Footage of the 1924 World Series Game 7

[mattsey9]

Just posted to Deadspin. A four minute highlight reel of the Senators game 7 winner. Includes footage of Ross Barnes, Walter Johnson (in relief) and Muddy Ruel's game winning hit in the 12th.

Senators defeat the Giants in 1924

[ValKehl]

Mike,
For this 70-year old native and life-long resident of the DC area and forever Washington Senators/Nationals fan, this fabulous highlight reel just made my day, my month, my ... - you get the message!! Many thanks for posting the link to this.

The only possible downside I can see to this relates to my decision 2-3 years ago to start collecting cards of all the Senators who played on the 1924 team (after having collected WaJo and Sam Rice cards for many years). Hopefully, this doesn't cause the prices of cards of the more obscure players, such as Earl McNeely and Muddy Ruel, to rise!
Val

[ullmandds]

great video...the starting pitchers look to be throwing meatballs!

[4815162342]

Mike, thanks so much for sharing!

[byrone]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

Mike, thanks so much for sharing!

Nice to see Walter Johnson in action.

Most old-timers say he threw as hard as anyone that came afterwards. Be nice to see him pitching today. Love the "side-arm" like delivery

[clydepepper]

Awesome !!!! I love it

[rc4157]

Thanks for posting, enjoyed watching.
RC

[JollyElm]

I can't believe Walter Johnson didn't have ridiculously serious arm injuries/issues that ended his career. As this video shows, he basically has no follow through as he hurls the ball sidearm with incredible force and then abruptly comes to a stop, almost standing completely straight up. Holy cow. How did that pitching approach NOT mess him up??

[ValKehl]

Darren, I noticed this and wondered the same thing. Perhaps his grandson, Hank T., can offer some insight and will chime in.
Val

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

I can't believe Walter Johnson didn't have ridiculously serious arm injuries/issues that ended his career. As this video shows, he basically has no follow through as he hurls the ball sidearm with incredible force and then abruptly comes to a stop, almost standing completely straight up. Holy cow. How did that pitching approach NOT mess him up??

Darren,

I played quite a bit of baseball in my younger years, including a little time on the mound. I discovered, as a teenager, that my throwing arm was strong but woefully inaccurate. I also noticed that my shoulder took the majority of the punishment from my efforts.

I switched to a sidearm delivery. The accuracy improved dramatically and the pain went (and stayed) away. And, just after releasing the ball, the purposeful forward momentum of my arm came to a halt. It looks much more abrupt than it feels though. After the release, I just let my arm go limp...nothing to it.

At my age (42) the prospect of playing anything other than an infield position for a local softball team would be out of reach for me. However, I can still whip the ball to first...sidearm, of course...with decent velocity and no pain.

My point is this. WaJo's easy sidearm delivery puts much less stress on the old soup bone than you might think.

Best regards,

Eric

[auggiedoggy]

No windmill style windup for Walter J?

[Mountaineer1999]

that is great footage.

[t206hound]

At the two minute mark, the title says "Senators tie the score," and while the clip shows a runner crossing the plate, it's a force play at first base and the defense leaving the field. The run wouldn't have scored.

Looking at the box score and play by play, the score knotted up in the eighth when two scored on a single by Harris. My guess is that this clip is showing the double play that ended the ninth and sent the game into extras.

I can just imagine going to the local theatre days later and watching the news reels... what a different world!

[JollyElm]

Another bizarre thing seen in the footage is the positioning of the third base umpire on that triple. He is basically standing in the basepath right in the runner's way if he had decided to take off for home. There's no way to avoid him.

[Buythatcard]

Thanks for sharing. Superb quality. Usually clips from that time period are so grainy. That was the best quality I ever saw for that time period.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

Another bizarre thing seen in the footage is the positioning of the third base umpire on that triple. He is basically standing in the basepath right in the runner's way if he had decided to take off for home. There's no way to avoid him.

Darren,

What? No reply?

Methinks a little demonstration at the next Net54 Dinner is in order...like Roy Hobbs and the Whammer.

Please let me know.

Best regards,

Eric

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Darren,

What? No reply?

Methinks a little demonstration at the next Net54 Dinner is in order...like Roy Hobbs and the Whammer.

Please let me know.

Best regards,

Eric

Huh? Reply?

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

Huh? Reply?

Darren,

Please check my reply from 7:28 (EST) this evening. Nothing personal. Just looking at your avatar and rising to the (virtual) challenge of seeing you in the batters box.

Best regards,

Eric

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Darren,

I played quite a bit of baseball in my younger years, including a little time on the mound. I discovered, as a teenager, that my throwing arm was strong but woefully inaccurate. I also noticed that my shoulder took the majority of the punishment from my efforts.

I switched to a sidearm delivery. The accuracy improved dramatically and the pain went (and stayed) away. And, just after releasing the ball, the purposeful forward momentum of my arm came to a halt. It looks much more abrupt than it feels though. After the release, I just let my arm go limp...nothing to it.

At my age (42) the prospect of playing anything other than an infield position for a local softball team would be out of reach for me. However, I can still whip the ball to first...sidearm, of course...with decent velocity and no pain.

My point is this. WaJo's easy sidearm delivery puts much less stress on the old soup bone than you might think.

Best regards,

Eric

I still have no idea what I'm supposed to be replying to. You told a brief story of your pitching history. So what kind of input are you looking for from me????

[paulcarek]

So cool, Mike. Thanks for sharing!

[nolemmings]

Looking at the box score and play by play, the score knotted up in the eighth when two scored on a single by Harris. My guess is that this clip is showing the double play that ended the ninth and sent the game into extras.

Good eye. That is the bottom of the ninth shown.

FWIW, the film says McNeely's single wins it for the Senators, but Baseball Reference credits him with a double.

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

great video...the starting pitchers look to be throwing meatballs!

Agree on Barnes, that looks like some serious junk! Sorta feel like the other guy's (Mogridge) got some nice whip in his arm. I'd so so love to see one of these games in person, then see one of these teams face a modern team. I hope (and sort of believe) the old guys may surprise... Especially hitters slapping the ball all over the field.

The view of Johnson's motion is so cool. I've seen old footage of him warming up from field level POV, and in front, but this is a great angle. I'm amazed how hard he plants his front foot! It's almost like it's a break, pushing back hard on his left hip and triggering some serious upper body torque. Per earlier posts, I can imagine sidearm can be bad some, but maybe be good for others. My arm usually felt worse repeatedly throwing sidearm, but always used to hear (and believe) submarine (and of course underhand) is much easier on the arm overall. I think the arm (and most body parts) is finicky and varies a lot person to person.. And also if something's outa whack somewhere else (think Dizzy Dean's toe), may be more prone to injury regardless of style. As is, and given he lasted so long, I gotta think WaJo's twisting torso is generating most of his arm speed, and that plant leg is taking the most violent impact. I had knee surgery last week, so cringe seeing that old man ram his stick into the ground like that.

Regardless, awesome video, thanks for posting.

[Tabe]

MLB has turned up 6 more minutes of (different) footage from the 1924 Series:

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266...4-world-series

[ValKehl]

There is an interesting read in the sports section of today's Wash. Post newspaper re this recently discovered footage of the 1924 W.S. - here's the link to it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...-world-series/

Bucky Harris was in his first year as a MLB manager (player-manager, in fact) when his 1924 Senators (or Nationals, as they were often referred to) beat the Giants. This year, 90 years later, Matt Williams is in his first year as a MLB manager, and his Nationals are beginning their post-season right now against the Giants. I'm doing my best to believe in coincidences and history repeating itself - GO NATS!!
Val