Quote:
Originally Posted by Baseball Rarities
Thanks for that info, but I would not put much credence in those munition tests. In the before-mentioned documentary Fastball, they mention one of these tests that only measured Johnson's fastball at 122 feet per second or 83 miles per hour.
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That test, which took place in 1912, was flawed to the point of absurdity. It was done in street clothes, with no warmup, and conducted on a range designed to test the speed of rifle bullets. Johnson had to throw overhand, not his usual sidearm, with the ball passing through a field of hanging metal triggers before hitting the backboard. Obviously, he could throw way faster than the machine measured, and he was clocked considerably faster than Nap Rucker, also taking the test as the fastest pitcher in the National League. I've always thought that Johnson threw at least 100 MPH and probably a little more when he let it all out. Feller was measured at 99, and of the many people who saw and even hit against them both in their prime, I never came across anyone claiming that Feller threw harder than Johnson.