As you probably could have guessed, I'm a huge fan of the 300-win milestone. There is nothing quite like celebrating the select group of 24 pitchers with the talent, the longevity, and the luck to average 15 wins a year for 20 seasons. It was enough for me to dedicate almost 500,000 words on celebrating the 10th anniversary of the last time the milestone was reached, almost a year ago.
Yes, I hear the criticisms about the pitcher's win. I hear the complaints how the men in the 300-win-club are mere compilers and not actually the best pitchers in baseball history. To that I say "Bah." The pitching win is an antiquated stat and reliant more on the team than individual performances, and win-loss record is often very deceiving. Yet it takes a certain type of pitcher to put in the innings required to achieve strong win totals. And with the complaint that the 300-win pitchers are not the best? I'd like to direct people to the JAWS statistic. JAWS is a creation of sportswriter Jay Jaffe, and stands for JAffe Wins above replacement Score. It makes use of the Wins Above Replacement (WAR) stat, which attempts to quantify the contributions of a baseball player in all aspects of the game. JAWS is basically the average between the career WAR and the sum of the total WAR from the player's seven best seasons. It's remarkably simple, yet gives equal consideration towards a player's career as a whole and their peak.
Each player has a JAWS score, and their scores can be compared to the scores of Hall of Famers at their respective positions to give a general estimation at their Hall of Fame worthiness. The list of the 500 best JAWS score among starting pitchers is available over at Baseball Reference, and it's worth noting that the 13 pitchers with the highest JAWS scores are all 300 game winner. One would have to get to the 14th spot before you get to the first pitcher without 300 wins (Bob Gibson with 251). The average JAWS scores among Hall of Fame starters is 61.6. Of the 32 pitchers that eclipse that mark, 21 of them are 300-game winners, with only Mickey Welch, Don Sutton and Early Wynn falling short. To see how much 300-game winners tower over their Hall of Fame counterparts without 300 wins, consider the fact that the 300-game-winning Hall of Famers have an average JAWS score of 78.3*, compare to the 52.5 put up by the Hall of Famers without 300 wins**.
*The average JAWS of all 300-game-winners becomes an even more impressive 79.3 if you throw in Roger Clemens, who has his 354 wins but isn't in the Hall of Fame. There are only 10 pitchers with a JAWS score above 79.3.
**The average JAWS of all pitchers with at least 150 wins outside the Hall of Fame is 38.1, and that's if you include all of the players still active and Roger Clemens. If you remove Clemens the average falls to 37.7. If you remove the active players the average falls to 37.6. If you remove Clemens and the active players, the average becomes 37.2.
And yet among all of the pitchers that have ever played in the Majors, there is one man that stands atop the JAWS mountain, the player with a strong case for being the best pitcher of all time. That man is Walter Johnson. And today is the 100th anniversary of his 300th win.
I
Walter
The name Walter Johnson doesn't have the same cache among baseball fans nowadays. It is likely because his peak was over 100 years ago, during a time when blacks were excluded from the Majors and when there were only eight teams in a league, none of them west of St. Louis. It was a time when spitballs were more common than sliders, and when there were probably nobody that threw 90 miles an hour, much less 100. And he plied his trade for a team that no longer exists under its current iteration in a city that didn't have a Major League team for over 30 years. Yet his achievements are still awe-inducing today.
Walter Perry Johnson was born on November 6, 1887 in Humboldt, a tiny town in southeastern Kansas. His parents Frank and Minnie were farmers trying to eke out a living, and little Walter helped out in any way he can. It was a difficult life, and while Walter became big and strong from the heavy lifting and the hard work, he did not have much time for baseball. The Johnsons gave up the farming life when Walter was just 14, and they made the trek to California 30 years before millions of other families did the same. They settled in southern California where Frank and young Walter were able to secure jobs in oil fields. It was here in the Orange County sandlots that Walter first took up baseball. He could whip the ball faster than any of the other boys, and soon found himself playing against adults on the team sponsored by his oil company.
Walter graduated from high school in 1906, and he wound up in Weiser, Idaho working for a telephone company while pitching on their semipro team. He was still dominating in Idaho a year later when news of his exploits floated to the Major League teams in the east. At the time there were no drafts, no farm system, and no antitrust exemption in baseball. Minor league teams operated independently, while Major League teams were always on the lookout for players that could contribute. Manager Joe Cantillon of the Washington Senators was in desperate need for new players. He took over a team that had never finished higher than sixth in the six seasons since the American League became a Major League, and had sunk into dead last before the end of June. Cantillon sent his injured backup catcher Cliff Blankenship to Idaho to sign the "Weiser Wonder." Blankeship had just signed Clyde Milan on the same trip and was under orders to get a contract offer to Walter. Johnson was reluctant, but finally signed after his parents granted him permission, and after he was promised a return ticket if he didn't make it.
Walter made it to Washington and made his debut against the Detroit Tigers on August 2, 1907. The Tigers were in a fierce battle for the pennant, led by the fiery youngster Ty Cobb. They taunted the hayseed mercilessly before the game, but he quieted them immediately with his fearsome fastball. The Jungaleers were able to figure out that the youngster couldn't field bunts, and they managed to scratch out three runs on ten hits to secure the win. Nevertheless, they had a newfound respect for the Nationals' new hurler. Walter felt terrible for letting his team down, but five days later he defeated Nap Lajoie and the Cleveland Naps 7-2 to record his first Major League win. It would not be his last. Walter led the 1907 Senators with a 1.88 ERA, 1.088 WHIP, and a 3.55 K/BB ratio, but he only went 5-9 as the Nationals finished last.
Washington was excited to see what their young pitcher would do in 1908, but were devastated to hear that Walter was dealing with an ear infection. In the years before penicillin any infection could be a potentially fatal affair. He recovered, but didn't make his return until June, and was only 7-8 through the end of August. The Senators were hosting the last-place New York Highlanders in the Labor Day weekend, and their pitching staff has been hurting. Manager Cantillon asked his young hurler if he could pitch three of the four games. Walter agreed, and proceeded to throw three shutouts in four days, an amazing achievement that shook the baseball world. They looked forward to see what the youngster had in store in 1909, but Walter limped to a 13-25 record as Washington collapsed to 110 losses and another last place finish. Yet amidst the horrible win-loss record there was some bright spots for Walter. His 2.22 ERA in 296.1 innings was above average and led the team's starters, and his 164 strikeouts finished second in the league. While others were ready to write off the youngster, Walter knew his day would come.
And his day would come in 1910. He lowered his ERA by almost a run to 1.36, and also struck out an astonishing 313 batters, helping him to his first strikeout title. He survived the adaptation of the cork-centered baseball and the move into the steel-and-concrete National Park in 1911 and put up another strong season. Although his ERA jumped to 1.90 and his strikeouts fell to 207, he still finished in the top three in both categories. Walter won 25 games in both season, a remarkable achievement for a team still finishing near the bottom of American League standings. Walter excelled in 1912, winning his first ERA title with a 1.39 mark and crossing the 300-strikeout barrier once again with 303. His season included a 16-game winning streak that stretched from July 3 through August 23, and he ended the season with 33 wins. More importantly, the Senators were now managed by former Chicago Colts ace Clark Griffith, who turned his team around. They embarked on a 17-game winning streak in June that put them into second place. They wound up finishing 14 games behind the Boston Red Sox, but it was still their first ever finish in the first division.
1913 would be Walter Johnson's magnum opus of a season. He opened the year with ten straight wins as he put together a streak of 55.2 scoreless innings before finally allowing a run on May 14, a game he still won. His ERA was still below 1.00 through June. He tossed a 15-inning 1-0 shutout against the defending champion Boston Red Sox on July 3 as part of another 14-game winning streak that ended in an excruciating pitcher's duel where he found himself on the wrong side of a 1-0 shutout in extra innings. The Senators spent most of the season in the first division before finally ending up with their second straight second place finish. Walter had 36 wins and a 1.09 ERA going into the final game of the season, where they faced the Red Sox. The two teams were out of the playoff picture, so they decided to have some fun in the last day of the season. Manager Griffith threw a random lineup together, penciling in Walter as the center fielder and batted him cleanup. The two teams spent the day lobbing softballs at each other, and even the 43-year-old Old Fox came in for some action. Eventually the fans started clamoring for their beloved Barney to get some action. Either Walter was still ordered to throw softballs or still laughing from the day's antics but he allowed hits to both Boston batters he faced. He swapped places with backup catcher Eddie Ainsmith, playing second base for the time being. Ainsmith allowed both of the Big Train's runners to score before rookie Joe Gedeon ended the absurd 10-9 victory. The brief appearance raised Walter's ERA to 1.14, but he still captured his first pitching Triple crown, and was rewarded with the Chalmer's Award as the MVP in 1913.
There was no more doubt that Walter Johnson was one of the best players in baseball, a man instrumental in helping his team gain respectability. However, there was a mysterious entity that would threaten to destroy the relationship between the pitcher and his city. The Federal League was an outlaw league that lured Major League stars under the promise of higher salaries. They declared themselves a Major League in 1914, and had a relatively successful season playing under the shadows of established American and National League teams. However, the owners knew in order to stay successful they needed Major League stars. Walter Johnson was certainly one of the game's biggest stars, but he turned down a Federal League contract in 1914, then went out to have another fantastic year, winning 28 games with a league-leading 225 strikeouts. However, the Federal Leagues tried again that off-season with the Chicago Whales offering a contract that dwarfed the salary offered by Griffith. This time Walter agreed, sending shockwaves throughout the baseball establishment. It was only a day after Eddie Plank departed the Philadelphia Athletics for the Fed's St. Louis Terriers. The move spurned Griffith into action. He paid a personal visit to Walter and his new wife Hazel in Coffeyville, Kansas, where the pitcher had settled. Johnson was so wracked with guilt over signing with Chicago that he accepted the contract offer he had turned down earlier.
With the reunification complete, Walter Johnson went on to dominate the rest of the decade. He won 20 games each season, including 27 in 1915 the year after the Federal League scare. He led the league in strikeouts in each of those seasons, topping out with 228 in 1916 where he won 25 games. His ERA faltered from 1915-1917, but he rebounded to lead the league with a 1.27 ERA in 1918 and a 1.49 ERA in 1919. For the entire decade Walter went 265-143 with a 1.59 ERA (183 ERA+) and 2219 strikeouts. His bWAR in the entire decade was 116.7 with an 82.9 in his seven best seasons*. He was also closing in some lofty career numbers. He passed Tim Keefe for second in the all-time strikeouts list in 1919, and with 2,614 strikeouts he was just 189 behind Cy Young for the all-time lead. And he was credited with 297 wins.
*Walter's bWAR in his seven best seasons of the decade was 89.2. His 102.95 JAWS for just the 1910s alone would still place third of all time.
Despite Walter's heroics, the Senators had faltered in the latter half of the 1910s. They lost a close race for the pennant in the 1918 season shortened by the Great War, but that was the only year they finished in the first division from 1916 to 1919, culminating with a seventh place finish in 1919. Griffith was not pleased with his team's performance, and he rallied his team to an early start for spring training in Tampa, Florida. It was unseasonably cold and rainy in Southern Florida, and by the time Walter arrived to camp a week into March, the rest of the team had spent about as much time waiting around as they have training. The Nationals still put up a strong showing in their exhibition schedule. They played a string of barnstorming games against the defending champion and performed admirably, winning eight of 13 including four straight. However, their ace was stricken with a bad cold amidst the rainy weather. It wasn't quite the Spanish Flu that had killed millions in the two preceding years, and Walter recovered enough to deliver strong performances in his final two starts against Cincinnati, putting him in good position to make his 10th Opening Day start.
His opponents the Boston Red Sox were reeling over the loss of their star outfielder George Herman Ruth and were predicted by many to finish in the second division. However, the initial Opening Day was delayed due to cold. When the teams finally faced off, the Red Sox hammered Walter for five runs in just two innings, the worst Opening Day performance of Johnson's career. His cold kept him from starting the home opener against Boston, and he didn't make his next appearance until the final game of the four-game series, a full ten days after his previous start. He did get his revenge, shutting the Red Sox out for his first win of the season. He even contributed with a double and a run in the 2-0 victory. Walter picked up his second win of the year four days later in a strong 2-1 victory against the New York Yankees, holding their slugger Ruth to just a single.
After a relief appearance against the Philadelphia Athletics where he finished off a 5-4 victory, Walter made a pair of starts against the Yankees. Those weren't quite as successful as the start in April. New York pounded out 11 hits on May 5, and the Senators made four errors on their way to a 7-1 defeat. Four days later he allowed five runs on 13 hits, and a ninth inning Washington rally fell short as the Senators fell 5-3. Johnson's two losses were the only ones for the Nationals as they took three of five from the Yanks. Washington was sitting at .500, and they were welcoming the Detroit Tigers, who had post-season aspirations but were off to a horrible start. They lost their first 13 games of the season, and at 4-16 still had the worst record in all of baseball. Of course, Detroit won the first game on Ty Cobb's two-run double in the ninth. Rain canceled the next two games of the series before the two teams finally decided to play the final game of the series.
II
May 14, 1920
It was dry but chilly in Washington DC on May 14, 1920. The temperature never got above a high of 57. Citizens of the nation's capitol were looking forward to the sentencing of Ziang Sung Wan (宦祥生). The sentence was a foregone conclusion given the fact that Wan, a Chinese national, was convicted of the murder of Ben Sen Wu (吳炳新) in a gruesome triple murder in January 1919. The conviction was made on a basis of a confession that Wan claimed was made after over a week of intense questioning while he was suffering from the effects of the Spanish Flu. Nevertheless, he still received a death sentence, seemingly closing the book of a crime that had engrossed Washingtonians for over a year.
Elsewhere in the world, Americans were transfixed by the flight of Venustiano Carranza south of the border in Mexico. Carranza had been the president of Mexico since 1917, when he won the first election held after the onset of the Mexican Revolution. During his reign he struggled to coalesce power while dealing with opponents such as Emiliano "Viva" Zapata, Pancho Villa, and Felix Diaz. He also had to deal with rampant corruption within the government. With another set of elections coming in 1920, Carranza decided against running for re-election, recognizing the damaging effects of the 30-year reign of Diaz's uncle Porfirio. However, instead of endorsing his former general Alvaro Obregon, Carranza decided to throw his support behind Ignacio Bonillas, the little-known civilian ambassador to the United States. Obregon was incensed, thinking Carranza was planning on using Bonilla as a puppet to maintain power. He teamed with two other generals to draft the Plan of Agua Prieta which rejected Carranza's government. The plan received widespread support, and soon the three generals led a march on Mexico City.
Meanwhile the weather that caused cancellations in Washington DC continued to wreak havoc on the baseball schedule in the east coast. The Indians-Red Sox game in Boston and the White Sox-Yankees game in New York were canceled and rescheduled due to rain. While it wasn't raining in Pennsylvania, the Browns and the Athletics still had to move their game in Philadelphia due to wet grounds from the rain the day before. The Giants and Pirates chose to delay their game in Pittsburgh due to the cold weather. Even though the two New York teams were not playing, they still found ways to make headlines. The Yankees had been sharing the Polo Grounds with the Giants since 1913. It wasn't a bad deal for the Giants, who owned the ballpark. The Yankees had to pay them rent while sitting in the second division for much of the 1910s, and the Giants were still kings of the Big Apple. However, things changed with the arrival of Babe Ruth. The hulking slugger had set home run records in 1919, and fans crowded the Polo Grounds to see him play. The Yankees were finally outdrawing the Giants who had fallen to last place. This displeased Giants owner Horace Stoneham, and on May 14 he made the declaration to Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert that the team is no longer welcomed back in the Polo Grounds once the current lease ends at the end of the season. It was not altogether unexpected, but Ruppert and his co-owner Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston had yet to find a suitable site for a new Yankees-only stadium, leaving the future of the franchise in doubt.
The rash of cancellations left only four of the original eight schedule games being played. The majority of them were in Midwestern cities between National League teams. The Boston Braves faced the Chicago Cubs in Chicago. They were playing in Cubs Park, which had once been home of the Chicago Whales in the Federal League. The Cubs moved in once the Federal League failed, although former Whales owner Charles Weeghman buying the team with William Wrigley played a major role in the move. The Braves were in first place by percentage points, and they took an early lead with a run in the fourth and two more in the sixth. Meanwhile, their young starter Jack Scott was keeping the Cubs in check. However, Chicago fought back in the bottom of the sixth, with Dode Paskert hitting a two-run single. A double play got Scott out of the inning, but he wouldn't be so fortunate in the seventh. An error by Boston shortstop Rabbit Maranville on a Dave Robertson grounder led to the Chicago left fielder reaching. This unnerved Scott, who threw three straight balls to Chicago's Charlie Deal. Braves manager George Stallings had seen enough and he called in Dick Rudolph, who completed the walk to Deal before getting an out on a sacrifice bunt. Stallings called for an intentional walk, but this backfired when Rudolph walked pinch-hitter Babe Twombly to force in the tying run. Bunny Hearn came in for the Braves and he got Max Flack to hit into a force at home, but singles by Charlie Hollocher and Paskert led to four more run. Maranville tried to make up for his error by doubling in the ninth. He was sacrificed to third and scored on a foul pop fly, but Boston could get no more against Cubs hurler Paul Carter. They lost 7-4 despite outhitting Chicago 12 to 6, and saw their first-place dreams vanish.
Meanwhile the Cincinnati Reds had shook off their dismal exhibition performance against the Senators to lay claim to first place in the National League in terms of games ahead, on account of them playing seven more games than the Braves. They were at their home ballpark Redland Field to take on the hapless Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies were starting a hometown kid Lefty Weinert to make his first Major League start, and the defending champions feasted on the neophyte's lack of control in the first. The Reds loaded the bases on two walks and a single. There were two outs, and Weinert can get out of the inning by retiring Cincinnati's light-hitting shortstop Larry Kopf. However, Kopf got hold of a fat pitch and sent it deep into the outfield for a bases-clearing triple. He would be stranded there, and any hopes of a blowout ended as Weinert found his control and shut down the opponents thereafter. Reds starter Dutch Reuther was not having an easy time against the Phillies hitters. They singled three times in the first but he managed to keep the bases loaded. Philadelphia eventually scored a run in the sixth when Mack "Not Zack" Wheat hit an RBI double. Walt Tregrasser pinch-hit for Weinert and was walked to load the bases, but Reuther got out of another jam with a double play. Reuther got himself tossed at the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Hod Eller came on, and was working to protect the 3-1 lead in the ninth. However, Cy Williams hit a one-out single, and Casey Stengel drove in the Huge run with a triple. Irish Meusel singled and the game was tied. Jimmy Ring had to come in to end the threat. Cincinnati had to deal with Mike Cantwell, who threw three hitless innings, in the bottom of the ninth. Greasy Neale led off with a single for the first hit against the Philadelphia reliever. Cantwell got two quick outs, but then lost all semblance of his control, walking the bases loaded, then hitting Heinie Groh to complete the walk-off.
The most compelling National League game of the day took place in St. Louis's Cardinal Field where the seventh-place St. Louis Cardinals would be hosting the fourth-place Brooklyn Robins. Cardinal Field was once known as Robison Field, and it was the last of the wooden ballparks. Cardinals owner was unhappy with the place and was planning a move to Sportsman's Park, where the cross-town Browns called home. The game would be a match-up between a pair of legal spitballers. The spitball was on its way out in 1920, but each team was allowed to select two pitchers that could continue to throw the infamous pitch before they must select one. Marv Goodwin was one of the St. Louis representatives, while Burleigh Grimes did the deed for Flatbush. The game was a showcase as to why the spitball was such an effective pitch. Both teams had trouble generating much offense against the loaded baseballs. The Superbas picked up a run in the fourth when Jimmy Johnston of the world-famous Johnston Baseball Brothers hit a two-run double, and Zack "Not Mack" Wheat singled him home. However, Johnston allowed the Redbirds to tie the score in the bottom of the inning with a crucial error. Cliff Heathcote got his bat on an especially wet ball, and the Brooklyn third-sacker threw wildly to allow the St. Louis outfielder to reach. Then the legendary Rogers Hornsby doubled him home. That was all the offense both teams could muster for the equivalent of a full game. Soon it was the 14th inning. Almost two and a half hours had passed since Goodwin threw the game's first pitch. Ivy Olson singled off the glove of Cardinals third baseman Milt Stock. Chuck Ward bunted the runner to second, and Johnston atoned for his earlier error with a resounding double. Wheat then hit a ball off his toe before bouncing to third. Stock did his best to make the play but threw the ball away. The Cardinals tried arguing that the ball was foul, but the umpire missed it. St. Louis then fell apart. Another error and a single led to two more runs, and Grimes finished things up with a clean bottom of the 14th.
III
The Game
That was all the National League action. Meanwhile the only American League play was between the Washington Senators and the Detroit Tigers. It had been five days since Walter last appeared, but when discussing starting pitchers manager Clark Griffith did not mention Johnson as a possibility, seemingly content with saving his ace for the opening series against the St. Louis Browns the next day. He remained coy for most of the day before ultimately settling on the young left-hander Tom Zachary, possibly to combat the left-handed bats in the Tigers lineup. Zachary was a youngster out of Graham, North Carolina, who had celebrated his 24th birthday a week earlier. He had been a star pitcher for Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, and he impressed Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack in a tryout under the name Zach Walton, so much that the old gentleman gave him pair of starts, both of which he won. However, he had also signed up for the Red Cross, and Mack declined to give him a permanent contract. Zachary ended up serving in France, and after his discharge in June of 1919 he was free to sign with any team of his choosing. He signed with Washington, after which he made 17 appearances, primarily out of the bullpen. He continued his relief work in 1920 while making the occasional spot starts. His dazzling complete game shutout against the Yankees on May 8 may have secured his spot in the Senators rotation.
Tigers manager Hughie Jennings also remained mum about his starter for the game. There was much speculation that he'd start spitballer Dutch Leonard, who was originally scheduled to pitch one of the rainouts and hadn't pitched for a week. In the end "Eeyah" decided to give a spot start to one of his youngsters. John "Bert" Glaiser was a young Texan who had pitched for St. Edwards University in Austin. He signed with the minor league Hamilton Tigers in the Michigan-Ontario League. He excelled, winning 25 games in 1919. That caught the attention of Jennings, who brought him into the fold. He pitched out the bullpen and performed admirably, allowing but one run in six innings over four appearances. He even closed out the Bengals victory in the only game played in the series. The lineups remained mostly unchanged from their previous contest. The only change came at the visiting third sack, where Jennings inserted a right-hander to counter against Griffith's lefty.
Detroit Tigers
2B Ralph Young
SS Donie Bush
CF Ty Cobb
LF Bobby Veach
1B Harry Heilmann
RF Ira Flagstead
3B Sammy Hale
C Oscar Stanage
P John Glaiser
Washington Senators
1B Joe Judge
LF Clyde Milan
CF Sam Rice
RF Braggo Roth
2B Bucky Harris
3B Frank Ellerbe
SS Red Shannon
C Patsy Gharrity
P Tom Zachary
It was cold but dry when the game started, with fewer than 2,000 fans in the stands. The weather seemed to have gotten the best of Zachary, as he gave Detroit a prime scoring chance in the first. Donie Bush walked with one out. Ty Cobb followed with a grounder that forced Bush at second, but Cobb was still played with a ferocity even at age 33 and made it safely to first. Up next was Bobby Veach, the premiere power hitter in the Jungaleers lineup. He showed off his strength when he lined a double off of the right field wall. Cobb was content to try to score on the play, but Washington right fielder Braggo Roth played the carom perfectly. He relayed it over to the catcher Eddie "Patsy" Gharrity who put the tag on Cobb to keep the Tigers from scoring.
Next it was Glaiser's turn to deal with the weather, and he was similarly affected by the cold, walking leadoff batter Joe Judge. Detroit worried about Judge's speed on the basepaths, and Joe showed them why by stealing second. He advanced again on a groundout, and then tried to score on another grounder. However, the Tigers were onto him and caught him in a rundown. Judge was a dead duck, but he managed to avoid the tag long enough for the batter Edgar Charles "Sam" Rice to make it to second. Next up was Robert Frank Roth, nicknamed "Braggo" for his love of self-promotion. Roth walked to bring to the plate Stanley Raymond Harris. At the time Harris was still a raw rookie trying to prove he can stick in the lineup after recovering from a broken hand the year before. He had the second base job for now, and showed he intended to keep it by rocketing a ball over the head of Veach. Rice and Roth scored easily, and "Bucky" motored to second for a double. Glaiser was clearly unnerved and he walked Frank Ellerbe. With Red Shannon at the plate, Harris took off for third and was safe. The fans cheered, but when they saw that Ellerbe stayed at first they began to jeer him. This did not sit well with the young third-sacker from South Carolina. Later in the at-bat, he took off for second as Glaiser took his time delivering a pitch. The Detroit hurler threw over, but he completely forgot about Harris standing at third. Ellerbe was safe, and so was Harris with Washington's third run. Shannon walked before getting forced by Gharrity to end the inning.
The Senators had a 3-0 lead, but it was soon apparent that may not be enough as Zachary's troubles continued into the second. Harry Heilmann had evolved into a top-notch hitter in 1919, and he kept on delivering into 1920, leading off the inning with a single to center. Zachary got the next hitter to fly to Rice in center field, but then came Sammy Hale, the third baseman that was swapped in for the platoon advantage. This lineup change proved advantageous, as Hale dumped a single into center. Heilmann advanced to second, and with Oscar Stanage at the plate he stole third. Stanage lifted a fly ball to Washington left fielder Clyde Milan. Heilmann tagged up to score on the play. However, Milan made a strong throw and the ball beat the runner to the plate by such a large margin that home plate umpire George Hildebrand called Heilmann out. However, Stanage couldn't handle the ball cleanly, and Hildebrand quickly reversed the call. The run would count. Zachary retired Glaiser with ease to end the top of the second, but the score was now 3-1.
The Nationals hoped that they could continue to feast on Glaiser's lack of control, but to their dismay the Texan had recovered his composure and retired them in order. Then after an uneventful third, Detroit resumed their assault in the top of the fourth. Veach led off the inning and lined his second double of the day, a bullet down the right field line. Heilmann was asked to bunt, even though he had singled and scored the Tigers' first run of the day. Slug proved he could play small ball as well and laid down a beauty, putting the Huge run ninety feet away. Zachary walked Ira Flagstead before facing Sammy Hale once again. Hale had a decisive victory in the second, but this time Zachary got him to hit a grounder to Washington third baseman Ellerbe. Veach was running on the play, and Ellerbe tossed over to catcher Gharrity. This time Patsy held onto the ball to record the crucial second out. All Zachary had to do was retire Stanage, a notoriously weak hitter. However, the Bengals catcher lined the ball over the head of left fielder Milan, and the game was tied. "Jezebel Tecumseh" was allowed to retire Glaiser and take his turn at bat in the bottom of the inning, but his day was done.
Coming into pitch the fifth for Washington was Eric Erickson. The Sweden-born "Olaf" was obtained in a trade with Detroit the previous June, and had become a trusted member of the Senators rotation. He was one of the candidates to start this game before Griffith ultimately settled on the southpaw, but now he came in with the potential to decide the game. He too was affected by the weather, as he walked Bush with one out. Bush took his lead, and Gharrity tried to catch him off of the bag with a snap throw to first, but the throw went wild and Donie wound up in scoring position. Then came the strangest play of the day. Ty Cobb was at the plate. Ever the proponent of the small ball, Tyrus proceeded to bunt the runner to third. It seemed like a good bunt, with the ball bouncing too far for Nationals catcher Gharrity to make the play. Yet to the surprise of all Hildebrand called Cobb out and told Bush to head back to second. Evidently Cobb had bunted the ball straight into the ground, where it bounced up and struck the bat a second time. Hildebrand was well versed with the rules, having been a former player before becoming an umpire. He knows that the rules state that the batter is out when, "after hitting or bunting a fair ball, his bat hits the ball in second time in fair territory." The Jungaleers were incredulous. They came out to argue vehemently, but to no avail. Olaf was laughing to himself at his good fortune, facing a runner on second rather than a runner on third. His control continued to fail him as he hit Veach with a pitch, but still managed to escape the inning with the score still tied.
Then came the home half of the fifth inning, and the Senators were tired at being shut down by this rookie. Milan and Rice came out swinging and swatted singles. That aggressive approach had helped shake the confidence of the Texan, and he walked Roth for the second time, something else for Braggo to brag about. Harris was ordered to go for a squeeze play, but his attempt was not true, and Milan was forced out at home. The bases were still filled, but the Tigers knew that a double play can help get the team out of the inning. However, Ellerbe's grounder got past Detroit shortstop Bush to score Rice. Then Shannon cracked a single to center to bring home Braggo for another run. Bucky took third on the play, and he was able to score on a fly ball by Gharrity. Erickson flied out to end the inning, but he had to still be laughing to himself for getting a 6-3 lead going into the top of the sixth.
Flagstead led off the sixth inning. The young Norweigan had established himself as a promising ballplayer with a solid season in 1919, but he was slumping badly with six hits in 58 at bats going into this game, a batting average of .121. He had walked and scored a run in the fourth, but he needed to do more than that if he hoped to remain in the lineup. He hit a dinky roller down the third base line that stayed fair, and was safe with a single. Hale was next, and whatever platoon advantage he held against Zachary it was gone against Erickson. He struck out, but Flagstead was running on the play and made it to second. Olaf was ordered to intentionally walk Stanage to face the pitcher's spot, but that turned out to be a poor decision. Back in 1920 pitchers still had to throw four bad pitches for an intentional walk, and Erickson had difficulties adjusting back to throwing strikes. He walked pinch-hitter Chick Shorten to load the bases, and then Ralph Young walked as well to force in a run to make it 6-4. Griffith had already seen the writing on the wall and told his ace to go warm up earlier in the inning. After the walk to Young, Griffith came out and called for Walter Johnson out of the bullpen.
It was definitely a pressure situation that Walter found himself, trying to protect a two-run lead with the bases loaded and one out. Bush was the first batter the Big Train faced, and he opted for a squeeze play. It was a good bunt, forcing the pitcher to come off the mound to field the ball. Walter made a good throw to the plate, but it was too late to nab Babe Pinelli, pinch-running for Stanage, as he scored the Huge run. The bases were still loaded and up to the plate strolled Tyrus Raymond Cobb. 12 years, 9 months and 12 days earlier the two had faced each other in Walter's Major League debut. Over the ensuing years the two had faced one another numerous times while becoming basebal superstars. They had developed a friendship off the field with Cobb admiring Johnson's genteel nature and Walter respecting Tyrus's competitive fire. Yet one of them would come out on top in this match-up, and in this case it was Cobb. He lined a single to center field, sure to drive in two runs. Then to the horror of Nationals fans, Washington center fielder Rice juggled the ball, It was a crucial error that allowed Bush to score all the way from first. The 6-5 advantage had suddenly become an 8-6 deficit. Cobb motored his way to second. He would only be credited with a single, but he was pleased at giving the Tigers the lead. Walter would get Veach on a fly to center. Cobb took third on the play, but he would stay there as Heilmann popped to short.
Detroit was forced to change their battery for the bottom of the sixth, with the starters replaced by pinchers. Longtime Senator backstop Eddie Ainsmith came in to catch, while John Cyrus "Red" Oldham came in to pitch. Oldham had pitched for the Tigers during the Federal League years in 1914-15. He had no Major League offers and was forced to pitch for the San Francisco Seals and the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League between 1916-1919 surrounding service in World War I. He performed well enough with Portland in 1919 that he signed back up with Detroit, where he both started and relieved. He threw two scoreless innings on May 11 and was credited with the win. This time he continued his dominance over Washington hitters with a one-two-three sixth. Walter was sharp in the seventh, getting all three hitters to hit fly balls towards his center fielder Rice. That sent the Nationals towards their Lucky Seventh.
The Washington fans figured their team needed all the luck they can get to erase a two-run deficit. The inning seemed lucky enough to begin with, as Roth worked his third walk of the game. Harris struck out, but Ellerbe hit a grounder towards the new Tigers third baseman Bob Jones that he was able to beat out for an infield single, putting runners on first and second. A glimmer of hope seemed to exist for the Nationals, but that bit of hope seemed to die out as Shannon poked a grounder towards Tigers shortstop Bush. Donie threw to his double play partner Young for the force, then Young threw to first to complete the inning-ending double play. However, luck seemed to be on Washington's side after all, as Young's throw was wild. Roth raced home with the Huge run while Shannon made it to second. This unfortunate event seemed to shake up Oldham, and he walked Gharrity. Walter was next, and while he is a pitcher he had been a fair hitter throughout his career. He had 355 hits and 16 home runs, and this time he delivered with a single to score Shannon and the game was tied 8-8.
Tigers manager Jennings had seen enough from Oldham. He had a starter of his own warming up in the bullpen, and it was time to bring him in. George August Dauss was a native of Indianapolis who had been with the Jungaleers since 1912 after pitching for the St. Paul Saints in the American Association. Nicknamed "Hooks" for his devastating curveball, Dauss evolved into a dependable innings-eater after the Tigers convinced him not to sign with his hometown in the Federal Leagues. He won 24 games in 1915, and 21 in 1919 despite a below-average ERA in the latter season. He had a brutal start to the 1920 season before recovering with two strong starts to lower his ERA to 2.68. He was effective coming out of the bullpen, getting a groundout to end the inning. Dauss led off the eighth but struck out, allowing Walter to strand a runner in scoring position after a walk and a sacrifice.
The Senators had a good chance to take the lead in the eighth. Milan led off with a walk against Dauss. Rice tried to bunt him to second, but the bunt was hit so hard that the Bengals hurler thought he could get Milan at second. However, to their surprise Billy Evans umpiring at second called the runner safe. The Tigers argued, but it was just as successful as their rhubarb in the fifth. However, fate intervened as Roth hit a grounder towards shortstop Bush. He forced Rice and this time second baseman Young was able to complete the double play. Milan made it to third on the play, but he was stranded there ninety feet from home as Harris was retired. Veach led off the Detroit ninth with his third hit of the day. It was only a single, but Heilmann got him into scoring position anyways with successful bunt. Yet Walter calmly struck out Flagstead before getting Jones to fly out, and the game was heading to the bottom of the ninth.
Washington was determined to end the game right there, while Dauss wanted to keep that from happening to give his team a chance in extra innings. However, Ellerbe and Shannon both came through with their third singles of the day, and the Nationals had a runner in scoring position. Dauss reached back into his bag of tricks and induced a popup from Gharrity on a bunt attempt. Then up came Walter for his second trip to the plate of the day. Dauss had faced the Big Train before, most recently on August 4, 1918 when he tossed 10 scoreless innings on a game won in the 18th. Walter did nick Hooks for a hit all the way back on August 2, 1913. He duplicated the feat by lining a single over the head of the Tigers shortstop. Ellerbe had to hold to see if the ball would be caught, and he had to be held at third. Still, the Senators had bases loaded with only one out and were in strong position to get a run.
The first man with a chance to deliver the victory was first baseman Joe Judge. Judge had walked to lead off the first, but since then he had been hitless, putting a streak of nine games with a hit in jeopardy. Joseph Ignatius Judge was born in Brooklyn. He was a strong semi-pro player who caught the attention of New York Giants manager John McGraw, but Judge topped out at 5'8" and the Little Napoleon decided not to sign him. The Boston Red Sox signed him in 1913 before loaning him to the minors. He toiled in the minors for two years before the Red Sox tried to farm him out again in 1915 while taking a pay cut. He refused, and Boston ended up releasing him. He latched onto the Buffalo Bisons of the International League. Manager Griffith was interested in signing Bisons outfielder Charlie Jamieson. While scouting Jamieson he saw Judge playing first. With Washington looking for a new first baseman, The Old Fox got Buffalo to agree to add Judge to the deal. Griffith almost immediately inserted his new first sacker into the lineup to replace Chick Gandil. Judge quickly established himself as a speedster with a strong ability to get on base. He struggled in April of 1920, but he turned things around once the calendar hit May. He was looking to come through, and he did just that by lining a ball to deep center field. Tigers center fielder Cobb saw he had no chance to catch the ball, and was jogging off the field as Ellerbe crossed the plate with the winning run. The Senators had won in regulation 9-8.
IV
Aftermath
The walk-off victory moved the Senators record back to .500 at 11-11. Walter had picked up the victory given his sterling 3.2 innings of relief. He may have allowed Detroit to take the lead on Ty Cobb's single, but he had shut down the Tigers thereafter, giving Washington the chance to come back and clinch the win, He was credited with the win, which moved his seasonal record to three wins and two losses. There was no raucous celebration, especially since the game had taken an exhausting 2 hours and 35 minutes, the same amount as time as it took Brooklyn and St. Louis to play 14 innings that same day. Fans were surely frustrated by the lack of control exhibited by the pitchers in the frosty weather, as Nationals hurlers walked six while the Bengals walked eight. Walter was the only pitcher that didn't walk a single batter. There was absolutely no mention in any of the papers of this being Walter Johnson's 300th win. The news media weren't keeping track of year to year win totals with such consistency. Furthermore, if they took time to add up all of the wins they might have come up with 299 or even 297 wins, given the sloppiness of such statistics back in the 1910s. Regardless, the team likely slapped each other on the back before going home to prepare for the St. Louis Browns, who were coming into town the next day.
1920 would end up being a terrible year for the Big Train. He continued to struggle with inconsistency, and it didn't help that the team was falling apart around him. He pitched well against the Browns two days later, allowing four runs (three earned) in a complete game, but the offense that was so explosive on the 14th was a dud, and he lost 4-2. Later in the summer he would deal with his first real bout of a sore arm. He was shut down after a loss to the White Sox on July 16, and even had to consult a physician in Mayo Clinic in early August. The examination did not come reveal any permanent damage, but Walter was unable to return to the mound for the remainder of the season. In his absence, the Senators fell from fourth place with a 38-38 record to finish in sixth at 68-84, ahead of only the 93-loss Tigers and the 106-loss Athletics. The Nationals' offense which ranked fifth in the league in runs were done in by a pitching that was the worst in all the American League. Walter only pitched in 143.2 innings in 21 games. His eight wins were the fewest since his rookie year of 1907. His ERA of 3.13 was a career high, although it was still 19% better than the league average given the explosiveness of American League offense, highlighted by Babe Ruth and his 54 home runs. Nevertheless, Walter still posted one of his most memorable games in his career in 1920. On July 1, he held the Boston Red Sox to no hits in a 1-0 victory. He faced only one batter above the minimum, with Harry Hooper reaching on a clear error by second baseman Bucky Harris. It was not only his first no-hitter, it was the first in the Washington Senators franchise.
Walter's arm had healed up by 1921, but he wasn't the same pitcher of old. From 1921-1923, he went 49-42 while averaging 32 starts and seven relief appearances a year. He still led the league in strikeouts in 1921 and 1923, and his 378 strikeouts over the three years not only helped him reach 3,000 in his career, it was third in the AL behind Urban Shocker and Bob Shawkey. Yet his 3.32 ERA (good for only 118 ERA+) was a sign he may not be the same dominant pitcher under the new live-ball conditions. He also dealt with personal tragedy during this time period. His beloved father Frank passed away of a stroke in July 1921 at the young age of 59. Even worse, his daughter Elinor joined her grandfather in death that December, having passed away from the flu. It was a crushing blow that still hung over him as he prepared for the 1924 season. He was thinking about life after baseball, and informed his old manager Griffith of his intention to play one more season before retiring to become an owner of a Pacific Coast League club. By this time Griffith had stepped away from the managerial ranks and had taken ownership of the franchise. He had tried three managers in three years, including both Clyde Milan and Donie Bush, before handing the reins to a third participant in the game on May 14, 1920: Stanley Raymond Harris.
The Senators were still floating around in the second division at the end of May and seemed to pose no challenge to the Yankees, who had captured the past three AL pennants behind the power of Babe Ruth. However, the team surged to a 10-game winning streak in June during which they took hold of first. Walter also found new life that month. After stumbling to a 5-3 record and a 3.27 ERA the first two months, he posted a 5-1 record with a 2.02 ERA. The team faltered in July and were passed once again by the Yankees. However, they took hold of their destiny and clawed back into first by August 28. Walter was even better in August than he was in June, winning all seven of his starts with a 1.23 ERA. He and the team held strong in September and fought off a late charge by the Yanks, and when the dust settled the Washington Senators were atop the American League. Walter Johnson also reclaimed his brilliance on the mound. He went 23-7 with a 2.72 ERA and struck out 158. All of those led the Junior Circuit, and he was able to claim his third Pitching Triple Crown of his career, and his first since 1918. He was unanimously voted the MVP as voted by the American League, becoming the only player to win the Chalmers Awards and the League Awards.
Yet another challenge laid ahead. The New York Giants were ready and waiting, after winning their fourth straight pennant. They had beaten the Yankees in the World Series in 1921 and 1922 before falling to them in 1923. They were licking their lips at their chance to reclaim the crown against these young upstarts. The team did suffer a loss to the Chicago Cubs on September 20 that saw their spiritual leader Frank Frisch go down with an injury, but the Fordham Flash was back and ready for action. The World Series opened in Washington with Walter getting the start against Art Nehf, who played right field in that September game against Chicago. He felt more comfortable on the mound, and dueled the Big Train to a 2-2 tie after nine innings. The game moved to the 12th before a tiring Barney loaded the bases on a single and two walks. After a single and a sacrifice fly the Giants had a two-run lead, with Nehf himself scoring the go-ahead run. The Nationals fought back to score the Huge run, but could not get the tying run home and the Giants had a 1-0 Series lead. The two teams traded victories, and with the Series down to a best-of-three affair, Harris turned back to his ace. However, Walter did not have it this game. The Giants pounded him for 13 hits and waltzed to an easy 6-2 victory, and stood just one win from a World Series title. However, the series was returning to Griffith Stadium. "Jezebel Tecumseh" Zachary had evolved from the wild-armed youngster in 1920 to the second best pitcher on the team. He outdueled Nehf in a 2-1 victory to force a Game 7.
The two teams had swapped wins through the Series, and Giants manager John McGraw felt confident that his team could continue the pattern, especially since he was sending in his top pitcher Virgil Barnes. Meanwhile Bucky Harris was hatching a plan. The Giants' left-handed rookie Bill Terry had demolished Walter Johnson and the other right-handed pitchers in the series. He planned on announcing the right-handed Curly Ogden as starter, giving McGraw the confidence to put Terry in the lineup. Then the Boy Wonder would swap in the left-handed George Mogridge who could easily nullify the dangerous Terry. The plan worked like a charm. Ogden came in and struck out the 18-year-old Fred Lindstrom, then after he walked Frisch George Mogridge came strutting out who retired New York's dangerous lefties Ross Youngs and Terry. Harris gave the Nationals the lead with a home run in the fourth, but Mogridge got into some trouble in the sixth when a walk and a single put runners on the corner with no outs. McGraw sent Irish Meusel in to pinch-hit for Terry, then Bucky came sprinting out of the dugout to call on his relief ace Frederick "Firpo" Marberry. Unfortunately the Washington defense fell apart as a sacrifice fly and two errors led to a 3-1 Giants lead. McGraw seemed to be well on his way to another World Series title before the Senators struck back. A double, a single and a walk loaded the bases, and Barnes was still on the mound pitching to Bucky Harris. The Little Napoleon's decision to stick with his starter backfired as Harris blasted a two-run single that bounced over the head of third baseman Lindstrom and the game was tied. McGraw was finally forced to go to his bullpen, calling on Art Nehf to retire the side. Meanwhile, warming up for the ninth inning was Walter Perry Johnson.
The Nationals crowd went into a tizzy seeing their longtime ace in the game, but the Giants knew they had the upper hand. They had dominated Walter two days before, and had the heart of their order coming up. Walter retired Lindstrom before Frank Frisch powered a triple that split the outfielders. The go-ahead run was just ninety feet from home. Walter intentionally walked the left-handed Youngs before taking his chances at the right-handed George "High Pockets" Kelly. Walter fired his best fastballs and Kelly struck out on three pitches. With two outs McGraw attempted to steal the run, but the Senators were not fooled, and Meusel grounded out. A single and an error in the bottom of the ninth put runners on the corner with one out, but Hugh McQuillain came in and got a double play to end the inning. The game moved into the tenth. Walter led off by walking the diminutive 5'6" rookie Hack Wilson, but he came back to strikeout Travis "Stonewall" Jackson, and he started a double play to get him out of the inning. McQuillain had no problems setting down the Nationals in the tenth before leaving in favor of pinch-hitter Heinie Groh to lead off the 11th. Groh singled and was replaced by pinch-runner Billy Southworth. Lindstrom sacrificed the future Hall of Fame manager to second, but he came back to strike out Frisch. Youngs was walked intentionally for the second time before Kelly struck out for the second time. Game 5 winner Jack Bentley came in and retired the first two batters before Leon "Goose" Goslin" hit a two-out double in the bottom of the 11th. but an intentional walk led was followed by a forceout, and the marathon game continued. Meusel led off the 12th with a single, but Walter struck out Wilson before retiring Jackson and Hank Gowdy.
Then came the bottom of the 12th. Bentley got the first out with ease, bringing up Herold Dominic "Muddy" Ruel. Ruel had come to Washington in a trade before the 1923 season, and he had become Walter's most trusted catcher. He guided the Big Train to his resurgent season, and he was no slouch at the plate either, hitting .283/.370/.331 in 1924. However, he seemed to be the second out when he lift a foul pop fly. It should be an easy play for Giants catcher Gowdy, who tossed aside his mask as he did all of these foul pop flies. However, he didn't look where he threw the mask and stepped straight into the mask. He stumbled and the ball bounced off his glove. This unexpected event was a godsend for the Senators, as Ruel doubled down the left field line. Walter was next, and he flied out to center in his previous at-bat in the tenth. This time he hit a dribbler to short, where New York's slick-fielding shortstop Travis Jackson lied in wait. However, Ruel took off for third before retreating back to second. This distracted Stonewall, and he couldn't make a play. That brought up rookie Earl McNeely, who had been a hideous 0 for 5. His day seemed to get worse as a he hit a sorry ground ball towards third. Lindstrom eagerly awaited the ball, thinking about the double play that he would turn, but the ball took another hop, just as it did in the ninth. Ruel was slow of foot, but Al Schacht coaching at third waved him home, and he scored easily. The Washington Senators were finally first in war, first in peace, and first in all of Major League Baseball.
It was a triumphant moment for Walter Johnson. His four innings of solid relief work was reminiscent of the game against the Tigers four years earlier, although this one came at a much larger stage. He was celebrated for his achievement the entire off-season where his popularity had never been higher. The Old Fox had no trouble convincing his ace to return, especially after Walter's plans to buy a minor league team fell through. 1925 would be another triumphant year for Walter. He won 20 games for the 12th time in his career, and still put up a solid ERA even if it wasn't enough to lead the league. His best work came at the plate, when he hit an astounding .433/.455/.577 in his 107 plate appearances. With Babe Ruth out of commission with the Bellyache Heard Around the World, the Senators were able to claim their second straight American League pennant with ease. They faced the Pittsburgh Pirates in their quest for a second straight World Series. Walter was brilliant in Games 1 and 4 as Washington built up a 3-1 Series lead. However, the Nationals were unable to finish off the Series, as Washington was forced into a seventh game for the second year in a row.
The baseball world was already in shock from the death of pitching great (and 300-game winner) Christy Mathewson on October 7, hours after Game 1. Even worse, Game 7 was being played in Pittsburgh where a rainstorm had left the field in sloppy conditions. The Senators took advantage as they scored four runs in the first inning. It seemed insurmountable as Walter was on the mound, but the 38-year-old Johnson struggled on the slippery mound. He allowed three runs in the third as the weather condition turned worse, but Washington scored two more times and Walter still had a 6-4 lead heading to the seventh. He was nine outs away from another title, but shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh's error led to two unearned runs and a tie game. The veteran seemed to atone for his error with a home run in the eighth, but he made another crucial error in the bottom of the inning after the Bucs had tied the score, leading to Kiki Cuyler's go-ahead two-run ground-rule double. Pirates manager Bill McKechnie called upon a reliever making his first appearance in the World Series after a two year hiatus from baseball: John Cyrus "Red" Oldham. Five years earlier the southpaw had failed to protect a two-run lead while pitching for Detroit. That was in the seventh inning of a meaningless regular season game. This is the ninth with the World Series on the line. He had no difficulties this time, retiring the heart of the Senators order, and Walter's hopes for a second straight World Series fell to pieces.
Walter decided to come back for his 20th season in 1926. The team was in contention for the first two months before a disastrous June sent them tumbling into the second division. They managed to claw their way back into fourth place with a strong 81-69 record, but it was far from enough for their third straight pennant. Walter defeated Tony Welzer and the Boston Red Sox by a 9-1 margin on April 27, 1926. Modern historians recognize that as the 400th regular season in the Big Train's illustrious career, a mark reached by only Cy Young. That accomplishment was greeted by a collective shrug from the newspapers, who preferred to talk about the Nationals' "pill pounding" while praising Walter for showing off his "true form." Johnson's preferred to remember his outing from two weeks earlier, his 14th career Opening Day start. He battled knuckleballer Eddie Rommel and the Philadelphia Athletics for 15 grueling innings before Joe Harris finally drove in Stanley Harris for a 1-0 victory. It was a game that Walter will honor as his greatest performance of all time, even better than his no-hitter from 1920. Walter's record went south just as the team's fortunes did, and when the season was through his record had fallen to 15-16 and his ERA was a career-high 3.63, still above average but barely. Griffith convinced Barney from returning in 1927, but Walter's left leg was shattered by a line drive off the bat of Joe Judge during spring training. That kept the Big Train out of commission until the end of May. While the Big Train sparkled on his way to his 110th career shutout on May 30, the rest of the season was a slog as Walter's fastball had disappeared. He was battered to a horrendous 5.10 ERA, the only time his ERA was below average. His final appearance was at the plate, as a pinch-hitter for Tom Zachary minutes after his teammate allowed Babe Ruth's record 60th home run of the season.
V
Endgame
Walter Johnson announced his retirement from the game about a week after the Yankees swept the Pirates in the World Series. He had spent his entire career with the Washington Senators, and had achieved numerous baseball records, including 3,509 strikeouts and 110 shutouts. His 2.17 ERA was just behind that of National League stalwarts Christy Mathewson and Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, but his adjusted ERA+ of 147 dwarfed the two, and beat out his American League contemporaries Ed Walsh, Addie Joss, and Smoky Joe Wood. His 417 victories were also a phenomenal figure, albeit one that was completely ignored by the writers of the time as they just didn't care about pitching wins.
Walter may have been done with the game as a player, but he was convinced to return as a manager. After managing the minor league Newark Bears for a year, Johnson took over the Washington Senators. Some doubted whether or not the Big Train's genial nature would translate into success in the dugout. They seemed to have been proven right as the Nationals faltered to a 71-81 record in 1929. However, he turned things around in 1930 as he led the team to a stunning 94 wins, just two from their franchise record set in 1925. Alas, amidst the triumph came the greatest of all tragedies in the life of Walter Johnson. His beloved wife Hazel was stricken by heat stroke after a road trip from Coffeyville, Kansas back to Washington DC. She was treated at the Georgetown Hospital, but never recovered and passed away on August 1. This loss devastated Walter who was completely devoted to his wife. He took a week-long leave from the team before returning. He continued to rally is troops, but they could never chase down the Philadelphia Athletics, whose ace Robert Moses Grove reminded many observers of a left-handed Walter Johnson.
Walter continued as Senators manager for two more seasons and led them to two more 90-win seasons, but he finished no better than third as the A's and the Yankees dueled for the top spot. Clark Griffith had loved his manager like a son, but knew a different manager would take the team to the top. Walter accepted his fate gracefully, then watched as his shortstop Joe Cronin led the team to the World Series as a player-manager. By then Walter had secured another managing position. Billy Evans was the umpire at second base on May 14, 1920. He retired as umpire the same year Walter left the mound, and was hired by the Cleveland Indians to serve as their general manager. The Indians had won the pennant and the World Series in 1920, but fallen into inconsistency for the rest of the 1920s. Evans and his new manager Roger Peckinpaugh brought some stability to the team, but by the 1930s the Indians were failing to keep pace with the A's, Yankees, and Senators, with three fourth-place finishes from 1930-32. After an inconsistent start in 1933, Evans dismissed Peckinpaugh and soon announced Walter Johnson as the new Indians manager. Walter found the situation in Cleveland to be much more chaotic, and he could only guide the club to another fourth place finish. Then he settled down and watch Bill Terry and the Giants exact revenge on his former team. Walter broke through and led the Indians to a third place finish in 1934, but he won only 85 games, 16 games behind the pennant-winning Tigers. Hopes were high for Cleveland in 1935, but after a strong start the team plummeted off a cliff in July, which marked the end for Walter Johnson's Cleveland tenure, and indeed his career in baseball.
Walter Johnson purchased a farm in Maryland after the 1935 season, and settled into his life as a farmer. He had grown up on a farm, and operated a farm in Coffeyville, Kansas in the 1910s. He took to farming life, and while he still missed Hazel dearly, his final years were spent in relative peace and joy. Even then, Walter was not far from the game. In 1936 the Baseball Writers Association of America came together to cast ballots for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and Walter cleared the 75% threshold by a good margin, although his vote totals still trailed that of Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, and the late Christy Mathewson. He continued to make public appearances on the mound, and started doing color commentary for select Nationals and Chicago White Sox games. His Kansas twang was reminiscent of the famed comedian Will Rogers and proved to be very popular. Griffith hired him to do the job in 1939. Walter was behind the mic for the whole season, although he took a break in June for the official Hall of Fame induction in Cooperstown, New York. Walter also dabbled in politics. He was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in 1938, and in 1940 he decided to take a stab at the House of Representatives. He ran as a Republican against the incumbent William Byron. However, the Republican policy of isolationism and "America First" proved to be unpopular among the voting public, and Walter was defeated in a narrow vote.
Walter was already past 50 when the United States entered World War II, but he did his part to raise morale and support the purchase of war bonds by making exhibition appearances, pitching to Babe Ruth numerous times. He returned to the farm after the war's completion, but unbeknownst to him his time grows short. Early in 1946 Walter noticed some numbness in his left arm. He didn't think much of it, but eventually weakness developed, and he was taken to Georgetown Hospital for evaluations. It was initially thought that he had suffered a stroke, the same affliction that had killed his father a quarter of a century earlier. Walter made a neurological recovery which ruled out a hemorrhagic stroke, but further diagnoses showed something far more insidious: a tumor in his brain. The next few months Walter alternated between periods of coma and lucidity. He had was completely paralyzed on the left side, and he received palliative radiation treatments. He survived to listen to the 1946 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals and celebrate his 59th birthday on November 6. He took a turn for the worse as the calendar turned to December, and passed away on December 10, 1946.
Walter Johnson's death shook the baseball world. Thousands mourned the loss of the Big Train, and a thousand were allowed into his funeral.. Many of his former teammates served as his pallbearers, including Tom Zachary who started the game on May 14, 1920 and Joe Judge who drove in the winning run. There was Muddy Ruel who served as his trusted catcher and scored the winning run in the 1924 World Series. There was Roger Peckinpaugh whose errors were so critical in 1925. Walter was laid to rest in Rockville, Maryland in a small cemetery where his beloved wife Hazel was buried. He had looked forward to the reunion throughout his illness, and it was there that they would be reunited through the rest of time.
Baseball fans had remembered many of Walter Johnson's greatest accomplishments throughout the mourning period. One game that was likely never mentioned was the game against the Tigers on May 14, 1920. It held no significance for the players of their time, and the drama was manufactured largely by the sloppiness of the pitching in the chilly conditions. Yet today 100 years later the game should be remembered for being the contest that marked Walter Johnson's entry into the exclusive 300-win club.
VI
Sources
Well, as is typical for me I turned what was supposed to be a post about Walter Johnson's 300th Win into a miniature biography of Walter Johnson. Of course it isn't hard when I have Henry Thomas's great biography "Walter Johnson Baseball's Big Train" at my disposal. I also referred to Baseball Reference which is always a helpful resource.
The thing about this game is that there isn't any record anymore other than what was written in newspapers. There is no video footage of it, and there wasn't even any photographs for it. Retrosheet doesn't even have an official play by play. It wasn't a particularly memorable game and there was no retrospective about it, and even Thomas's biography didn't make any mention of it. The last surviving player from the game was Frank Ellerbe, who had scored the game-winning run. He passed away at the age of 92 on July 8, 1988. Anything that I was able to glean was taken from the newspapers, which I accessed via Newspapers.com. Specifically, I referred to articles from the Washington Post, Washington Herald, Washington Times, Evening Star, and the Detroit Free Press. All of the newspapers had a unique perspective about the game. Except for the Washington Times. The only worthy passage the article had was "He was Olaf when he strode to the mound. He was Oh Laugh within two innings."
I referred to Newspapers.com for the other games from May 14, 1920. The Boston Globe had good information for the Cubs-Braves game (because the Chicago Tribune coverage was useless.) I referred to the Cincinnati Enquirer for the Reds-Phillies game. And I looked up the Brooklyn Daily Eagle for the Robins-Cardinals marathon. I looked up newspapers for the curious final game of the 1913 season, but the best description may have come from the Baseball Hall of Shame book that I had as a kid where I learned about the comedic exhibition. I added some extra biographical information about certain guys such as Tom Zachary, Hooks Dauss, and Joe Judge by looking at their SABR bigraphies. One thing about looking at these old newspapers is that you see teams being referred by different names. For example, the Senators were almost exclusively called the Nationals back in the day. And the Tigers were also known as the Bengals and the Jungaleers. I also threw in some of Walter Johnson's nicknames like the Big Train and Barney (after old-timey racecar driver Barney Oldfield.) For the other events from May 14, 1920 I looked at the newspapers for the biggest headlines. The Ziang Sung Wan case wasn't all that big, but that really struck to me because it involved a Chinese national. That led me to buy the excellent book about the case, "The Third Degree: The Triple Murder that Shook Washington and Changed American Criminal Justice." The Venustiano Carraza case actually the big news. I just looked up Wikipedia for my research. The Polo Grounds lease case was also interesting, and I gained some more information from the Yankees history book "Pinstripe History: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss."
And yes, I went into quite a lot of detail over Game 7 of the 1924 World Series. Of course, it is one of baseball's most legendary games that doesn't get enough credit nowadays. I followed Baseball Reference and the biography by Thomas for that. Of course one of the best things is that unlike the 300th win, footage from this game exists! You can actually see Walter Johnson's pitching motion (and Frank Frisch hitting his one-out triple, somehow playing before Fred Lindstrom's popup to third which actually came before it.)
Anyways, this was a fun project, and I hope that it can teach y'all more about who I still consider the greatest pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball.
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