1907-1910 Weiser Wonder - Walter Johnson PC, new to the hobby

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

That's my article. Here's a link to the full piece, with intro, etc.
http://cwcfamily.org/wj/ww0.htm

As for the point about not promoting Johnson after he left town, I don't believe they would have been promoting him UNTIL he had left town and begun making a name for himself in Washington, at which point he would have become the biggest thing to ever come out of there and worth promoting. There's no doubt in my mind that this postcard was issued after Johnson had "made good," as they used to call it, in the American League. Of course, he did that almost immediately.

I don't know Hank. He was some really big news in Weiser, as you well know, and I would think they might have wanted to capitalize on his stardom at any time after 1907..... And actually, and this might not be correct, but it's there, baseball-reference has him as being on Washington, at least a little bit, in 1907, 1908, 1909, (all of the years in question here). During those years on Washington he had a combined W-L of 32 and 48, so capitalizing on that record seems strange. To me it seems whomever put this out might have wanted to capitalize on his Weiser stardom and not his less than stellar play in Washington during that period. I certainly appreciate your ongoing participation in a fascinating discussion. Thank you so much.

Who knows, maybe another PC will pop up with an earlier postmark and this date can be put to rest. Until now I think many collectors were dating this postcard quite a bit later.

[honus94566]

Leon, do you know how many known examples of this postcard there are? Do you own the one in the OP? Pretty cool piece, thanks for posting it up.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by honus94566

Leon, do you know how many known examples of this postcard there are? Do you own the one in the OP? Pretty cool piece, thanks for posting it up.

In my searches I have seen maybe 3-4 of these postcards. There are probably a few more than that known but I am not sure. Yes, I own the one in the original post. Thanks for the kind words. I do think it's a great looking postcard and with the Weiser postmark all the better.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Leon

I don't know Hank. He was some really big news in Weiser, as you well know, and I would think they might have wanted to capitalize on his stardom at any time after 1907..... And actually, and this might not be correct, but it's there, baseball-reference has him as being on Washington, at least a little bit, in 1907, 1908, 1909, (all of the years in question here). During those years on Washington he had a combined W-L of 32 and 48, so capitalizing on that record seems strange. To me it seems whomever put this out might have wanted to capitalize on his Weiser stardom and not his less than stellar play in Washington during that period. I certainly appreciate your ongoing participation in a fascinating discussion. Thank you so much.

Who knows, maybe another PC will pop up with an earlier postmark and this date can be put to rest. Until now I think many collectors were dating this postcard quite a bit later.

There's almost no chance this postcard was made during his time at Weiser, in my opinion. He was never called "The Weiser Wonder" during that time, but WAS called that almost immediately thereafter in Washington and elsewhere around the American League. And despite his deceptive 5-9 record in 1907, he was considered in many quarters a "Wonder" from the very start of his career. He had the 4th-best ERA in the American League at 1.88 and finished 2nd behind Waddell in SO/IP. He finished every game he started except his first, and pitched two consecutive shutouts toward the end of the year. Five of his losses were by 1 run for a 49-102 team. Turn those into victories and he would have been 10-4, not a bad first two months in the big leagues. It's entirely possible for this postcard to have been produced sometime in the latter part of 1907, the town capitalizing on the nickname he had often been called beginning with his debut on August 2. Or it could have been made at any time in the years following, up to late 1910. Regardless, Leon has brought us significant new information about a "WONDERful" (sorry, couldn't resist) card.

[Hankphenom]

Speaking of Weiser, here's the coolest non-baseball PC in my collection: The middle of this unfolds, beginning with the picture of the "New Union Station," into a 12-panel accordion of notable places in Weiser, including a 3-panel panorama of the town in which you might be able to spot part of the ballfield if you knew where to look. And what's the date of the postmark? June 17, 1907, a month before Johnson stepped into that station and off to his great adventure. The station was brand new in 1907, and had been completely restored shortly before my visit to Weiser in 1995. It was a real trip for me to stand on the platform of that station, looking east as Walter would have done, wondering what was in store for him. He had never been further east than Kansas, and now at 19 years old he's going to the nation's capital to play in the major leagues. The other side is postmarked July something, perhaps on its way to its destination of Washington, Penn., on the same train as Walter.

[prewarsports]

Photo used to make the postcard dates to 1907

Postcard itself is of a later date, almost certainly 1909+, no way these were made when he was at Weiser.

Rhys

[packs]

Why do you say that though? Weiser was a nothing team in a nothing league with no star power at all. Now all of a sudden their best player is on his way to the Majors and making his debut 2 weeks after playing for them. Seems likely that they would have produced the card. It would be like if someone from my Little League team signed a contract and was on the mound 2 weeks later. I would think the town would rally behind them just for making it and not wait for them to be a star, no?

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by prewarsports

Postcard itself is of a later date, almost certainly 1909+

Rhys,

I am not disputing you; however, am wondering what leads you to believe this.

Please let me know.

Respectfully,

Eric

[Eric72]

http://www.goodwinandco.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=12520

Granted, I am fairly certain that PSA was incorrect in noting this issue as being from 1901; however, the two postcards look similar enough to me that it is reasonable to consider they may be the same issue. The image from the OP and the Goodwin auction both appear below.





Thoughts and feedback would be appreciated.

Best Regards,

Eric