Washington DC Baseball

[Kawika]

This team RPPC is designated as circa 1915 on the flip. A tip of the Kawika cap to Mark Fimoff for pointing out the presence of Wildfire Schulte (front row, 4th from right) which narrows the year to 1918, his only season with the Senators. I will stand corrected if I am wrong but I believe the player in the front row at far right is Merito Acosta which fine tunes the photo's date to sometime prior to May 25th when he was traded to the Phila Athletics. The absence of Sam Rice can be explained by the fact that he spent part of the season in the US Army in that war year.

[GeoPoto]

David, great 1918 team photograph. Thanks for posting it to complete the introduction to 1918. 1918 did not see the issuance of any cards involving Senators (at least none that I have acquired); nor do I have any photos of the team (or of Walter) that are sourced to that year. But it was a good year for the team (and Walter), so I decided to include a couple of entries for that year in this thread. I am delighted that you were able to deliver an item that ties in to 1918. Today's post completes my input regarding 1918 (with another photograph from a different year, but "what are you gonna do", as Tony S. would say). 1919 will be richer, I believe.

Player #54H: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.

Deveaux reports on Johnson's 1918 season Part 2: . . . Walter Johnson's durability was being put to the ultimate test in 1918. Two days after defeating Ruth, he shut out Jim Bagley and the Indians (the league's best hitting team in 1918) by a 1-0 score. In his next start on May 15, he pitched the longest shutout in history. It took 18 innings before the Nats finally scored a run courtesy of a wild pitch by Claude "Lefty" Williams, another who would become implicated in the Black Sox scandal. Johnson gave up ten hits and a walk and fanned nine.

There were an extraordinary number of long games for Walter as the season wore on. While teams would play 17 percent fewer games in '18, the Big Train pitched exactly three fewer innings (325) than he did the previous year. On July 25 at St. Louis, he took another 1-0 decision, this one slightly shorter than the one in mid-May, in 15 innings.

Ten days later, on August 4, the Big Train pitched his second-longest game of the season, not to mention ever, going 17.1 innings only to lose 7-6 in a bizarre contest on a scorchingly hot day in Detroit. He faced a career-high 64 batters, giving up 16 hits and eight walks. Eleven innings intervened between the sixth and seventh Detroit runs, both driven in by Ty Cobb. Of Johnson's 88 career extra-inning decisions, an astonishing 15 took place in this season. Barney completed nine of them, including five which went 13 innings or longer. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

The 1919 Washington Senators won 56 games, lost 84, and finished in seventh place in the American League. They were managed by Clark Griffith and played home games at National Park.

Deveaux looks at the 1919 season: Nineteen nineteen was not so successful. Despite some good elements -- solid bat production from the outfielders, and strong pitching performances from Johnson and Grunting Jim Shaw -- the Senators sank to seventh, their lowest standing in ten years. . . .

. . . Walter Johnson's best years had coincided with the decade now ending. He had led the league in strikeouts nine times during the period, and in shutouts and complete games six times. His 265 wins during the decade represented 35 percent of Washington's victories. Now 32, Johnson was supplanted as staff workhorse by Jim Shaw, who logged more innings and appearances than any pitcher in the league. For all of his superior work, though, Shaw finished with a 16-17 slate. While the Washington pitching staff was third-best in the league, the offense lacked punch and Clark Griffith was determined to get some. Clyde Milan and Eddie Foster had slowed down. In finishing seventh, the Senators together hit fewer home runs (24) than Boston's young Babe Ruth (29). (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #82A: Edward P. "Patsy" Gharrity. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1916-1923 and 1929-1930. 513 hits and 20 home runs in 10 MLB seasons. He also played some first base and outfield. He had a career OBP of .331. His best season was 1921 as posted a .386 OBP with 55 RBIs in 455 plate appearances.

We will follow Gharrity's SABR biography as it traces his time in Washington: Ed Gharrity was a player, manager, umpire, scout, and coach during his professional career. Invited to spring training with the Washington Senators in 1916, he made an immediate positive impression. Catching for the rookies in an intrasquad game against the regulars in Charlottesville, Virginia, he threw out four would-be base stealers in the 1-1 tie. That started an eight-year stretch with the Senators. The highlight came on June 23, 1919, in Boston. In a battle between two second-division teams, Gharrity went 5-for-5 with a single, two doubles, and his first two major-league home runs. His total of 13 bases set an American League record that was broken by Ty Cobb in 1925. . . .

. . . Gharrity returned to the Senators in 1919 and found both Henry and Ainsmith gone. Val Picinich and Sam Agnew now headed the catching corps. Even so, Gharrity saw action in 60 games behind the plate. Judge was healthy, meaning Gharrity played very little first, finding himself in the outfield for 35 games. In 111 games, he batted .271 and launched his first home runs. It should be noted that Baseball-Reference calls him “Patsy.” That nickname did not become prevalent until 1921. He was “Eddie” for the first part of his career. . . .

Which doesn't explain how "Joe" got on his card!?

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[GeoPoto]

Player #28J: Clark C. "The Old Fox" Griffith. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1912-1914. Debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1891. 237 wins and 8 saves in 20 MLB seasons. Was 1898 MLB ERA leader. Managed the Chicago White Stockings (1901-1902), the New York Highlanders (1903-1908), the Cincinnati Reds (1909-1911), and the Washington Senators (1912-1920). Was principal owner of the Washington Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955. In 1946, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Deveaux tells us that Griffith's control of the team was under pressure in 1919: In the boardroom, Clark Griffith found out that some of the directors had ideas that were quite different from his own in terms of what steps needed to be taken to improve the ballclub. With the dismal seventh-place showing, there were now calls for the Old Fox's hide. But this baseball team had become too important to Griffith. It occurred to him that if he could somehow gain control of the team, then, quite naturally, he couldn't be fired.

Connie Mack had once introduced Griff to William Richardson, a wealth grain exporter from Philadelphia. With backing Griffith was able to obtain from Richardson, he walked into the Metropolitan National Bank and got a loan for $87,000 that allowed him and Richardson to purchase about 85 percent of the team. They paid $15 a share, a terrific bargain as it would turn out. Taking over as majority owner and president, Griffith was granted the right to speak for Richardson's holdings as if they were his own. To signal his new status as owner, president, and manager of the Washington Senators, League Park, or National Park, was renamed Griffith Stadium and it was at this time that the stands stretching from the infield to the foul poles were made into double-deckers.

Clark Griffith was finally in a position to bring his little ballclub to unprecedented heights during the course of the free-wheeling decade that lay ahead. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #83A: Stanley R. "Bucky" Harris. Second baseman for the Washington Senators in 1919-1928. 1,297 hits and 167 stolen bases in 12 MLB seasons. 1924 and 1947 World Series champion. In 1975, inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. Named player-manager of the Washington Senators in 1924 at age 27. "The Boy Wonder" led Washington to World Series victory as "rookie" manger. Managed Washington Senators in 1924-1928, 1935-1942, and 1950-1954. Managed the Detroit Tigers in 1929-1933 and 1955-1956. Managed the Boston Red Sox in 1934. Managed the Philadelphia Phillies in 1943. Managed the New York Yankees in 1947-1948, including winning the 1947 world Series. Served as the General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1959-1960.

Jack Smiles explains how Harris was recruited: (outfielder Frank "Wildfire") Schulte and (first baseman Joe) Judge were still under contract with the Senators (despite being teammates with Bucky on the Baltimore Dry Docks in the fall of 1918). They had manager/owner Clark Griffith's ear and urged him to buy Bucky from (the) Buffalo (Bisons of the International League) for $5,000 but Griffith wasn't interested. . . .

. . . The Bisons were in Binghamton for a series in early August of 1919. Joe Casey, a 31-year-old catcher who had caught eight games for the Senators at the end of the 1918 season, leaned into Bucky on the field before the game. Nodding toward a box alongside the Bison dugout, he said, "(Washington scout, who was actually there to look at pitcher Pat Martin) Joe Engel's here to look you over." . . .

. . . Watching the game that day in Binghamton, Engel saw Bucky get in a fight with a much bigger player after a play at second base. Engel was impressed by the tough little second baseman and in his report to Griffith recommended he consider buying Bucky. Griffith knew of Bucky from Joe Judge and the Dry Docks but didn't consider him a major league-caliber batter. Engel persisted and convinced Griffith to take a look at Bucky for himself.

By the time Griffith got away, the Bisons were back in Buffalo. He left the Senators in Chicago on August 22, probably in the care of Nick Altrock, and caught a train to Buffalo. In the interim Bucky had taken a line drive to his right hand and injured his middle finger, though it wasn't known at the time just how bad the injury was. Bucky just taped the swollen digit to the next one and kept playing. A busted finger was a badge of honor to a mine boy. The day Griffith got to Buffalo, catcher Casey talked to Bucky on the field as he had when Engel was in Binghamton, saying, "there's the Old Fox himself."

Bucky stole a glance at Griffith. Though he was told Griffith was looking him over, he had a hard time buying it. Whether through luck or determination, or both, Bucky had the best day of his minor league career. He went 6-for-6 with a walk, was hit by a pitch, and handled 14 chances without an error in a double-header. After the game Griffith and Engel approached Bucky in the dugout just as he was unwrapping his fingers. Griffith complemented Bucky on his play that day and left.

That night (Buffalo manager George "Hooks") Wiltse called Bucky to his room and told him Griffith offered to buy Bucky for $4,500. Although (Bisons owner Joseph) Lannin (Side note: Lannin brought Babe Ruth to Boston as owner of the Red Sox before selling the team to Harry Frazee in 1917) had $5,000 on Bucky's head, Wiltse expected Lannin to make the deal. Later Engel said playing with that injured finger didn't hurt Bucky in Griffith's eyes. The Old Fox liked such gameness. The 6-for-6 day that raised his season average to .282, an all-time high for Bucky, couldn't have hurt. But there was a hitch. (New York Giants manager John) McGraw had an option on a Bison player due him. For a second time he (McGraw) passed on Bucky and chose pitcher Pat "Rosy" Ryan. The sale went through. (Bucky Harris by Jack Smiles.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #54H: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.

Deveaux summarizes Johnson's 1919 season: Johnson, who began the season with a 1-0 13-inning white-washing of the A's, his record fifth opening-day shutout, won 20 for the tenth straight year. It was an even 20, against 14 defeats. His dwarflike 1.49 ERA led the majors for the second year in a row, and is particularly remarkable considering 1919 was a year of much-increased hitting, with the league ERA shooting up nearly half a run per game to 3.21. Five of Barney's seven shutouts were by 1-0 scores, and he led the league in strikeouts for the eighth year in a row. On July 24, at Washington against the A's, he had his best inning ever, striking out the side on nine pitches.

In another of the many memorable games of his career, Johnson hooked up with spitballer Jack Quinn on May 11, the first ever legal Sunday baseball game in New York. Walter labored for 12 scoreless innings, retiring 28 consecutive batters and allowing only two hits, pitching to just one batter over the minimum. The game was called off prematurely at 6 P.M., due to New York owner Jacob Ruppert's misinterpretation of the new Sunday law, with the score still 0-0.

Of note is that in this particular game, rookie George Halas was fanned twice by the Big Train. Halas, later to become owner and longtime coach of the Chicago Bears football team, went 0-for-5 in this game, and 2-for-22 for his entire big-league career. These 12-inning shutouts on the part of both Johnson and Jack Quinn were not, however, the biggest story in baseball on May 11, 1919. Over in the other league, Hod Eller of the Cincinnati Reds spun a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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