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Originally Posted by MVSNYC
Hank, just fantastic!
The letter referencing his children and grandchildren must be especially touching for you.
I actually didn’t know his wife passed away that early, and he was left to raise 5 children, wow. Incredible man.
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Yes, that was the great tragedy of his life when she died in 1930 at the age of 36. His mother came from Coffeyville to help with the family, bringing along the two young boys of Walter's sister Blanche, who had died in 1928. So that made 7 children Walter had to provide for, including my mother, who is still with us. Of course, I love the personal content. He mentions his six grandchildren, and I was number 7, born in April that year, the last born before he died in December. I hear there's a terrific book about his life, "Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train."