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Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887-December 10, 1946), American professional baseball pitcher. Born in Humboldt, Kansas, he was a farm boy who grew up to become one of Major League Baseball's greatest stars. He was the second of six children and his family moved to Orange County, California in 1901. He attended Fullerton High School. He signed a contract with the Washington Senators in July 1907.
Nicknamed Big Train, as a right-handed pitcher for the Washington Senators, he won 417 games, the second most by any pitcher in history (after Cy Young, who won 511). In a twenty-one year career he had two seasons in which he had more than thirty wins (33 in 1912 and 36 in 1913). His record includes 110 shutouts, the most in baseball history, and struck out 3,508 batters (the most until Nolan Ryan broke his record in 1983). He thrice won the triple crown for pitchers (1913, 1918, 1914) and twice won the American League Most Valuable Player Award (1913, 1924). On September 4, 5, and 7, 1908, he shut out the New York Yankees in three consecutive games.
He led the Senators to two World Series, a victory in 1924 (including the final, 12-inning game) and a loss in 1925.
He later managed the Senators (1929-32) and then the Cleveland Indians (1933-35), inspiring his teams to an overall .551 winning percentage.
One of the first five electees to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, Walter Johnson retired in Germantown, Maryland and was elected Montgomery County commissioner in 1938. He lost a very close election to the US Congress in 1940 and died of a brain tumor in Washington, D.C. on December 10, 1946. He is interred in the Rockville Union Cemetery in Rockville, Maryland.
A high school in Bethesda, Maryland has been named for him. (See Walter Johnson High School.)
He was also called Sir Walter and the White Knight because of his gentlemanly gamemanship.
External links
- Baseball Hall of Fame (http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/johnson_walter.htm)
- Baseball Almanac (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=johnswa01)
- Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/J/Johnson_Walter.stm)
- Baseball-Reference.com (http://www.baseball-reference.com/j/johnswa01.shtml) - career statistics and analysis
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