Cool Article About Walter Johnson Pitching vs a Negro League Team

[Butch7999]

Memory's a much, much trickier and far more malleable thing than most folks suppose. It wouldn't surprise us in the least
if Johnson confused or conflated the events of one or more exhibition games -- all apparently with similarly low-scoring results
-- that occurred close to thirty years earlier.
The blogger himself confuses or misinterprets the statements in one of the articles he presents. "'...About ten years ago'
in the Bronx... Williams won, 1 to 0'" says the blogger, misquoting the article which reads "...about ten years ago,
Johnson beat 'Smoky Joe' Williams by a score of 1-0."

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Butch7999

Memory's a much, much trickier and far more malleable thing than most folks suppose. It wouldn't surprise us in the least
if Johnson confused or conflated the events of one or more exhibition games -- all apparently with similarly low-scoring results
-- that occurred close to thirty years earlier.
The blogger himself confuses or misinterprets the statements in one of the articles he presents. "'...About ten years ago'
in the Bronx... Williams won, 1 to 0'" says the blogger, misquoting the article which reads "...about ten years ago,
Johnson beat 'Smoky Joe' Williams by a score of 1-0."

Butch, memory lapses are one thing. What Shirly Povich attributed to Johnson, based on what Hank and others have found, would indicate senility. And Johnson wasn't senile. There's something fishy with the story, and we all know how journalists can be when they are 'creating' a story.

[Butch7999]

Count us senile, too, then, for frequently conflating and misremembering details of signature events in our own lives that occurred
a lot more recently than thirty years ago. And our families and friends, too, for similarly having widely disparate accounts of those same events.
But you are quite correct about the disturbing lack of consensus on the Johnson exhibition games, and certainly the embellishments and
distortions of various sports writers in an effort to tell a "better" story must play a part in that...

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Butch7999

Count us senile, too, then, for frequently conflating and misremembering details of signature events in our own lives that occurred
a lot more recently than thirty years ago. And our families and friends, too, for similarly having widely disparate accounts of those same events.
But you are quite correct about the disturbing lack of consensus on the Johnson exhibition games, and certainly the embellishments and
distortions of various sports writers in an effort to tell a "better" story must play a part in that...

I hear you - I have as bad of a memory as anyone, but for a lot of reasons, the Povich account just doesn't ring true for me.

In addition, Johnson was NOT known for throwing at batters - quite the contrary. I can't see him gloating about brushing back a batter and then finally plunking him.

And yeah, I probably appreciate the old sportswriters (including Povich) over the new ones, as much as anyone. Just saying - they are/were embellishers, salesmen, etc., and it sounds like this particular story was a color piece more than a presentation of facts.

[kcohen]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Butch, memory lapses are one thing. What Shirly Povich attributed to Johnson, based on what Hank and others have found, would indicate senility. And Johnson wasn't senile. There's something fishy with the story, and we all know how journalists can be when they are 'creating' a story.

I would bet that Povich had much more journalistic integrity than most any of the the semi-literate morons who write about sports today.

[Duluth Eskimo]

Originally Posted by kcohen

I would bet that Povich had much more journalistic integrity than most any of the the semi-literate morons who write about sports today.

+1. This story is great and a fun read. I wish there was more good talk like this in the forum