Walter Johnson

Last but not least in the first class.

Career stats:
417-279__531 CG__110 SHO__3509 K__2.17 ERA__147 ERA+__1.061 WHIP
3 Triple Crowns (1913, 1918, 1924)
2 MVP awards (1913, 1924)


The last of the "Five Immortals" elected into the inaugural Hall of Fame class, Walter Johnson was born on November 6, 1887 in Humboldt, Kansas. A drought forced his family to leave Kansas and head to California. Not having played baseball in Kansas, Johnson learned the game in California but received no real formal training, and as a result he maintained his trademark sidearm delivery. After being initially told he was suited for the outfield and not for pitching, Johnson caught on with a California Winter League team and threw 77 consecutive scoreless innings. Combining that with a strikeout rate around 14 per 9 and a walk rate of 1 per 9, Johnson received several offers, and he accepted the offer from the Washington Senators.

The Senators were woefully bad, and his early records did not reflect his talent. He would continue to pitch in the California Winter League even after being signed by the Senators but would stop after the 1909 season. One notable early moment in his career, Johnson pitched three consecutive complete-game shutouts over Labor Day weekend in 1907.

After some rough early years marred by an ear infection, a severe cold, and lack of results, Johnson dominated the next decade from 1910-1919. It began well as he pitched a complete-game shutout and won the first Opening Day that a President of the United States (William Taft) had attended. His newfound domination could be attributed to new manager Jimmy McAleer, who restrained himself from pitching Johnson more than every four days and told Johnson to almost exclusively stick to his fastball. After his 1919 season, Johnson's career began to decline but was still amazing. His ERA jumped a run and a half, but the league's ERA jumped a half-run as well (doctored balls were not allowed after 1919, but it probably was not the only reason for the jump).

By the end of the 1927 season, Johnson had decided to retire from playing, but he would still manage the Senators (1929-1932) and the Cleveland Indians (1933-1935). In the inaugural Hall of Fame class of 1936, Johnson received 189 votes, enough to get him in as the fifth player. Interesting note: Cy Young, Rogers Hornsby, Tris Speaker, Lou Gehrig, and Lefty Grove were all not voted in during this class, and even the ones who were weren't inducted in until 1939, when the Museum opened.

After writing about the first class, I have a few thoughts. One, I find it interesting that Cy Young, who has the most wins in history, didn't even receive 50% of the votes (111 out of a possible 226). Two, I find it interesting that Christy Mathewson received 16 more votes than Johnson when Johnson was probably the better pitcher.