Walter Johnson
Johnson with the Washington Senators in 1924
Pitcher
Born:(1887-11-06)November 6, 1887 Humboldt, Kansas, U.S.
Died: December 10, 1946(1946-12-10) (aged 59) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 2, 1907, for the Washington Senators
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1927, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	417–279
Earned run average	2.17
Strikeouts	3,508
Shutouts	110
Managerial record	529–432
Winning %	.550
Stats atBaseball Reference
Managerial record at Baseball Reference
Teams
As player Washington Senators (1907–1927) As manager Washington Senators (1929–1932) Cleveland Indians (1933–1935)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1924) 2×AL MVP (1913, 1924) 3×Triple Crown (1913, 1918, 1924) 6×AL wins leader (1913–1916, 1918, 1924) 5×AL ERA leader (1912, 1913, 1918, 1919, 1924) 12×AL strikeout leader (1910, 1912–1919, 1921, 1923, 1924) Pitched ano-hitter on July 1, 1920 MLB record 110 career shutouts Washington Nationals Ring of Honor Major League Baseball All-Century Team Major League Baseball All-Time Team
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1936
Vote	83.6% (first ballot)

Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "the Big Train", was an American professionalbaseball player andmanager. He played hisentire 21-year baseball career inMajor League Baseball as a right-handedpitcher for theWashington Senators from1907 to1927. He later served as manager of the Senators from 1929 through 1932 and of theCleveland Indians from 1933 through 1935.^[1]

Generally regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Johnson established several records, some of which remain unbroken. He remains by far the all-time career leader inshutouts with 110,^[2] second inwins with 417, and fourth incomplete games with 531. He held the career record instrikeouts from 1919, passingChristy Mathewson’s mark of 2,507, to 1983, when three players (Steve Carlton,Nolan Ryan andGaylord Perry) passed his career total of 3,508. On July 22, 1923, Johnson became the only pitcher to record3,000 strikeouts, and remained as such untilBob Gibson matched the feat on July 17, 1974. Of the club's 20 members, he pitched the most innings and has the loweststrikeouts per nine innings pitched (5.34 K/9). Johnson led the league in strikeouts for 12 total seasons, 8 of which were consecutive, both all-time records.^[3] He is the only pitcher in Major League history to record more than 400 wins and strike out more than 3,500 batters.

In1936, Johnson was elected into theBaseball Hall of Fame as one of its"first five" inaugural members.

Walter Johnson was the second of six children (Effie, Leslie, Earl, Blanche)^[4] born to Frank Edwin Johnson (1861–1921) and Minnie Olive Perry (1867–1967) on a rural farm four miles west ofHumboldt, Kansas on November 6, 1887.^[5] Although he was sometimes said to be of Swedish ancestry and referred to by sportswriters as "the Big Swede," Johnson's ancestors came from the British Isles.^[6]

Soon after he reached his fourteenth birthday, his family moved to California'sOrange County in 1902. The Johnsons settled in the town ofOlinda, a smalloil boomtown located just east ofBrea.^[7] In his youth, Johnson split his time among playing baseball, working in the nearbyoil fields, and goinghorseback riding.^[7] Johnson later attendedFullerton Union High School where hestruck out 27batters during a 15-inning game againstSanta Ana High School.^[7] He later moved toIdaho, where he doubled as a telephone company employee and a pitcher for a team inWeiser, Idaho, of the Idaho State League. Johnson was spotted by catcher/scoutCliff Blankenship and signed a contract with theWashington Senators in July 1907 at the age of 19.

Johnson was renowned as the premierpower pitcher of his era.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. He was a rookie, and we licked our lips as we warmed up for the first game of a doubleheader in Washington.... 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.^[8]

In 1917, aBridgeport, Connecticut, munitions laboratory recorded Johnson's fastball at 134 feet per second, which is equal to 91 miles per hour (146 km/h), a velocity that may have been unmatched in his day, with the possible exception ofSmoky Joe Wood. Johnson, moreover, pitched with asidearm motion, whereas power pitchers are usually known for pitching with a straightoverhand delivery. Johnson's motion was especially difficult for right-handed batters to follow, as the ball seemed to be coming from third base. Hispitching mechanics were superb, generating powerful rotation of his shoulders with excellent balance.^[9] In addition to his fastball, Johnson featured an occasionalcurveball that he developed around 1913 or 1914.^[10] He batted and threw right-handed.

The overpowering fastball was the primary reason for Johnson's exceptional statistics, especially his fabled strikeout totals. Johnson's record total of 3,508^[11] strikeouts stood for more than 55 years untilNolan Ryan,Steve Carlton, andGaylord Perry all surpassed it in that order during the1983 season. Johnson, as of 2025, ranks tenth on the all-time strikeout list,^[12] but his total must be understood in its proper context of an era of much fewer strikeouts. Among his pre–World War II contemporaries, only two men finished within 1,000 strikeouts of Johnson: runner-upCy Young with 2,803 (705 strikeouts behind) andTim Keefe at 2,562 (946 behind).Bob Feller, whosewar-shortened career began in1936, later ended up with 2,581.

As a right-handed pitcher for theWashington Senators, Walter Johnson won 417 games,the second most by any pitcher in history (afterCy Young, who won 511). He and Young are the only pitchers to have won 400 games.^[13]

In a 21-year career, Johnson had twelve 20-win seasons, including ten in a row. Twice, he topped 30 wins (33 in1912 and 36 in1913).^[14] 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;^[15] both his wins and losses in these games are major league records. Johnson also lost 65 games because his teams failed to score a run.^[15] On September 4, 5 and 7,1908, he shut out theNew York Highlanders in three consecutive games.

Three times, Johnson won thetriple crown for pitchers (1913,1918 and1924). Johnson twice won theAmerican LeagueMost Valuable Player Award (1913, 1924),^[2] a feat accomplished since by only two other pitchers,Carl Hubbell in1933 and 1936 andHal Newhouser in1944 and1945.

Hisearned run average of 1.14 in 1913 was the fourth-lowest ever at the time he recorded it; it remains the sixth-lowest today, despite having been surpassed byBob Gibson in 1968 (1.12) for lowest ERA ever by a 300+ inning pitcher. It could have been lower if not for one of managerClark Griffith's traditions. 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. For the decade from 1910 to 1919, Johnson averaged 26 wins per season and had an overall ERA of 1.59.

Johnson won 36 games in 1913, 40% of the team's total wins for the season. In April and May, he pitched 552⁄3consecutive scoreless innings, which stood as the MLB record for 55 years and as of 2024 remains the American League's best and third-longest streak in history. He won 25 games and lost 20 games in 1916, the last pitcher to win and lose 20 in a season untilknuckleballerWilbur Wood did so in 1973.^[16] In May 1918, Johnson pitched 40 consecutive scoreless innings; he is the only pitcher with two such 40+ inning streaks.^[17]

Although he often pitched for losing teams during his career, Johnson finally led theWashington Senators to theWorld Series in 1924, his 18th year in the American League. 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 Johnson's experience was close to the inverse: two early wins, followed by a game seven loss. On October 15, 1927, Johnson's request for an unconditional release from the club was granted.^[18]

Johnson'sHall of Fame plaque reads that he pitched "for many years with a losing team." While the Senators had only nine winning seasons during his career, they finished in the first division (i. e., fourth place or higher) 11 times, and the second division 10 times. In Johnson's first five seasons, Washington finished last twice and next-to-last three times. But they finished second in the American League in both1912 and1913, which were Johnson's two 30-win seasons. 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 careerbatting average of .235, including a record .433 average in 1925. His 547 career hits are the most by a full-time pitcher. He also made 13 appearances in theoutfield during his career. He hit over .200 in 13 of his 21 seasons, hit three home runs in 1914, and hit 12doubles and atriple in 130 at-bats in 1917. 1919 marked the seventh year that he hit at least as many home runs as he allowed while pitching, all while pitching at least 296 innings those years. Johnson finished his career with 23 home runs as a pitcher (24 overall, including apinch-hit home run in 1925), which at the time was third best for primary pitchers in MLB history.^[19] He currently has thetenth-highest total for a pitcher in Major League history.

Johnson had a reputation as a kindly person, and made many friends in baseball. As reported inThe 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. This would vex Crawford's teammateTy Cobb, who could not understand how Crawford could hit the great Johnson so well. Johnson was also friendly withBabe Ruth, despite Ruth's having hit some of his longest home runs off him atGriffith Stadium.

In1928, he began his career as amanager in theminor leagues, managing theNewark Bears of theInternational League. He continued on to the major leagues, managing theWashington Senators (1929–1932), and finally theCleveland Indians (1933–1935). His managing record was 529–432, with his best team managed being in1930, when the team finished 94–60, 8 games out of first place. In seven seasons, he had five winning seasons, with the only two losing seasons being at the beginning of his tenure with Washington and Cleveland, though his teams did not come close to winning the pennant, finishing 12 games behind in his last season. Johnson also served as a radio announcer on stationWJSV for the Senators during the1939 season.^[20]

Johnson was one of the first five players elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in1936. Johnson,Ty Cobb,Christy Mathewson,Babe Ruth andHonus Wagner were known as the "Five Immortals" because they were the first players chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame.^[22]

Walter Johnson retired toGermantown, Maryland. On February 19, 1936,George Washington's 204th birthday, as a retired baseball legend Johnson gained national publicity. He replicated a feat attributed to Washington by throwing a silver dollar across theRappahannock River. Though it remained in dispute whether Washington ever did such a thing, Johnson did prove that it could be done.^[23][24]

A lifelongRepublican and friend of PresidentCalvin Coolidge, Johnson was elected as aMontgomery County commissioner in 1938. His father-in-law wasRep. Edwin Roberts, a Republican member of theU.S. House of Representatives. 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 (53%) to 52,258 (47%).^[25]

Joseph W. Martin Jr., before he was theSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives (1947–1949 and 1953–1955), recruited Johnson to run for Congress. "He was an utterly inexperienced speaker," Martin later said. "I got some of my boys to write two master speeches for him—one for the farmers of his district and the other for the industrial areas. Alas, he got the two confused. He addressed the farmers on industrial problems, and the businessmen on farm problems."^[26]

Walter married Hazel Lee Roberts on June 24, 1914, and they had five children.^[28] Johnson's eldest daughter died frominfluenza in 1921.^[29] His wife died in August 1930 from complications resulting fromheat stroke after a long motorcar ride from Kansas.^[30] Ty Cobb was a good friend of Johnson, often bringing Johnson's children gifts when he visited the family.^[29]

At 11:40 pm on Tuesday, December 10, 1946,^[31] Johnson died of abrain tumor in Washington, D.C., five weeks after his 59th birthday, and was interred atRockville Cemetery inRockville,Maryland.^[32]

• Walter Johnson High School inBethesda, Maryland, is named for him. The monument to him that once stood outsideGriffith Stadium has been moved to the school's campus. The school's yearbook is calledThe Windup and its newspaper is calledThe Pitch.
• A baseball field inRockville, Maryland is named for him. A wood sculpture of him is located near the field.
• A large recreation park (Walter Johnson Park) is named after him inCoffeyville, Kansas, where he maintained a part-time residence for several years.
• TheBethesda Big Train, a summer collegiate baseball team based in Bethesda, Maryland, is named in his honor and features a Walter Johnson sculpture in front of their stadium. A sculpture of sportswriter Shirley Povich and Walter Johnson is located inside the stadium.^[33]
• The baseball field in Memorial Park, inWeiser, Idaho, is called Walter Johnson Field.
• Johnson was the first American League pitcher to strike out four batters in one inning.^[34]
• Johnson holds the record for most three-pitch innings by any major league pitcher with four.^[35]
• In 2009, astatue of Johnson was installed inside the center field gate ofNationals Park along with ones ofFrank Howard andJosh Gibson.
• Walter Johnson baseball field inHumboldt, Kansas.
• Walter Johnson Road inGermantown, Maryland.
• In 2024, a thick gray flannel jersey worn by Johnson between 1919 and 1922 was sold for $2.01 million atHeritage Auctions.^[36]

He was also called "Sir Walter", "the White Knight", and "The Gentle Johnson" for his gentlemanly sportsmanship, and "Barney" after auto racerBarney Oldfield (he got out of a traffic ticket when a teammate in the car told the policeman Johnson was Barney Oldfield).^[37]

In1999,The Sporting News ranked Johnson number 4 on its list of Baseball's 100 Greatest Players, the highest-ranked pitcher.^[38] Later that year, he was elected to theMajor League Baseball All-Century Team.^[39]

In 2020,The Athletic ranked Johnson at number 7 on its "Baseball 100" list, compiled by sportswriterJoe Posnanski.^[40] In 2022, as part of their SN Rushmore project,The Sporting News named Johnson on their "Washington, D.C. Mount Rushmore of Sports", along withWashington Capitals hockey playerAlexander Ovechkin,Washington Redskins football playerDarrell Green, andWashington Bullets basketball playerWes Unseld.^[41]

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.^[42]

In 2015, he along withNap Lajoie,Christy Mathewson andCy Young were named the "Greatest Pioneers Group." They were voted for by baseball fans online as part of the Franchise Four competition and were "selected as the most impactful players". The results were announced at the2015 MLB All-Star Game.^[43]

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 FamerTy Cobb. 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 batter. Almost alone among his peers, Cobb would actually stand closer to the plate than usual when facing Johnson.^[44]

Johnson is mentioned in the poem"Line-Up for Yesterday" byOgden Nash:

Note: Official MLB statistics show 3,508 career strikeouts, with 70 in his first season (1907) while statistics at websites such asESPN,Baseball-Reference, and the official site of theBaseball Hall of Fame (see "External Links", below) all show 3,509 career strikeouts, with 71 in his first season. This has resulted in minor differences seen in references to Johnson's record when reading media and Wikipedia articles of other pitchers in the3000 strikeout club.

Note:Major League Baseball began to regularly track "caught stealing" in 1951; prior to that year, records on this statistic are either incomplete or not recorded at all.

• Walter Johnson High School
• List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career ERA leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career FIP leaders
• List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
• List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
• List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders
• List of Major League Baseball all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers
• List of Major League Baseball single-inning strikeout leaders
• List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise
• Major League Baseball titles leaders
• Major League Baseball Triple Crown
• List of Washington Senators Opening Day starting pitchers

• Kavanagh, Jack (1997).Walter Johnson: A Life (Diamond Communications)ISBN 0-912083-94-8
• Russo, Frank (2014).The Cooperstown Chronicles: Baseball's Colorful Characters, Unusual Lives, and Strange Demises. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN 978-1-4422-3639-4.
• Thomas, Henry W. (1995).Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train (University of Nebraska Press: Bison Books)ISBN 0-9645439-0-7
• Treat, Roger L., with contributions byClark Griffith (1948).Walter Johnson King of the Pitchers (New York: Julian Messner)

• Burns, Ken (1994).Baseball: An Illustrated History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.ISBN 0-679-40459-7.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toWalter Johnson.

• Walter Johnson at theBaseball Hall of Fame
• Career statistics fromMLB · ESPN · Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet · Baseball Almanac
• Walter Johnson managerial career statistics atBaseball-Reference.com
• Walter Johnson at theSABR Baseball Biography Project, by Charles Carey. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Washington's 'Big Train' first to 3,000 strikeArchived August 1, 2008, at theWayback Machine
• Walter Johnson atFind a Grave
• Walter Johnson atIMDb
• Baseball Almanac
• What Did Walter Johnson's Voice Sound Like? Listen To This 1939 Senators Broadcast.
• 19-Year-Old Phenom Debuts for Washington: Walter Johnson
• Walter Johnson Was a Suffragist
• Mr. and Mrs. Walter Johnson Tie the Knot on Monroe St. NW

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