How Walter Johnson became a National Hero (Part 6): Two days later, Johnson faced Rube Waddell of the St. Louis Browns. Waddell was baseball's real "rebel without a cause." A great pitcher, he drove managers insane wherever he played. Seemingly as innocent and erratic as a child, Waddell would miss time at the ballpark to chase fire engines or to just go fishing. Sportswriters would come to talk of Walter Johnson's fastball in the same breath as Waddell's, who had thrown very hard for Connie Mack's A's beginning in 1902. That is, he had until he injured his arm while horsing around with teammate Andy Coakley prior to the start of the 1905 World Series, which the A's lost in five games, mainly because of Christy Mathewson's "three golden eggs" --three shutouts in the first ever best-of-seven World Series.
Rube Waddell's arm was never quite the same after the fall of '05, but he still had plenty left when he faced the Senators in September '08. He struck out 17 Nats and was the winner over Walter Johnson, who struck out nine. The Big Train had pitched seven complete games for the Senators, with a save thrown in for good measure, within 17 days, and Joe Cantillon did not give him a break until the end of the campaign, which must not have come too soon for poor Walter. He had indeed earned his forthcoming salary increase of $800, to $3,500 for 1909.
The 20-year-old destined to become the greatest righthander of all time had truly arrived. Just out of his teens, Johnson was already getting about 60 letters a day from fans across the country. He was answering all of them, succinctly explaining to reporters who asked that if there were folks who were kind enough to write him, then the least he could do was write them back. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)
Another example of how Walter came to enjoy the off season. The caption on the reverse reads: Walter Johnson. Two Out, and the Bag's Full. -- Walter Johnson, veteran ball player, strikes out a couple of wild turkeys in Florida. Daytona Beach, Fla. -- Photo Shows: Walter Johnson former pitcher for the Washington Senators and now manager of the Newark Bears, with two wild turkeys he bagged near here.
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1658395804