Johnson, Walter P.
Baseball
b. Nov. 6, 1887, Humboldt, KS
d. Dec. 10, 1946
Johnson joined the AL's Washington Senators in 1907 directly out of semi-pro baseball without ever playing in the minor leagues. he 6-foot-1, 200-pound, right-handed pitcher soon won the nickname "Big Train" from sportswriter Grantland Rice because of the speed of his fastball. His teammates often called him "Barney" after auto racer Barney Oldfield because of the way Johnson drove a car.
In 1908, Johnson set a record by pitching shutouts in three consecutive games against the New York Yankees, on September 4, 5, and 7. (There was no game on September 6.) But he had the misfortune of pitching for poor teams through most of his career; his record was only 14-14 that yer, despite 6 shutouts, and in 1909 he slipped to 13-25, although he had a 2.21 ERA.
From 1910 through 1919, Johnson won 20 or more games each year. He led the league in strikeouts for the first time with 313 in 1910, led in shutouts with 6 in 1911, 11 in 1913, 9 in 1914, and 7 in 1915, and was the ERA leader at 1.39 in 1912, 1.14 in 1913, 1.27 in 1918, and 1.49 in 1919.
Johnson topped the AL in strikeouts 8 consecutive years, from 1912 through 1919. He was the league leader in victories and winning percentage with a 36-7 record and an .837 percentage in 1913, when he won the most valuable player award. The Senators finished second that season with 90 victories. However, from 1910 through 1910, they averaged only 76 wins a year and Johnson averaged 26.
He led the league in victories the next three seasons, with 28 in 1914, 27 in 1915, and 25 in 1916, and again in 1918, with 23. After a 20-14 mark in 1919, he developed a sore arm that limited him to an 8-10 record the following season, but he pitched the only no-hitter of his career, a 1-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
It seemed that Johnson's career might be just about over as he had records of 17-14, 15-16, and 17-1 the next three seasons. But in 1924 he led the league in victories and percentage with a 23-7 record, in shutouts with 6, in strikeouts with 158, and in ERA with 2.72. The Senators won their first pennant that year and Johnson won his second most valuable player award. He lost his 2 starts in the World Series, but picked up a victory in relief in the seventh and final game as Washington beat the New York Giants.
His last good season was 1925, when he was 20-7 and the Senators won another pennant. Johnson was 2-1 in a seven-game World Series loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. After going 15-16 and 5-6 the next two years, he became a minor league manager for one season, then took over the Senators in 1929. After four seasons there, he became manager of the Cleveland Indians during the 1933 season and was fired in August of 1935.
He then retired to a farm in Maryland, although he spent one season as a radio announcer for the Senators.
In 21 major league seasons, Johnson had 417 victories, second only to Cy Young, with 279 losses, 110 shutouts, and a 2.16 ERA. He struck out 3,509 hitters and walked 1,363 in 5,923 innings.