the young Walter Johnson split his time between playing baseball, working in the nearby oil fields, and going horseback riding. An oil field is a region with an abundance of Oil wells extracting Petroleum (crude oil from below ground For the Roman class see Equestrian (Roman Equestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving Horses This broad description ^[2] Johnson later attended Fullerton High School where he infamously struck out 27 batters during a 15-inning game against Santa Ana High School. History In 1893 a special Election was held to create Fullerton Union High School In Baseball or Softball, a strikeout or strike out (denoted by SO or K) occurs when a batter receives three strikes In Baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing Pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team Santa Ana High School is the oldest and largest high school in Orange County California, United States. ^[2] In July 1907, while he was working for the local telephone company and pitching for Weiser, Idaho in the semi-pro Idaho State League, Johnson was spotted by a talent scout and, at the age of nineteen, signed a contract with the Washington Senators. Weiser is a city in the rural western part of the US state of Idaho and the seat of Washington County. The State of Idaho ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America.

Baseball career

Johnson won renown as the premier power pitcher of his era. In Baseball, a power pitcher is a Pitcher who relies on the Velocity of his pitches, sometimes at the expense of accuracy Ty Cobb recalled his first encounter with the rookie fastballer:

"On August 2, 1907, I encountered the most threatening sight I ever saw in the ball field. Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb (December 18 1886 – July 17 1961 nicknamed " The Georgia Peach," was a baseball player and is regarded by historians He was a rookie, and we licked our lips as we warmed up for the first game of a doubleheader in Washington. Evidently, manager Pongo Joe Cantillon of the Nats had picked a rube out of the cornfields of the deepest bushes to pitch against us. . . He was a tall, shambling galoot of about twenty, with arms so long they hung far out of his sleeves, and with a sidearm delivery that looked unimpressive at first glance. . . One of the Tigers imitated a cow mooing, and we hollered at Cantillon: 'Get the pitchfork ready, Joe-- your hayseed's on his way back to the barn. '

. . . The first time I faced him, I watched him take that easy windup. And then something went past me that made me flinch. The thing just hissed with danger. We couldn't touch him. . . every one of us knew we'd met the most powerful arm ever turned loose in a ball park. "

Yankees outfielder Birdie Cree said the only way to time Johnson's fastball was "when you see the arm start forward, swing. William Franklin "Birdie" Cree ( October 23, 1883 - November 8, 1942) was a Major League Baseball Outfielder "

Although a lack of precision instruments prevented accurate measurement of his fastball, Johnson may well have thrown over 100 miles per hour. For the American band of the same name see Fastball (band. For the game also known as fast-pitch softball see Softball. This speed would be exceptional even today, but it was virtually unique in Johnson's day, with the possible exception of Smoky Joe Wood. Unusually, Johnson pitched with a sidearm motion, whereas power pitchers are normally associated with a straight-overhand delivery.

The overpowering fastball was the primary reason for Johnson's exceptional statistics, especially his fabled strikeout totals. Johnson's record total of 3,509 strikeouts stood for more than 55 years until Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, and Gaylord Perry (in that order) all surpassed it in 1983. Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr (born January 31, 1947 in Refugio, Texas) is a retired American Right-handed Pitcher in Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944 in Miami Florida) is a former left-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball, from to Gaylord Jackson Perry (born September 15 1938 in Williamston North Carolina) is a former right-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Philadelphia Phillies (4-1 Rick Dempsey, Johnson is now 9th on the all-time strikeout list, but his total must be understood in its proper context. Among his pre-World War II contemporaries, only two men were within a thousand strikeouts of Johnson: runner-up Cy Young with 2,803 (706 strikeouts behind) and Tim Keefe at 2,562. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29 1867 – November 4 1955 was an American Baseball player who pitched for five different major league Timothy John "Tim" Keefe ( January 1 1857 &ndash April 23 1933) was an American pitcher in Major League Bob Feller, whose war-shortened career began in 1936, later ended up with 2,581. Robert William Andrew "Bob" Feller (born November 3, 1918 in Van Meter Iowa) nicknamed the "Heater from Van Meter" and World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants (4-2 All-Star Game

Walter Johnson on a 1909-1911 American Tobacco Company baseball card (White Borders (T206)). The American Tobacco Company was founded in 1890 by J B Duke as a merger between a number of Tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and A baseball card is a type of Trading card relating to baseball usually printed on some type of Paper stock or card stock

As a right-handed pitcher for the Washington Nationals/Senators, Walter Johnson won 417 games, the second most by any pitcher in history (after Cy Young, who won 511). The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is a list of the top 500 Major League Baseball winningest pitchers. Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29 1867 – November 4 1955 was an American Baseball player who pitched for five different major league He and Young are the only pitchers to have won 400 games.

In a 21-year career, Johnson had twelve 20-win seasons, including ten in a row. Twice, he topped thirty wins (33 in 1912 and 36 in 1913). Champions World Series: Boston Red Sox over New York Giants (4-3-1 Awards and honors Chalmers Champions World Series: Philadelphia Athletics over New York Giants (4-1 Awards and honors Johnson's record includes 110 shutouts, the most in baseball history. Johnson had a 38-26 record in games decided by a 1-0 score; both his win total and his losses in these games are major league records. On September 4, 5 and 7, 1908, he shut out the New York Yankees in three consecutive games. Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself Events 1590 - Alexander Farnese 's army forces Henry IV of France to raise the siege of Paris. Events 1251 BC - A Solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes Greece. Champions World Series: Chicago Cubs over Detroit Tigers (4-1 Awards and honors Statistical Leaders The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York.

Three times, Johnson won the triple crown for pitchers (1913, 1918 and 1924). For other uses of this term see Triple crown In Baseball, the Triple Crown refers to A batter who (at season's end leads Champions World Series: Boston Red Sox over Chicago Cubs (4-2 MLB Statistical Leaders Major Champions World Series: Washington Senators over New York Giants (4-3 First Negro League World Series: Kansas Johnson twice won the American League Most Valuable Player Award (1913, 1924), a feat accomplished since by only two other pitchers, Carl Hubbell in 1933 and 1936 and Hal Newhouser in 1944 and 1945. The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in Carl Owen Hubbell ( June 22, 1903 &ndash November 21, 1988) was a left-handed Screwball Pitcher in Major League Baseball Headline Event of the Year First Negro League Baseball All-Star Game. Harold "Prince Hal" Newhouser ( May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998) was a professional Major League Baseball Pitcher Champions Major League Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals over St Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Detroit Tigers over Chicago Cubs (4-3 All-Star Game

His earned run average of 1. In Baseball statistics, earned run average ( ERA) is the Mean of Earned runs given up by a Pitcher per nine Innings pitched 14 in 1913 was the fourth lowest ever at the time he recorded it; it remains the sixth-lowest today. It could have been lower if not for one of manager Clark Griffith's traditions. Clark Calvin Griffith ( November 20, 1869 - October 27, 1955) nicknamed "the Old Fox" was a Major League Baseball For the last game of the season, Griffith often treated the fans to a farce game. Johnson actually played center field that game until he was brought in to pitch. He allowed two hits before he was taken out of the game. The next pitcher - who was actually a career catcher - allowed both runners to score. The official scorekeeper ignored the game, but later, Johnson was charged with those two runs, raising his ERA from 1. 09 to 1. 14.

In 1913, also, Johnson won 36 games. The entire team won 90, so Walter finished with 40% of the team's total wins for the season.

Although he usually pitched for losing teams during his career, Johnson finally led the Washington Nationals/Senators to the World Series in 1924, his 18th year in the American League. The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation. Johnson lost the first and fifth game of the 1924 World Series, but became the hero by pitching four scoreless innings of relief in the seventh and deciding game, winning in the 12th inning. Washington returned to the World Series the following season, but Johnson's experience was close to the inverse: two early wins, followed by a Game Seven loss.

Although his Hall of Fame plaque reads that he pitched 'for many years with a losing team,' during his career the Senators finished in the first division 11 times, and the second division 10 times. A hall of fame (sometimes HOF) is a type of Museum established for any a field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field In Johnson's first five seasons, Washington finished last twice and next-to-last three times. But they came close to winning the pennant in 1912 as well as the following year, which were Johnson's two 30-win seasons. Champions World Series: Boston Red Sox over New York Giants (4-3-1 Awards and honors Chalmers Then, for the next decade, they typically finished in the middle of the pack before their back-to-back pennants.

Johnson was a good hitter for a pitcher, compiling a career batting average of . Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 235, including a record . 433 average in 1925. He also made 13 appearances in the outfield during his career. The outfield is a Sporting term used in Cricket and Baseball to refer to the area of the Field of play further from the Batsman He hit over . 200 in 13 of his 21 seasons as a hitter, and actually hit 12 doubles and a triple in 130 at bats in 1917. In Baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching Second base without being called out by the Umpire In Baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching Third base after hitting the ball with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay (see In a season where Johnson had 28 wins, he also had more home runs (3) than Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner or Napoleon Lajoie, all Hall of Fame hitters. Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb (December 18 1886 – July 17 1961 nicknamed " The Georgia Peach," was a baseball player and is regarded by historians Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (ˈhɑnəs ˈwæɡnɚ February 24 1874 &ndash December 6 1955) nicknamed " The Flying Dutchman Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie or often la-ZHWAY per the Canadian French pronunciation or as he himself usually pronounced it LAJ-a-wayLee Allen in ''The American League

Johnson had a reputation as a kindly person, and made many friends in baseball. As reported in The Glory of Their Times, Sam Crawford was one of Johnson's good friends, and sometimes in non-critical situations, Johnson would ease up so Crawford would hit well against him. Samuel Earl Crawford ( April 18 1880 &ndash June 15 1968) nicknamed " Wahoo Sam " was a Major League Baseball This would vex Crawford's teammate, Ty Cobb, who could not understand how Crawford could hit the great Johnson so well. Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb (December 18 1886 – July 17 1961 nicknamed " The Georgia Peach," was a baseball player and is regarded by historians Johnson was also friendly with Babe Ruth, despite Ruth's having hit some of his longest home runs off him at Griffith Stadium. George Herman Ruth Jr (February 6 1895 &ndash August 16 1948 also popularly known as " Babe " " The Bambino " and " The Sultan of Griffith Stadium was a Sports Stadium that stood in Washington D

In 1928, he began his career as a manager in the minor leagues, taking up residence at 32 Maple Terrace, Millburn, New Jersey, and managing the Newark team of the International League. Champions World Series: New York Yankees over St Louis Cardinals Awards and honors League In Baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager (or more formally the field manager) this individual controls matters Part of the History of baseball series Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of Professional baseball leagues in North Millburn is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, United States and the County seat of Essex County. The International League ( IL) is a Minor league baseball league which operates in the eastern United States. He continued on to the major leagues, managing the Washington Nationals/Senators (1929-1932), and finally the Cleveland Indians (1933-1935). The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Champions World Series: Philadelphia Athletics over Chicago Cubs (4-1 Awards and honors Champions World Series: New York Yankees over Chicago Cubs (4-0 Negro League World Series: Pittsburgh Crawfords The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Headline Event of the Year First Negro League Baseball All-Star Game. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Detroit Tigers over Chicago Cubs (4-2 All-Star Game, Johnson also served as a radio announcer for the Senators during the 1939 season. Headline Event of the Year On May 17, 1939, Princeton University and Columbia University played the first televised baseball

One of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, Walter Johnson retired to Germantown, Maryland, and ran, but was not elected Montgomery County commissioner in 1938. The first elections to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame were held in 1936. Germantown is an urbanized Census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland in the United States. Montgomery County of the US state of Maryland is situated just north of Washington D He died of a brain tumor in Washington, D.C., five weeks after his 59th birthday, and was interred in Rockville, Maryland's Rockville Union Cemetery. A brain tumor is any intracranial Tumor created by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, normally either in the Brain itself ( Neurons Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Rockville is the County seat of Montgomery County Maryland, United States. Rockville Union Cemetery was established in 1738 by the Anglican Prince George's Parish.

Additional facts and details

Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland has been named for him. Walter Johnson High School ( WJHS) is located at 6400 Rock Spring Drive in Bethesda, an unincorporated region of Montgomery County Maryland Bethesda is an Unincorporated area in southern Montgomery County Maryland, just Northwest of Washington D The monument to him that once stood outside Griffith Stadium has been moved to the school's campus. Griffith Stadium was a Sports Stadium that stood in Washington D The school's yearbook is called "The Windup" and the newspaper is called "The Pitch. "

Johnson was the first American League pitcher to strike out four batters in one inning.

Additionally, a team in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League in Bethesda is named the "Big Train" in honor of him.

He was also called "Sir Walter", "the White Knight", and "The Gentle Johnson" because of his gentlemanly gamesmanship, and "Old Barney" later in his career. In 1985, the rock musician Jonathan Richman recorded a song entitled "Walter Johnson" that celebrated Johnson's kindness. Events January January 28 - Various artists, under the group name USA For Africa, including Ray Charles Jonathan Richman (born 16 May 1951) is an American singer songwriter and guitarist

In 1999, he ranked number 4 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, the highest-ranked pitcher. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-0 Mariano Rivera, MVP Sporting News (previously The Sporting News, and known colloquially as TSN) is an American -based Sports Later that year, he was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 1999 MasterCard sponsored the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Johnson's gentle nature was legendary, and to this day he is held up as an example of good sportsmanship while his name has become synonymous with friendly competition. This attribute worked to Johnson's disadvantage in the case of fellow Hall of Famer Ty Cobb. Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb (December 18 1886 – July 17 1961 nicknamed " The Georgia Peach," was a baseball player and is regarded by historians Virtually all batters were concerned about being hit by Johnson's fastball, and many would not "dig in" at the plate because of that concern. Cobb realized that the good-hearted Johnson was privately nervous about the possibility of seriously injuring a batsman. Almost alone among his peers, Cobb would actually stand closer to the plate than usual when facing Johnson. ^[3]

Johnson's rookie season was Cobb's third, and Johnson retired one year before Cobb. Cobb faced Johnson at bat more times in their overlapping careers than any other hitter-pitcher combination in major league history.

Johnson was mentioned in the poem "Lineup for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash:

Statistics

Career Statistics:
Hitting

Pitching

See also

• 300 win club
• 3000 strikeout club
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
• Triple Crown
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• List of Major League Baseball wins champions
• MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
• Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
• MLB all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers
• Major League Baseball titles leaders

References

Thomas, Henry W. (1995). Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train. Washington, D. C. : Phenom Press. ISBN 0964543907

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• baseballhalloffame.org – Hall of Fame biography page
• Find-A-Grave
• virginia.edu - Walter Johnson play-by-play for the Washington Senators game on September 21, 1939]
• Walter Johnson at the Internet Movie Database