Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

The field was engulfed by a sea of bodies. Walter Johnson took it all in from second base for a few seconds, and his eyes welled up with tears as he made his way through the crazed mob back to the dugout. Earl McNeely was the one who had the most difficulty making it back there. The crowd, in an enthusiastic show of its love for a hero, tore off his shirt before police could reach him and escort him to the clubhouse. The President and Mrs. Coolidge, less the focus of attention now than ever, were escorted out by the Secret Service. They passed several players on the way, including Walter Johnson. The First Couple shook hands with them and offered their congratulations.

After showering, Bucky Harris, high-strung and seemingly in a daze, was so excited that he forgot to put his clothes on. Walter Johnson came in and shook his hand, thanking him for having let him pitch. When Bucky was asked if Walter had insisted on pitching, Harris said that Johnson had been his best bet, and for anyone to have thought otherwise, would have been foolishness. Frank Frisch and Ross Youngs came over from the other side to congratulate Walter, whom Frisch called one of the greatest pitchers and one of the finest gentlemen ever associated with the game of baseball. In summing up the World Series for the Walsh Syndicate, John McGraw wrote that the game of baseball had been elevated by the great Walter Johnson and his ultimate triumph. The only thing better, the Little General declared, would have been for Johnson to have won the game himself -- to have hit that home run which had fallen just a little short in the tenth inning.

Those that were present in the hours that followed the thriller said that Clark Griffith could do nothing to stop the tears that flowed from his eyes. He embraced all his players, thanking them and telling them how proud they had made him. Walter Johnson was so happy that, he would say years later, winning the World Series in his 18th year had hardly seemed real. He had, following great tribulation, justified his place as America's darling, redeeming himself at the 13th hour (and 12th inning), and winning his first World Series game a month before his 37th birthday. As perhaps best expressed by the eloquent Grantland Rice in Collier's in January 1925: "Walter Johnson had come from a lone, dejected and broken figure in the shadows of a clubhouse to a personal triumph that no other athlete had ever drawn in all the history of sport."

Cannons, pistols, firecrackers, and the sounds of thousands of automobiles intermingled for a joyous celebration in downtown Washington. It seemed that no one wanted to miss this celebration -- the fire department of nearby Cherrydale, Virginia, showed up with all its vehicles and a banner which read "Let Cherrydale Burn!" It was to be a wonderful time. For a year, the Washington Senators would stand as champions of the world. Muddy Ruel, who'd hit .095 in the World Series, insisted he didn't mind when team owner Griffith had said Ruel had taken longer than anyone he had ever seen to come around the bases with the winning run. Ruel preferred to dwell on the positives -- a world championship, the role the Big Train had played, and how sweet it was to be victorious. Then there was the matter of the winner's share of the spoils for the World Series -- a check for $5,959.64 per man.

From the point of view of posterity, this would stand as one of the great World Series ever (at the time it was widely acknowledged as the most exciting since 1912), primarily because of its strange denouement . . . And the unlikely triumph of a man whose career may very well place him as the greatest pitcher in all of baseball history. At the end of the day, losing pitcher Jack Bentley said it best for all of America: "The good Lord just couldn't bear to see a fine fellow like Walter Johnson lose again."

For their sheer beauty, here are the words formulated by Bill Corum, as they appeared in the New York Times the following morning: To the victor belong the spoils. When future generations are told about this game they will not hear about Barnes, or Frisch, or Kelly, or even about Harris or McNeely. But the boy with his first glove and ball crowding up to his father's knee will beg: "Tell me about Walter Johnson." (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1682154154

[ValKehl]

I picked this up in the very recent Huggins & Scott auction. Now to figure out how to best display it.

[brianp-beme]

Great multi-part writeup of Game 7 George...I really got into the baseball spirit when reading it.

Brian

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

I picked this up in the very recent Huggins & Scott auction. Now to figure out how to best display it.

Way to go, Val! This makes the third one I've seen, unless yours was from Ron Menchine's collection, in which case there are two. Here's mine, purchased from Kent Feddeman, who had his framed with a pillow inside. One of the really fabulous vintage Washington pieces, IMO. My theory is that a D.C. department store sold these at some point after the Series, but who knows? There might be an ad lurking in one or more newspapers of the time that would prove that, but I've never checked.

[GeoPoto]

At this time, the concrete wall in rightfield at Griffith Stadium was raised to a 30-foot height. Reminiscent of the Green Monster, the left field wall at Fenway Park in Boston, Griffith's right field fence was seven feet shorter but five feet farther. It is recorded that Phil Todt, a young first baseman with the Boston Red Sox, hit the first home run over the Griffith fence, on May 1, 1925. By then, the A's were solidifying their hold on first place. On the 27th, Walter Johnson, the recipient of some extraordinary offensive support this season, beat the A's 10-9. It was Barney's seventh straight win, during which the Senators' bats had provided him with 60 runs. While the A's were still clinging to their lead for the time being, over the next three months the two clubs would trade places at the top of the standings.

(Washington pitchers) Johnson, Coveleski, and Ruether were winning with great regularity. On June 1, Babe Ruth returned to action against Johnson and the Senators at Yankee Stadium but went 0-for-2 in a 5-3 Nats win. Less conspicuous than Ruth and Johnson on this day was another future inductee of the Hall of Fame. Twenty-two-year-old Lou Gehrig was brought up to pinch hit against Fred Marberry and began his streak of 2,130 consecutive games. It is quite a coincidence that the skein Gehrig would eventually surpass, teammate Everett Scott's 1,307 straight games, had ended the day before, when Scott had been replaced in the lineup by Pee Wee Wanninger. Within 2 1/2 weeks, Scott would be purchased by the Senators.

On June 8, George Mogridge and catcher Pinky Hargrave were traded to the St. Louis Browns for another veteran bat off the bench, 34-year-old catcher Hank Severeid, who'd been in the league ten years before coming into his own and batting over .300 during the last four campaigns. Severeid would bat at a .355 clip in 50 games for the Senators over the remainder of the season as backup catcher. On the same day he was acquired, Goose Goslin hit three home runs, to tie the then American League record. The third shot brought in the winning runs in the 12th inning. Bucky Harris was particularly hot, and everyone in the lineup but Ruel was at better than .300.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1682327859

[GeoPoto]

Later in the month, on June 26, the Nationals, never lower than second in the standings, pulled into a tie with the A's for the American League lead when Goslin unloaded on rookie Lefty Grove with a three-run seventh-inning homer in a 5-3 win. Walter Johnson had shut the A's out after the third inning, in the first of three career matches between the two Hall of Famers (Johnson would win all three). Four days later, Barney spun a 7-0 two-hitter, with no walks, at Griffith Stadium against the same dangerous Athletics. Johnson had now blanked the A's, a team which would hit .307 for the season, for 15 consecutive innings.

The Big Train also equaled the A's in hits on this day. In fact, Walter would hit .433 this season, his first time over .300. On one occasion, on April 24, a Johnson pinch-hit appearance resulted in a rule change. The Big Train was in the clubhouse in the ninth inning when Bucky Harris, who'd used up all of his righthanded bats, summoned him back. The game was delayed ten minutes before Walter laced Herb Pennock's first pitch for a two-run single to win the game. In June, league president Ban Johnson announced that only players on the bench or on the sidelines could be deployed in a ballgame.

Johnson's two-hitter was the fourth win in five games against the Athletics and put the Nats in first place for the first time since early May. Dutch Ruether and Stan Coveleski were both winning nearly every time out, but the Senators were barely keeping up with the A's. The Nats lost their RBI champion, Goslin, who was suspended for the better part of a week. The Goose had lost his temper with Cleveland pitcher Bert Cole, who he thought had been throwing at him. Much more detrimental was the fact that Walter Johnson had been hit with the flu bug and wasn't getting better. He was out the entire month of July.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1682412824

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

Later in the month, on June 26, the Nationals, never lower than second in the standings, pulled into a tie with the A's for the American League lead when Goslin unloaded on rookie Lefty Grove with a three-run seventh-inning homer in a 5-3 win. Walter Johnson had shut the A's out after the third inning, in the first of three career matches between the two Hall of Famers (Johnson would win all three). Four days later, Barney spun a 7-0 two-hitter, with no walks, at Griffith Stadium against the same dangerous Athletics. Johnson had now blanked the A's, a team which would hit .307 for the season, for 15 consecutive innings.

The Big Train also equaled the A's in hits on this day. In fact, Walter would hit .433 this season, his first time over .300. On one occasion, on April 24, a Johnson pinch-hit appearance resulted in a rule change. The Big Train was in the clubhouse in the ninth inning when Bucky Harris, who'd used up all of his righthanded bats, summoned him back. The game was delayed ten minutes before Walter laced Herb Pennock's first pitch for a two-run single to win the game. In June, league president Ban Johnson announced that only players on the bench or on the sidelines could be deployed in a ballgame. Johnson's two-hitter was the fourth win in five games against the Athletics and put the Nats in first place for the first time since early May. Dutch Ruether and Stan Coveleski were both winning nearly every time out, but the Senators were barely keeping up with the A's. The Nats lost their RBI champion, Goslin, who was suspended for the better part of a week. The Goose had lost his temper with Cleveland pitcher Bert Cole, who he thought had been throwing at him. Much more detrimental was the fact that Walter Johnson had been hit with the flu bug and wasn't getting better. He was out the entire month of July.

Such a great photo, George!

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Such a great photo, George!

I agree, and with that form Walter looks like a position player batting, not a pitcher batting. Take away his first four years, and his career batting average would have been .250, instead of .235.


Brian