42 Facts About Walter Johnson

Walter Johnson played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Washington Senators from 1907 to 1927.

Walter Johnson later served as manager of the Senators from 1929 through 1932 and of the Cleveland Indians from 1933 through 1935.

Walter Johnson remains by far the all-time career leader in shutouts with 110, second in wins with 417, and fourth in complete games with 531.

Walter Johnson held the career record in strikeouts for nearly 56 years, with 3,508, from the end of his career in 1927 until the 1983 season, when three players finally passed the mark.

Walter Johnson was the only player in the 3,000 strikeout club until Bob Gibson recorded his 3,000th strikeout on July 17,1974.

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Walter Johnson led the league in strikeouts a Major League record 12 times—one more than current strikeout leader Nolan Ryan—including a record eight straight seasons.

Walter Johnson is the only pitcher in Major League history to record over 400 wins and strike out over 3,500 batters.

In 1936, Walter Johnson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.

Walter Johnson was the second of six children born to Frank Edwin Johnson and Minnie Olive Perry on a rural farm four miles west of Humboldt, Kansas.

Walter Johnson later attended Fullerton Union High School where he struck out 27 batters during a 15-inning game against Santa Ana High School.

Walter Johnson later moved to Idaho, where he doubled as a telephone company employee and a pitcher for a team in Weiser, Idaho, of the Idaho State League.

Walter Johnson was spotted by a talent scout and signed a contract with the Washington Senators in July 1907 at the age of 19.

Walter Johnson was renowned as the premier power pitcher of his era.

Walter Johnson was a rookie, and we licked our lips as we warmed up for the first game of a doubleheader in Washington.

Walter Johnson 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.

Walter Johnson, moreover, pitched with a sidearm motion, whereas power pitchers are usually known for pitching with a straight-overhand delivery.

Walter Johnson's motion was especially difficult for right-handed batters to follow, as the ball seemed to be coming from third base.

Walter Johnson's record includes 110 shutouts, the most in baseball history.

Walter Johnson lost 65 games because his teams failed to score a run.

Walter Johnson twice won the American League Most Valuable Player Award, a feat accomplished since by only two other pitchers, Carl Hubbell in 1933 and 1936 and Hal Newhouser in 1944 and 1945.

Walter Johnson actually played center field that game until he was brought in to pitch.

Walter Johnson allowed two hits before he was taken out of the game.

The official scorekeeper ignored the game, but later, Walter Johnson was charged with those two runs, raising his ERA from 1.

Walter Johnson won 25 games and lost 20 games in 1916, the last pitcher to win and lose 20 in a season until knuckleballer Wilbur Wood did so in 1973.

In May 1918, Walter Johnson pitched 40 consecutive scoreless innings; he is the only pitcher with two such 40+ inning streaks.

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Walter Johnson lost the first and fifth games 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 Walter Johnson's experience was close to the inverse: two early wins, followed by a game seven loss.

Walter Johnson made 13 appearances in the outfield during his career.

Walter Johnson finished his career with 23 home runs as a pitcher, the tenth-highest total for a pitcher in Major League history.

Walter Johnson had a reputation as a kindly person, and made many friends in baseball.

Walter Johnson was friendly with Babe Ruth, despite Ruth's having hit some of his longest home runs off him at Griffith Stadium.

Walter Johnson continued on to the major leagues, managing the Washington Senators, and finally the Cleveland Indians.

Walter Johnson served as a radio announcer on station WJSV for the Senators during the 1939 season.

Walter Johnson was one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.

In 1940 Johnson ran for a congressional seat in Maryland's 6th district, but came up short against the incumbent Democrat, William D Byron, by a total of 60,037 to 52,258.

Walter Johnson addressed the farmers on industrial problems, and the businessmen on farm problems.

Walter Johnson married Hazel Lee Roberts on June 24,1914, and they had five children.

Walter Johnson's wife died in August 1930 from complications resulting from heat stroke after a long motorcar ride from Kansas.

Ty Cobb was a good friend of Walter Johnson, often bringing the pitcher's children gifts when he visited the family.

In 1985, Jonathan Richman recorded the song "Walter Johnson", which dwelt on Johnson's personality and behaviour as an exemplar of what can be good in sport.

Cobb realized that the good-hearted Walter Johnson was privately nervous about the possibility of seriously injuring a batter.

Walter Johnson is mentioned in the poem "Line-Up for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash:.