Joseph I. "Joe" Judge. First baseman with the Washington Senators in 1915-1932. 2,352 hits and 71 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. In 1924, as Washington won the AL pennant and the World Series, he had one of his better years as he posted a .393 OBP with 71 runs scored and 79 RBI's in 593 plate appearances. He finished his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1933-1934. He may have been the basis for the character of Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, whose author dated Judge's daughter in the 1940's.
Judge's SABR biography relates how Judge helped Walter Johnson secure his only career no-hitter: On July 1, 1920, Walter Johnson was attempting to complete a feat that had thus far eluded him in his thirteen-year career. The Washington Senator hurler was one out away from pitching his first no-hitter. Johnson was pitching a great game, striking out 10 Red Sox hitters and getting six others to foul out. He was clinging to a 1-0 lead in front of a small crowd of 3,000 at Fenway Park.
Standing in his way was Boston’s right fielder, Harry Hooper. Hooper was the only Red Sox to reach base, courtesy of a fielding error by second baseman Bucky Harris. He had also struck out in a previous confrontation between the future residents of Cooperstown. But Hooper was not caught up in the moment, and ripped Johnson’s second offering down the first base line that crossed the bag and was hooking into foul territory. First baseman Joe Judge quickly moved to his left, speared the ball, stopped and made a perfect toss to Johnson covering the base. The Big Train snagged the toss bare-handed. Judge was so excited, he went into a war-dance and congratulated Johnson, who could only say “Goodness, gracious, sakes alive, wasn’t I lucky?”
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