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

[barrysloate]

I hear you Scott.

And based on this discussion, I will agree with Rhys, that athough the window is 1907-1910, it would almost certainly be closer to the back end of it, when Johnson had already gained some national prominence.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

And based on this discussion, I will agree with Rhys, that athough the window is 1907-1910, it would almost certainly be closer to the back end of it, when Johnson had already gained some national prominence.

Johnson's national prominence actually dates from the start of his career, practically from his first game with Washington. Some of the early coverage in the national sporting publications is surprising, with many quotes like this one from Wild Bill Donovan following Johnson's debut against the Tigers on August 2, 1907: "If nothing happens to that fellow, he will be a greater pitcher in two years than Mathewson ever dared to be. Mark that prediction." And here's Addie Joss after Johnson's second big league game, a 7-2 win at Cleveland: "That fellow is another Cy Young. I never saw a kid with more than he displayed." Certainly by the time Johnson had thrown three shutouts in four days in his first full year of 1908, anybody following baseball at all would have known all about him. As for the town of Weiser and their local boosters, I believe it would have been more than enough for one of their own to have ascended directly to the major leagues, together with the fulsome praise showered upon him immediately thereupon, to have provided reason enough to create the postcard.