Another Squirt of Deerfoot
The excerpt from Milan's (pronounced millin) SABR biography sums up how his career and life were intertwined with Walter Johnson's. And with two names and a role as Walter Johnson's wing man, of course he has a big head. Walter himself is here to put in a good word for his friend and hunting companion.
Milan began the 1906 season by hitting .356 for Shawnee (Indian Territory) of the South-Central League, but the team again disbanded before Milan received his pay. Disgusted with professional baseball, he was thinking about quitting when he received an invitation to join Wichita of the Western Association. “I felt none too sure that I could make good there, for the company was much faster,” Clyde recalled. That partial season in Wichita saw him hit just .211, but he returned in 1907 and batted .304 with 38 stolen bases in 114 games, attracting the attention of Washington manager Joe Cantillon, who had seen him in a spring exhibition. That summer Cantillon dispatched injured catcher Cliff Blankenship to Wichita with orders to purchase Milan’s contract, then go to Weiser, Idaho, to scout and possibly sign Walter Johnson. In later years Clyde loved to relate Blankenship’s remarks during his contract signing: “He told me that he was going out to Idaho to look over some young phenom. ‘It looks like a wild goose chase and probably a waste of train fare to look over that young punk,’ Blankenship said. ” Milan cost the Nats $1,000, while Johnson was secured for a $100 bonus plus train fare.
Milan and Johnson had a lot in common: They were the same age, they both hailed from rural areas – Washington outfielder Bob Ganley started calling Milan “Zeb,” a common nickname for players from small towns – and they were both quiet, reserved, and humble. Naturally, they became hunting companions and inseparable friends, and eventually they became the two best players on the Senators team. “Take Milan and his roommate, Walter Johnson, away from Washington, and the town would about shut up shop, as far as base ball is concerned,” wrote a reporter in 1911.
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