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Paul Waner

2025-09-28T00:53:54Z

2603:6080:F900:2C40:8196:D2C7:900C:602B: Fixed grammar

{{Short description|American baseball player (1903–1965)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Paul Waner
|image=Paul Waner (1927).png
|caption=Waner with the Pittsburgh Pirates, {{c.|1927}}
|position=[[Right fielder]]
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|birth_date={{birth date|1903|4|16}}
|birth_place=[[Harrah, Oklahoma]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1965|8|29|1903|4|16}}
|death_place=[[Sarasota, Florida]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=April 13
|debutyear=1926
|debutteam=Pittsburgh Pirates
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=April 26
|finalyear=1945
|finalteam=New York Yankees
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.333
|stat2label=[[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
|stat2value=3,152
|stat3label=[[Home run]]s
|stat3value=113
|stat4label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat4value=1,309
|teams=
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{Baseball year|1926}}–{{Baseball year|1940}})
* [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] ({{Baseball year|1941}})
* [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] ({{Baseball year|1941}}–{{Baseball year|1942}})
* [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] ({{Baseball year|1943}}–{{Baseball year|1944}})
* [[New York Yankees]] ({{Baseball year|1944}}–{{Baseball year|1945}})
|highlights=
* 4× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1933 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1933]]–[[1935 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1935]], [[1937 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1937]])
* [[NL MVP]] (1927)
* 3× [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|NL batting champion]] (1927, 1934, 1936)
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders|NL RBI leader]] (1927)
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates#Retired numbers|Pittsburgh Pirates No. 11]] retired
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates#Pirates Hall of Fame|Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame]]
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
|hofdate = [[1952 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1952]]
|hofvote = 83.3% (sixth ballot)
}}
'''Paul Glee Waner''' (April 16, 1903 – August 29, 1965), nicknamed "'''Big Poison'''", was an American professional [[baseball]] [[right fielder]] who played in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) for four teams between 1926 and 1945, most notably playing his first 15 seasons with the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]. The greatest Pirate outfielder up to his retirement, he won the 1927 [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|NL Most Valuable Player Award]] in his second season, collecting a team-record 237 hits that year.<ref name="Complete">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wanerpa01.shtml|title=Paul Waner Statistics and History|access-date=August 27, 2019|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]}}</ref> Waner set the team record for doubles in a season three times, including 1932 when he set the NL record for [[Double (baseball)|doubles]] in a season with 62.<ref name="doubles">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/2B_season.shtml|title=Single-Season Leaders & Records for Doubles|access-date=August 27, 2019|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]}}</ref><ref name="Cressman, Mark pp. 71">[[#Cres08|Cressman, Mark, pp. 71]]</ref> In the only postseason appearance of his career, he hit .333 in the Pirates' [[1927 World Series]] loss against the [[New York Yankees]]. Waner won three [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL) batting titles, led the NL in hits twice, and collected over 200 hits eight times including four consecutive seasons from 1927 to 1930.<ref name="Complete"/>

On June 19, 1942, Waner became the seventh member of the [[3,000 hit club]],<ref name="3000 hit">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19420620&id=-l0sAAAAIBAJ&pg=2605,4595998|title=Waner One of Seven Players with 3,000 Hits|date=June 20, 1942|access-date=August 27, 2019|page=7|newspaper=[[The Spartanburg Herald]]}}</ref> with a single off [[Rip Sewell]]. He led the NL in putouts four times and holds the career record for most putouts by a right fielder. Waner's 191 [[Triple (baseball)|triples]] are 10th all-time and the most among players whose entire careers were in the [[live-ball era]], and his 605 doubles are 14th all-time. A career .333 hitter, he was elected to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1952. When Waner's younger brother [[Lloyd Waner|Lloyd]] was elected to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Fame]], they became the second pair of brothers in the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]], after [[Harry Wright|Harry]] and [[George Wright (sportsman)|George Wright]]. Paul and Lloyd also hold the record for the most hits recorded by brothers (5,611). On July 21, 2007, Waner's No. 11 was retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

==Early life==
Waner was born in [[Harrah, Oklahoma|Harrah]] in the [[Oklahoma Territory]], four years before the region became a state. He was the third child of five of Ora and Etta Waner. His younger brother [[Lloyd Waner]] is also a member of the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]]; Ora had once been offered a contract by the [[History of the Chicago Cubs#1870: The Chicago White Stockings Base Ball Club|Chicago White Stockings]] but declined it, instead settling on a 400-acre farm. Waner was born with the middle name of John but his middle name was changed from John to Glee after an uncle named Glee gave him a shotgun at the age of 6.<ref name="sabr">{{sabrbio|9d598ab8|Joseph Wancho|August 27, 2019}}</ref> He stated that he learned batting from hitting corncobs on his father's farm,<ref name="sabr"/><ref name="Mitchell, Conrad Stinson, pp.123">[[#Stin06|Stinson, Mitchell Conrad]], pp. 123</ref> learning the way to follow the ball by seeing the movement of the cobs. Waner had [[astigmatism]]; he did not like wearing glasses on the field as it made the ball appear smaller and in focus, but without glasses, the ball looked grapefruit-sized.<ref name="Roberts, Randy, pp.76-77">[[#Rob00|Roberts, Randy]], pp. 76-77</ref> With the larger apparent size of the baseball, he was able to hit the center more often.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}
[[File:PaulWanerGoudeycard.jpg | thumb | right | 1933 Paul Waner baseball card]]
Waner played baseball at East Central State Teachers College (now known as [[East Central University]]) in Ada, Oklahoma; he pitched to a 23–4 record with a 1.70 [[earned run average]] in 1922.<ref name="sabr"/> Waner's father had wanted him to be a teacher, but Waner wanted to play pro baseball and dropped out of college as a result.<ref name="Russo 69">Russo, p. 69</ref> He signed with the team in [[Joplin, Missouri]] in the Class A Western League.<ref name="sabr"/><ref name="Roberts, Randy, pp.84">[[#Rob00|Roberts, Randy]], pp. 84</ref> Then, Waner was sent to the Southwestern League (equivalent to [[Minor League Baseball#Class B, C and D|Rookie League]]) in Muskogee before being sold again to the [[Double-A (baseball)|Class AA]] [[San Francisco Seals (baseball)|San Francisco Seals]] of the [[Pacific Coast League]] in 1923, the manager of which was former Pirate, [[Dots Miller|John "Dots" Miller]]. He only pitched one game for the Seals, in 1924 before he was moved to the outfield.<ref name="minors">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=waner-001pau|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|title=Paul Waner Minor League Statistics and History|access-date=August 27, 2019}}</ref> With the Seals, Waner hit .378 over his three seasons, including .401 in their 1925 championship season.<ref name="seals">[[#Mart05|Martin, Jacobs]], pp. 49</ref>

==Major League Baseball career==
===Pittsburgh Pirates===
In October 1925, the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] of the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] purchased Waner and teammate [[Hal Rhyne]] from the Seals for $100,000.<ref name="sabr"/><ref name="Complete"/><ref name="Roberts, Randy, pp.85">[[#Rob00|Roberts, Randy]], pp. 85</ref> On April 17, 1926, against the [[Cincinnati Reds]], he collected his first major league hit. On August 26, Waner collected six hits in six at-bats during a game against the [[New York Giants (baseball)|Giants]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=wanerpa01&t=b&year=1926|title=1926 Batting Game Log|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=August 28, 2019}}</ref> and he accomplished this feat using six different bats from six different players.<ref name="Roberts, Randy, pp.82">[[#Rob00|Roberts, Randy]], pp. 82</ref> He ended his first season with a .336 batting average and led the NL in [[Triple (baseball)|triples]] with 22. He also finished 12th in MVP voting as the Pirates finished in third place, 4.5 games behind the [[St. Louis Cardinals]].<ref name="Pit History"/> By Waner's second season with the Pirates he and his younger brother [[Lloyd Waner|Lloyd]] had become stars; combined, they accumulated 460 hits in the 1927 season.<ref name="Roberts, Randy, pp.89">[[#Rob00|Roberts, Randy]], pp. 89</ref> The 1927 season was a standout year for Paul. He played in a career-high 155 games (which led the league), and led the NL in hits (237), a team record,<ref name="Finoli, David, pp.29">[[#Fin06|Finoli, David]], pp. 29</ref> triples (18), batting average (.380) and [[Runs batted in|RBIs]] (131).<ref name="Roberts, Randy, pp.89"/> He set the major league record for consecutive games with an extra-base hit, with 14 (June 3–19, 1927);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/extra_base_hits_records.shtml|title=Major League Baseball Records for Extra Base Hits|work=Baseball-Almanac|access-date=August 29, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=wanerpa01&t=b&year=1927|title=1927 Batting Game Log |work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=August 29, 2019}}</ref> Since then this feat has also been accomplished by [[Chipper Jones]] in 2006.<ref name="jones">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-18-sp-nlgameofday18-story.html|title=Jones Shares Record as Braves Boom, 15-3|date=July 18, 2006|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Aided by the contributions of the Waner brothers, Pittsburgh advanced to the [[1927 World Series]].<ref name="Russo 69"/> In the only postseason appearance of his career, Paul went 5-for-15 with 3 RBIs and a .333 batting average, but the Pirates were swept by the [[New York Yankees]]. In recognition for his performance during the 1927 season, the National League awarded him the [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|NL Most Valuable Player Award]].<ref name="Roberts, Randy, pp.89"/>

[[File:Paul Waner 1927.jpeg|thumb|left|Waner, circa 1927]]
Waner hit .370 and led the NL in runs scored (142, a career high) and doubles (50) in 1928.<ref name="NL 1928 leaders">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1928-batting-leaders.shtml|title=1928 National League Batting Leaders|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=August 29, 2019}}</ref> His 223 hits in 1928 were tied (with his younger brother [[Lloyd Waner|Lloyd]]) for second most in team history.<ref name="Pit top 10 season">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/leaders_bat_season.shtml|title=Pittsburgh Pirates Top 10 Single-Season Batting Leaders|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=August 29, 2019}}</ref> He set a career high with 15 home runs in 1929. He also collected at least 200 hits for the third season in a row and hit .336 with 43 doubles and 100 RBIs for the second place Pirates. Playing in only 145 games (the fewest since his rookie year) during the 1930 season, he still recorded 217 hits with a .368 batting average and 117 runs. By his measure, 1931 was a disappointing year for Waner, who was injured and missed time during spring training.<ref name="sabr"/> Nonetheless, he still hit .322 with 180 hits in 150 games. The Pirates finished below .500, with a 75–79 record, for the first time in Paul's career.<ref name="Pit History"/>

Coming off a down year, Waner hit .341 in 1932 with 215 hits (his fifth season with over 200 hits). He played in all 154 games, and set the National League record for doubles in a season with 62.<ref name="Finoli, David, pp.43">[[#Fin06|Finoli, David]], pp. 43</ref> During a game on May 12, Waner hit four doubles, which tied a major league record for doubles hit in a game.<ref name="Finoli, David, pp.43"/> In 1933, he hit for a career low .309, the first time his average dipped below .320, and recorded 191 hits. The 1933 season was also the first year that Major League Baseball hosted the inaugural [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|MLB All-Star Game]], for which Waner was selected as a reserve outfielder.<ref name="sabr"/> The Pirates finished second in the NL in both 1932 and 1933, first four games behind the [[Chicago Cubs]] and then five games behind the [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York Giants]].<ref name="Pit History"/>

Waner won his second NL batting title in 1934, hitting .362 and leading the league in hits (217), his sixth time collecting 200 or more hits, and runs (122).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1934-batting-leaders.shtml|title=1934 National League Batting Leaders|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=August 28, 2019}}</ref> He finished second in MVP voting and was selected to his second MLB All-Star Game. In 1935, it was suggested by manager [[Pie Traynor]] that Waner give up hard liquor and switch to beer,<ref name="McMane, Fred, Paul Waner, pp.126–28">[[#McMa00|McMane, Fred]], pp. 126–28</ref> and this resulted in Waner only hitting .242 on May 18. Traynor and Waner went to a bar before playing the [[New York Giants (baseball)|Giants]] on May 19, and when Waner ordered a beer Traynor said, "He will like Hell. Give him a shot of whiskey."<ref name="McMane, Fred, Paul Waner, pp.126–28"/> Waner hit .331 in the remaining games to finish the season with a batting average of .321, with 78 RBIs and 176 hits in 139 games. In 1935, he was selected to his third MLB All-Star Game. In 1936, Waner won his third NL batting title with a batting average of .373, the second highest of his career, while collecting 94 RBIs (his third highest in his career), 53 doubles (second highest), and 218 hits. He collected over 200 hits for the final time in 1937, when he had a .354 batting average, while driving in 74. The 1937 season was the eighth time he collected 200 or more hits in a season; at the time, only Hall of Famer [[Ty Cobb]] had more 200 hit seasons (nine).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbty01.shtml|title=Ty Cobb Statistics and History|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=August 28, 2019}}</ref> It was also his fourth and final MLB All-Star Game selection.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Famous for his ability to hit while hung over, when Waner gave up drinking in 1938 at management's request, he hit only .280—the first of only two times that he failed to hit .300 as a Pirate. That year, he had 69 RBIs, 31 doubles and 175 hits in 148 games. As [[Casey Stengel]] said in complimenting his base-running skills, "He had to be a very graceful player, because he could slide without breaking the bottle on his hip."<ref name="sabr"/> Waner bounced back to a .328 average in 1939, with 45 RBIs and 151 hits in 125 games; this was the last season he collected over 100 hits.<ref name="Complete"/> He had 1,959 of his 3,152 career hits in the 1930s, with five seasons during the decade with over 200 hits. During that decade, he garnered votes for MVP five times, finishing fourth in 1932, second in 1934, 24th in 1935, fifth in 1936, and eighth in 1937. The 1940 season was Waner's last as a Pirate. He hit .290 while having 32 RBIs and 69 hits in 89 games, having pulled the ligaments in his right knee after stepping awkwardly on a base, missing three weeks along with playing time after healing up.<ref name="sabr"/> Waner was released on December 5, 1940. In his 15-year career with the Pirates, he had 2,868 hits, 1,177 RBIs, 558 doubles, 187 triples, and a .340 batting average in 2,154 games. The Pirates only finished with a losing record three times while Waner was on the team, and finished as one of the top three teams in the NL a total of seven times from 1926 to 1940.<ref name="Pit History">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/|title=Pittsburgh Pirates Team History & Encyclopedia|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=November 30, 2019}}</ref>

===Later career===
[[File:Paul Waner picking bat 1942.jpg|thumb|right|Waner with the Braves {{c.|1942}}]]
On January 31, 1941, Waner was signed by the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]]<ref name="Complete"/> and would patrol the outfield with Hall of Famer [[Joe Medwick]]. After an impressive spring training he was offered the starting right field spot.<ref name="Spatz, Lyle, pp.80–81">[[#Spa14|Spatz, Lyle]], pp. 80–81</ref> After 11 games he was released by the Dodgers after only hitting .171 with 6 hits.<ref name="Spatz, Lyle, pp.80–81"/> He was signed by the [[History of the Boston Braves|Boston Braves]] two weeks later,<ref name="Complete"/> and he hit for .267, collected 50 RBIs, and had 88 hits in 106 combined games during the season. He spent the next season with the team, recording a .258 average, 39 RBIs and 86 hits in 114 games. Waner got his 3,000th hit off old Pirate teammate [[Rip Sewell]] on June 19, 1942, becoming the seventh hitter (after [[Ty Cobb]], [[Tris Speaker]], [[Honus Wagner]], [[Eddie Collins]], [[Nap Lajoie]], and [[Cap Anson]]) to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://baseballhall.org/discover/paul-waner-becomes-seventh-member-of-the-3000th-hit-club|title=Paul Waner Becomes Seventh Member Of The 3,000-Hit Club|work=National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|access-date=August 28, 2019}}</ref> He was released by Boston on January 19, 1943. Two days later, the Dodgers signed him again. A spike injury to his foot meant that he missed time once again,<ref name="sabr"/> but he still hit for .311 in 82 games while having 36 RBIs and 70 hits, a career low for a whole season played. The 1944 season was his last full season. He played 92 total games, 83 with the Dodgers and nine with the Yankees after being released by the former on September 1, batting .280 with 17 RBIs and 40 hits. He played one game for the Yankees in 1945, making one plate appearance as a pinch hitter in which he drew a walk.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHA/PHA194504260.shtml|title=New York Yankees at Philadelphia Athletics Box Score, April 26, 1945|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=August 29, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Spatz, Lyle, pp.134">[[#Spa14|Spatz, Lyle]], pp. 134"</ref>

==Later life and legacy==
{{MLBBioRet
|Align = Right
|Image = Pirates_11.png
|Name = Paul Waner
|Number = 11
|Team = Pittsburgh Pirates
|Year = 2007
|}}

Waner led the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] in [[batting average (baseball)|batting]] on three occasions and accumulated over 3,000 hits during his 20-year baseball career. He hit 605 doubles, which at the time of his retirement was fifth-most all-time. He collected 200 or more hits on eight occasions, collected 50 or more doubles in three seasons, was voted the NL's [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player]] in 1927, and had a lifetime batting average of .333, tied for fifth highest (with [[Eddie Collins]]) for anyone in the [[3,000 hit club]]. His 191 triples are 10th most all time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/3B_career.shtml|title=Career Leaders & Records for Triples|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=August 29, 2019}}</ref> Waner recorded one six-hit game, 5 five-hit games, and 55 four-hit games in his career.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/W/PX_wanep101.htm|title=Paul Waner top performances at retrosheet.org|website=retrosheet.org|access-date=September 25, 2022}}</ref> Stengel once stated that Waner was the best right fielder in National League history.<ref name="pirates encyclo">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnOCDwAAQBAJ&q=paul+waner|title=The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia: Second Edition|last1=Finoli|first1=David|last2=Ranier|first2=Bill|year=2015|isbn=9781613217382|publisher=Simon and Schuster|access-date=August 29, 2019}}</ref> Russo said, "Paul was a speedy outfielder who possessed perhaps the strongest arm in a Pittsburgh outfield until the arrival of [[Roberto Clemente]]."<ref name="Russo 70">Russo, p. 70</ref> At the plate, Waner had a reputation for being fearless. He said, "I never let them [pitchers] get the better of me. If you flinch and show any fear, you're done."<ref name="Russo 70"/>

Waner (3,152) and his younger brother, [[Lloyd Waner|Lloyd]] (2,459), hold the career record for hits by brothers (5,611),<ref name="sabr"/> outpacing the three Alou brothers (5,094): [[Felipe Alou|Felipe]] (2,101), [[Matty Alou|Matty]] (1,777) and [[Jesús Alou|Jesús]] (1,216), and the three DiMaggio brothers (4,853): [[Joe DiMaggio|Joe]] (2,214), [[Dom DiMaggio|Dom]] (1,680) and [[Vince DiMaggio|Vince]] (959), among others.<ref name="bbhof">{{cite web|url=https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/waner-paul|title=Waner, Paul Profile|work=[[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]]|access-date=November 30, 2019}}</ref> For most of the period from 1927 to 1940, Paul patrolled right field at [[Forbes Field]] while Lloyd covered the ground next to him in center field. On September 15, 1938, the brothers hit back-to-back home runs against [[Cliff Melton]] of the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Today in Baseball|newspaper=Washington Post|date=September 15, 2008|pages=E7}}</ref> The origin of the nicknames "Big Poison" and "Little Poison" that were given to Paul and his younger brother Lloyd, respectively, is from a game at the [[Polo Grounds]] during the 1927 season when a fan pronounced "person" as "poison" as he called out to the brothers.<ref name="sabr"/>{{efn|A popular story concerning their nickname is that a Brooklyn fan at [[Ebbets Field]] once said, "Them Waners! It's always the little poison on thoid and the big poison on foist." However, Paul said it was a Giant fan at the Polo Grounds.<ref>Russo, pp. 9-10</ref>}}

After his retirement, he kept active by fishing, hunting, golfing and being a part-time hitting coach for the Phillies, Cardinals, and Braves.<ref>Russo, pp. 70-71</ref> [[Ted Williams]] credited Waner with advising him to move away from the plate to successfully combat the [[Infield shift|"Williams" shift]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/just-because-the-ted-williams-shift/|title=Just because: The 'Ted Williams shift'|work=CBSSports.com|access-date=2018-07-19|language=en}}</ref> However, Russo noted that "Like Babe Ruth, [Waner's] distaste for discipline made him an inappropriate candidate for managing."<ref name="Russo 71">Russo, p. 71</ref> A proficient golfer, Waner could shoot in the 70's. He was one of the people instrumental in starting the National Baseball Players Golf Tournament.<ref name="Russo 70"/> In his spare time, he enjoyed reading [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], and he once authored a comedy skit that he and [[Heinie Manush]] acted in.<ref name="Russo 70"/>

Waner was named to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 21, 1952. "Gee. It's what I've been looking for a long time, but I had almost given up hope of making it," he said. "In fact, I guess you can say I've achieved my life's ambition. Any baseball player's ambition."<ref name="sabr"/> With the induction of his brother Lloyd in [[1967 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1967]], they became the second brother combination to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (with [[Harry Wright|Harry]] and [[George Wright (sportsman)|George Wright]] being the other).<ref name="sabr"/> Waner was interviewed for the 1966 book ''[[The Glory of Their Times]]''. He died on August 29, 1965, in [[Sarasota, Florida]] after a respiratory arrest from emphysema complicated by pneumonia at the age of 62.<ref name="sabr"/><ref name="Russo 71"/><ref name="sarasota">{{cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sarasota-herald-tribune-aug-30-1965-p-4/|title=Baseball Hall of Famer Paul Waner Dies in Sarasota|page=4|date=August 30, 1965|newspaper=[[Sarasota Herald Tribune]]|access-date=November 30, 2019}}</ref>

In 1999, he was ranked number 62 on ''[[The Sporting News]]''' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/lisn100.shtml|title=Baseball's 100 Greatest Players|work=The Sporting News|access-date=August 29, 2019}}</ref> and was nominated as a finalist for the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]]. Separate efforts by the Waner family and two longtime Pirates fans, who repeatedly petitioned Pirates then-owner [[Kevin McClatchy]] to honor Waner by retiring his uniform number, were eventually successful.<ref>{{YouTube|NqmSzsJ8fIM|Ron McClure discusses petition to retire Waner's number}}</ref> The Pirates retired Waner's No. 11 in a ceremony before their game vs. the Astros on July 21, 2007, 55 years to the day of his induction into the Hall of Fame. A plaque was placed in the interior of PNC Park to commemorate the retiring of Waner's jersey.<ref name="number retire">{{cite news|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2007/04/13/Pirates-Notebook-Waner-s-family-embraces-number-retirement/stories/200704130213|title=Pirates Notebook: Waner's family embraces number retirement|work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|date=April 13, 2007|access-date=November 30, 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
{{div col}}
* [[3,000 hit club]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball hit records]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball doubles records]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball triples records]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career batting average leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career on-base percentage leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career extra base hits leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
===Books===
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SR4DCUeJ5t0C|title=The A-to-Z History of Base Ball|last=Cressman|first=Mark|year=2008|isbn=978-1-4363-2260-7|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|location=Bloomington, Indiana|access-date=August 28, 2019|ref=Cres08}}
*{{cite book|last=Doutrich|first=Paul E|title=The Cardinals and the Yankees, 1926: A Classic Season and St. Louis in Seven|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers|year=2014|isbn=9780786461783|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tIQtUDUwExwC|ref=Dou14}}
*{{cite book|last=Finoli|first=David|title=The Pittsburgh Pirates|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2006|isbn=9780738549156|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zf2llq672W4C|ref=Fin06}}
*{{cite book|last1=Martin|first1=Jacobs|last2=McGuire|first2=Jack|title=San Francisco Seals|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2005|isbn=9780738529851|url=https://archive.org/details/sanfranciscoseal00jaco|url-access=registration|ref=Mart05}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VmuCDwAAQBAJ&q=paul+waner|title=The 3,000-Hit Club|last=McMane|first=Fred|year=2000|publisher=Sports Publishing|location=Champaign, Illinois|isbn=9781582612201|access-date=August 28, 2019|ref=McMa00}}
*{{cite book|last=Parker|first=Clifton B.|title=Big and Little Poison: Paul and Lloyd Waner, Baseball Brothers
|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers|year=2015|isbn=9780786481408|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-m2seLQAIQAC|ref=Park15}}
*{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=Randy|title=Pittsburgh Sports: Stories From The Steel City|publisher=University of Pittsburgh|year=2000|isbn=9780822972334|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1vJxOSJN-wcC|ref=Rob00}}
*{{cite book|last=Russo|first=Frank|title=The Cooperstown Chronicles: Baseball's Colorful Characters, Unusual Lives, and Strange Demises|location=New York|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2014|isbn=978-1-4422-3639-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Stinson|first=Mitchell Conrad|title=Deacon Bill McKechnie: A Baseball Biography|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers|year=2006|isbn=9780786460663|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CpkI7TtoDBMC|ref=Stin06}}
*{{cite book|last=Spatz|first=Lyle|title=Dixie Walker: A Life in Baseball|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers|year=2014|isbn=9780786485628|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GhXFS4nqqZ4C|ref=Spa14}}

==Further reading==
* Chadwick, George. [https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SBS19270616.1.19&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%252522waner+boys+popularizing+saxophone%252522-------1 "Waner Boys Popularizing Saxophone"]. ''The San Bernardino Sun''. June 16, 1927.
* Biederman, Les. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yFcbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zUwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3439%2C3233728 "P. Waner's Poor Eyesight Helped Batting!"]. ''The Pittsburgh Press''. March 2, 1946.

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
*{{bbhof|waner-paul}}
*{{baseballstats|mlb=123905|br=w/wanerpa01|brm=waner-001pau}}
*[http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_W/Waner.Paul.Obit.html Paul Waner] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901163001/http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_W/Waner.Paul.Obit.html |date=2012-09-01 }} at The Deadball Era
*{{findagrave|5960}}

{{3000 hit club}}
{{NL batting title}}
{{NL RBI champions}}
{{NL League Award}}
{{1952 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{New York Yankees HOF}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates retired numbers}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates HOF}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame}}
{{PCL Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waner, Paul}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
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[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]

Walter Johnson

2025-09-27T21:38:42Z

2603:6080:F900:2C40:8196:D2C7:900C:602B: Fixed typo

{{Short description|American baseball player and manager (1887–1946)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Walter Johnson
|image=Walter Johnson 1924.jpg
|caption=Johnson with the Washington Senators in 1924
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|birth_date={{Birth date|1887|11|6}}
|birth_place=[[Humboldt, Kansas]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1946|12|10|1887|11|6}}
|death_place=[[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=August 2
|debutyear=1907
|debutteam=Washington Senators
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 30
|finalyear=1927
|finalteam=Washington Senators
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=417–279
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=2.17
|stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat3value=3,508
|stat4label=[[Shutout (baseball)|Shutouts]]
|stat4value=110
|stat5label=Managerial record
|stat5value=529–432
|stat6label=Winning %
|stat6value={{Winning percentage|529|432}}
|teams=
'''As player'''
* [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] ({{mlby|1907}}–{{mlby|1927}})
'''As manager'''
* [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] ({{mlby|1929}}–{{mlby|1932}})
* [[Cleveland Indians]] ({{mlby|1933}}–{{mlby|1935}})
|highlights=
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1924}})
* 2× [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|AL MVP]] (1913, 1924)
* 3× [[Triple Crown (baseball)|Triple Crown]] (1913, 1918, 1924)
* 6× [[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders|AL wins leader]] (1913–1916, 1918, 1924)
* 5× [[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders|AL ERA leader]] (1912, 1913, 1918, 1919, 1924)
* 12× [[List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders|AL strikeout leader]] (1910, 1912–1919, 1921, 1923, 1924)
* Pitched a [[no-hitter]] on July 1, 1920
* MLB record 110 career shutouts
* [[Washington Nationals#Ring of Honor|Washington Nationals Ring of Honor]]
* [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]]
* [[Major League Baseball All-Time Team]]
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
|hofdate=[[1936 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1936]]
|hofvote=83.6% (first ballot)
}}

'''Walter Perry Johnson''' (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "'''Barney'''" and "'''the Big Train'''", was an American professional [[baseball]] player and [[Manager (baseball)|manager]]. He played his [[List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise |entire 21-year baseball career]] in [[Major League Baseball]] as a right-handed [[pitcher]] for the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] from {{Baseball year|1907}} to {{Baseball year|1927}}. He later served as manager of the Senators from 1929 through 1932 and of the [[Cleveland Indians]] from 1933 through 1935.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/305482/Walter-Johnson|title=Walter Johnson|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=July 27, 2012}}</ref>

Generally regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Johnson established several records, some of which remain unbroken. He remains by far the all-time career leader in [[Shutout (baseball)|shutouts]] with 110,<ref name="Today in History">{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec10.html|title= Today in History|publisher=The Library of Congress|access-date=July 20, 2012}}</ref> second in [[Win–loss record (pitching)|wins]] with 417, and fourth in [[complete game]]s with 531. He held the career record in [[strikeout]]s from 1919, passing [[Christy Mathewson]]’s mark of 2,507, to 1983, when three players ([[Steve Carlton]], [[Nolan Ryan]] and [[Gaylord Perry]]) passed his career total of 3,508. On July 22, 1923, Johnson became the only pitcher to record [[3,000 strikeout club|3,000 strikeouts]], and remained as such until [[Bob Gibson]] matched the feat on July 17, 1974. Of the club's 20 members, he pitched the most innings and has the lowest [[strikeouts per nine innings pitched]] (5.34 K/9). Johnson led the league in strikeouts for 12 total seasons, 8 of which were consecutive, both all-time records.<ref>{{cite web|last=Baseball-Reference.com|author-link=Baseball-Reference.com|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SO_p_leagues.shtml|year=2010|title=Yearly League Leaders & Records for Strikeouts|access-date=August 25, 2010}}</ref> He is the only pitcher in Major League history to record more than 400 wins and strike out more than 3,500 batters.

In {{baseball year|1936}}, Johnson was elected into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] as one of its [[1936 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|"first five"]] inaugural members.

==Early life==
Walter Johnson was the second of six children (Effie, Leslie, Earl, Blanche)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ghostsofdc.org/2013/10/09/walter-johnson-12-years-old-1900-u-s-census/|title=Walter Johnson at 12 Years Old in 1900 U.S. Census|last=Tom|date=October 9, 2013|website=Ghosts of DC|language=en-US|access-date=March 2, 2019}}</ref> born to Frank Edwin Johnson (1861–1921) and Minnie Olive Perry (1867–1967) on a rural farm four miles west of [[Humboldt, Kansas|Humboldt]], Kansas on November 6, 1887.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016600.html|title=ESPN.com: The Big Train kept on chuggin'|website=[[ESPN]]}}</ref> Although he was sometimes said to be of Swedish ancestry and referred to by sportswriters as "the Big Swede," Johnson's ancestors came from the British Isles.<ref name="ancestry">[https://books.google.com/books?id=0ca-EYo-gY0C&pg=PA1 Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train], by Henry W. Thomas, Published by U of Nebraska Press, 1998, page 1. On Google Books</ref>

Soon after he reached his fourteenth birthday, his family moved to California's [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] in 1902. The Johnsons settled in the town of [[Brea-Olinda, Brea, California|Olinda]], a small [[Petroleum|oil]] boomtown located just east of [[Brea, California|Brea]].<ref name="Big Train in Brea">{{cite news | last = Dufresne | first = Chris | title = The year the Big Train stopped in Brea, and brought the Babe |work=Los Angeles Times | date = June 2, 2008 | url = http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-sp-breababe2-2008jun02,0,3088387.story?page=2 | access-date = June 2, 2008 }}</ref> In his youth, Johnson split his time among playing baseball, working in the nearby [[oil fields]], and going [[Equestrianism|horseback riding]].<ref name="Big Train in Brea"/> Johnson later attended [[Fullerton Union High School]] where he [[strike out|struck out]] 27 [[Batting (baseball)|batters]] during a 15-inning game against [[Santa Ana High School]].<ref name="Big Train in Brea"/> He later moved to [[Idaho]], where he doubled as a telephone company employee and a pitcher for a team in [[Weiser, Idaho]], of the Idaho State League. Johnson was spotted by catcher/scout [[Cliff Blankenship]] and signed a contract with the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] in July 1907 at the age of 19.

==Professional career==
===Washington Senators (1907–1927)===
Johnson was renowned as the premier [[power pitcher]] of his era. [[Ty Cobb]] recalled his first encounter with the rookie fastballer:

{{blockquote|On August 2, 1907, I encountered the most threatening sight I ever saw in the ball field. He was a rookie, and we licked our lips as we warmed up for the first game of a doubleheader in Washington.... The first time I faced him, I watched him take that easy windup. And then something went past me that made me flinch. The thing just hissed with danger. We couldn't touch him.... Every one of us knew we'd met the most powerful arm ever turned loose in a ball park.<ref name="Stump">{{cite book|first=Al|last=Stump|title=Cobb: A Biography|url=https://archive.org/details/cobb00alst|url-access=registration|year=1994}}</ref>}}

In 1917, a [[Bridgeport, Connecticut|Bridgeport]], Connecticut, munitions laboratory recorded Johnson's fastball at 134 feet per second, which is equal to {{convert|91|mph|km/h|0}}, a velocity that may have been unmatched in his day, with the possible exception of [[Smoky Joe Wood]]. Johnson, moreover, pitched with a [[sidearm (baseball)|sidearm]] motion, whereas power pitchers are usually known for pitching with a straight [[overhand throw|overhand]] delivery. Johnson's motion was especially difficult for right-handed batters to follow, as the ball seemed to be coming from third base. His [[Pitch (baseball)|pitching mechanics]] were superb, generating powerful rotation of his shoulders with excellent balance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=22656|title=Raising Aces: Classic Deliveries: Fade to Black and White|last=Doug Thorburn|date=January 24, 2014|publisher=Baseball Prospectus|access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref> In addition to his fastball, Johnson featured an occasional [[curveball]] that he developed around 1913 or 1914.<ref name="JamesNeyer2008">{{cite book|last1=James|first1=Bill|last2=Neyer|first2=Rob|title=The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7FfRLE6I5EEC|access-date=January 29, 2014|date=June 16, 2008|publisher=Touchstone|isbn=9781439103777|page=270}}</ref> He batted and threw right-handed.

The overpowering fastball was the primary reason for Johnson's exceptional statistics, especially his fabled strikeout totals. Johnson's record total of 3,508<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/historical/leaders.jsp?c_id=mlb&baseballScope=mlb&statType=2&sortByStat=SO&timeFrame=3&timeSubFrame2=0|title=Sortable Player Stats|website=Major League Baseball}}</ref> strikeouts stood for more than 55 years until [[Nolan Ryan]], [[Steve Carlton]], and [[Gaylord Perry]] all surpassed it in that order during the [[1983 in baseball|1983 season]]. Johnson, as of 2025, ranks tenth on the all-time strikeout list,<ref>{{cite web|title=Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts|publisher=Baseball-Reference|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SO_p_career.shtml|access-date=December 29, 2023}}</ref> but his total must be understood in its proper context of an era of much fewer strikeouts. Among his pre–World War II contemporaries, only two men finished within 1,000 strikeouts of Johnson: runner-up [[Cy Young]] with 2,803 (705 strikeouts behind) and [[Tim Keefe]] at 2,562 (946 behind). [[Bob Feller]], whose [[World War II|war]]-shortened career began in [[1936 in baseball|1936]], later ended up with 2,581.
[[File:T206Johnson.jpg | thumb | right | T206 Walter Johnson baseball card ]]
[[File:1909 Walter Johnson by Barr Farnham.jpg|left|thumb|Walter Johnson in a 1909 portrait photograph]]

As a right-handed pitcher for the [[Minnesota Twins|Washington Senators]], Walter Johnson won 417 games, [[List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders|the second most by any pitcher in history]] (after [[Cy Young]], who won 511). He and Young are the only pitchers to have won 400 games.<ref>{{cite web|title=Career Leaders & Records for Wins|publisher=Baseball-Reference|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/W_career.shtml|access-date=January 12, 2011}}</ref>

In a 21-year career, Johnson had twelve 20-win seasons, including ten in a row. Twice, he topped 30 wins (33 in [[1912 in baseball|1912]] and 36 in [[1913 in baseball|1913]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Walter Johnson|publisher=Baseball-Reference|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml|access-date=January 12, 2011}}</ref> Johnson's record includes 110 shutouts, the most in baseball history. Johnson had a 38–26 record in games decided by a 1–0 score;<ref name="Greatest Records p.34">''Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records'', p.34, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, {{ISBN|978-1-55365-507-7}}</ref> both his wins and losses in these games are major league records. Johnson also lost 65 games because his teams failed to score a run.<ref name="Greatest Records p.34"/> On September 4, 5 and 7, [[1908 in baseball|1908]], he shut out the [[New York Highlanders]] in three consecutive games.

Three times, Johnson won the [[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|triple crown]] for pitchers (1913, [[1918 in baseball|1918]] and [[1924 in baseball|1924]]). Johnson twice won the [[American League]] [[Most Valuable Player]] Award (1913, 1924),<ref name="Today in History"/> a feat accomplished since by only two other pitchers, [[Carl Hubbell]] in [[1933 in baseball|1933]] and 1936 and [[Hal Newhouser]] in [[1944 in baseball|1944]] and [[1945 in baseball|1945]].

His [[earned run average]] of 1.14 in 1913 was the fourth-lowest ever at the time he recorded it; it remains the sixth-lowest today, despite having been surpassed by [[Bob Gibson]] in 1968 (1.12) for lowest ERA ever by a 300+ inning pitcher. It could have been lower if not for one of manager [[Clark Griffith]]'s traditions. For the last game of the season, Griffith often treated the fans to a farce game. Johnson actually played center field that game until he was brought in to pitch. He allowed two hits before he was taken out of the game. The next pitcher—who was actually a career catcher—allowed both runners to score. The official scorekeeper ignored the game, but later, Johnson was charged with those two runs, raising his ERA from 1.09 to 1.14. For the decade from 1910 to 1919, Johnson averaged 26 wins per season and had an overall ERA of 1.59.

Johnson won 36 games in 1913, 40% of the team's total wins for the season. In April and May, he pitched 55{{fraction|2|3}} [[scoreless innings streak|consecutive scoreless innings]], which stood as the MLB record for 55 years and as of 2024 remains the American League's best and third-longest streak in history. He won 25 games and lost 20 games in 1916, the last pitcher to win and lose 20 in a season until [[knuckleball]]er [[Wilbur Wood]] did so in 1973.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1973/10/01/scorecard|title=Scorecard|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=October 1, 1973|access-date=November 24, 2020}}</ref> In May 1918, Johnson pitched 40 consecutive scoreless innings; he is the only pitcher with two such 40+ inning streaks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_ip.shtml|title=Innings Pitched Records by Baseball Almanac|website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}</ref>

Although he often pitched for losing teams during his career, Johnson finally led the [[Minnesota Twins|Washington Senators]] to the [[World Series]] in 1924, his 18th year in the American League. Johnson lost the first and fifth games of the 1924 World Series, but became the hero by pitching four scoreless innings of relief in the seventh and deciding game, winning in the 12th inning. Washington returned to the World Series the following season, but Johnson's experience was close to the inverse: two early wins, followed by a game seven loss. On October 15, 1927, Johnson's request for an unconditional release from the club was granted.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=TNPMuseum|author=Nat'l Pastime Museum|number=787362908586053637|date=October 15, 2016|title=OTD 1927 #DC Senators grant pitching great Walter Johnson his release. Reluctantly. #MLB #Goodbyes}}</ref>

[[File:Walter Johnson and Calvin Coolidge shake hands FINAL.jpg|thumb|right|400px|President [[Calvin Coolidge]] (left) and Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson (right) shake hands.]]
Johnson's [[Baseball Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] plaque reads that he pitched "for many years with a losing team." While the Senators had only nine winning seasons during his career, they finished in the first division (i. e., fourth place or higher) 11 times, and the second division 10 times. In Johnson's first five seasons, Washington finished last twice and next-to-last three times. But they finished second in the American League in both [[1912 in baseball|1912]] and [[1913 in baseball|1913]], which were Johnson's two 30-win seasons. Then, for the next decade, they typically finished in the middle of the pack before their back-to-back pennants.

Johnson was a good hitter for a pitcher, compiling a career [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] of .235, including a record .433 average in 1925. His 547 career hits are the most by a full-time pitcher. He also made 13 appearances in the [[outfield]] during his career. He hit over .200 in 13 of his 21 seasons, hit three home runs in 1914, and hit 12 [[double (baseball)|doubles]] and a [[triple (baseball)|triple]] in 130 at-bats in 1917. 1919 marked the seventh year that he hit at least as many home runs as he allowed while pitching, all while pitching at least 296 innings those years. Johnson finished his career with 23 home runs as a pitcher (24 overall, including a [[Pinch hitter|pinch-hit]] home run in 1925), which at the time was third best for primary pitchers in MLB history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stathead.com/tiny/RfFKv|title=For combined seasons, up to 1927, Played at least 50% of games at P, in the regular season, sorted by descending Home Runs.|website=Stathead}}</ref> He currently has the [[List of Major League Baseball all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers|tenth-highest total for a pitcher in Major League history]].

Johnson had a reputation as a kindly person, and made many friends in baseball. As reported in ''The Glory of Their Times'', [[Sam Crawford]] was one of Johnson's good friends, and sometimes in non-critical situations, Johnson would ease up so Crawford would hit well against him. This would vex Crawford's teammate [[Ty Cobb]], who could not understand how Crawford could hit the great Johnson so well. Johnson was also friendly with [[Babe Ruth]], despite Ruth's having hit some of his longest home runs off him at [[Griffith Stadium]].

In [[1928 in baseball|1928]], he began his career as a [[manager (baseball)|manager]] in the [[Minor League Baseball|minor leagues]], managing the [[Newark Bears (International League)|Newark Bears]] of the [[International League]]. He continued on to the major leagues, managing the [[Minnesota Twins|Washington Senators]] ([[1929 in baseball|1929]]–[[1932 in baseball|1932]]), and finally the [[Cleveland Indians]] ([[1933 in baseball|1933]]–[[1935 in baseball|1935]]). His managing record was 529–432, with his best team managed being in [[1930 Washington Senators season|1930]], when the team finished 94–60, 8 games out of first place. In seven seasons, he had five winning seasons, with the only two losing seasons being at the beginning of his tenure with Washington and Cleveland, though his teams did not come close to winning the pennant, finishing 12 games behind in his last season. Johnson also served as a radio announcer on station [[WFED|WJSV]] for the Senators during the [[1939 in baseball|1939 season]].<ref>For an example of a major league game broadcast by Johnson, listen to [https://archive.org/details/CompleteBroadcastDay Complete Broadcast Day (September 21, 1939)], selecting numbers 11 and 12 on the list of one-hour segments. Retrieved January 31, 2014.</ref>

==Managerial record==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Games!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-
|-
![[1929 Washington Senators season|WSH]]|| {{mlby|1929}}
||152||{{WinLossPct|71|81}}|| 5th in AL || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1930 Washington Senators season|WSH]]|| {{mlby|1930}}
||154||{{WinLossPct|94|60}}|| 2nd in AL || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1931 Washington Senators season|WSH]]|| {{mlby|1931}}
||154||{{WinLossPct|92|62}}|| 3rd in AL || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1932 Washington Senators season|WSH]]|| {{mlby|1932}}
||154||{{WinLossPct|93|61}}|| 3rd in AL || – || – || – ||
|-
! colspan="2"|WSH total ||614||{{WinLossPct|350|264}}|| || {{WinLossPct|0|0}} ||
|-
![[1933 Cleveland Indians season|CLE]]|| {{mlby|1933}}
||99||{{WinLossPct|48|51}}|| Interim || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1934 Cleveland Indians season|CLE]]|| {{mlby|1934}}
||154||{{WinLossPct|85|69}}|| 3rd in AL || – || – || – ||
|-
![[1935 Cleveland Indians season|CLE]]|| {{mlby|1935}}
||94||{{WinLossPct|46|48}}|| Fired || – || – || – ||
|-
! colspan="2"|CLE total ||347||{{WinLossPct|179|168}}|| || {{WinLossPct|0|0}} ||
|-
! colspan="2"|Total<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/johnswa01.shtml|title=Walter Johnson Managerial Record|access-date=July 17, 2010 |publisher=Sports Reference LLC}}</ref> ||961||{{WinLossPct|529|432}}|| || {{WinLossPct|0|0}} ||
|}

==National Baseball Hall of Fame==
[[File:Walter Johnson pitching.webm|thumb|200px|Walter Johnson pitching|left]]
Johnson was one of the first five players elected to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in [[1936 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1936]]. Johnson, [[Ty Cobb]], [[Christy Mathewson]], [[Babe Ruth]] and [[Honus Wagner]] were known as the "Five Immortals" because they were the first players chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/01/03/by-the-numbers-the-first-inductees/|title= By The Numbers: The First Inductees|date= January 3, 2011|publisher= CBS New York|access-date=July 20, 2012}}</ref>

==Politics==
Walter Johnson retired to [[Germantown, Maryland|Germantown]], Maryland. On February 19, 1936, [[George Washington]]'s 204th birthday, as a retired baseball legend Johnson gained national publicity. He replicated a feat attributed to Washington by throwing a silver dollar across the [[Rappahannock River]]. Though it remained in dispute whether Washington ever did such a thing, Johnson did prove that it could be done.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 19, 1936 |title=Old Pitcher to See How Far a Dollar Will Go |journal=[[Chicago Daily Tribune]]|page=1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=February 23, 1936 |title=Dollar Thrown Across River by Johnson | journal=[[Chicago Daily Tribune]]|page=1 }}</ref>
[[File:Walter Johnson wins republican nomination for County Commissioner (September 13, 1938).jpeg|thumb|Johnson after winning the Republican nomination in 1938]]
A lifelong [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] and friend of President [[Calvin Coolidge]], Johnson was elected as a [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]] commissioner in 1938. His father-in-law was [[Edwin E. Roberts|Rep. Edwin Roberts]], a Republican member of the [[U.S. House of Representatives]]. In 1940 Johnson ran for a congressional seat in Maryland's 6th district, but came up short against the incumbent Democrat, [[William D. Byron]], by a total of 60,037 (53%) to 52,258 (47%).<ref>{{cite web| url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1940election.pdf | access-date=2023-12-22 | title=Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1940}}</ref>

[[Joseph W. Martin Jr.]], before he was the [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives]] (1947–1949 and 1953–1955), recruited Johnson to run for Congress. "He was an utterly inexperienced speaker," Martin later said. "I got some of my boys to write two master speeches for him—one for the farmers of his district and the other for the industrial areas. Alas, he got the two confused. He addressed the farmers on industrial problems, and the businessmen on farm problems."<ref>{{cite book|first=Joe|last=Martin|author-link=Joseph W. Martin Jr.|title=My First Fifty Years in Politics |page=24|location=New York City|publisher=McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.|year=1960|lccn=60-15002|url=https://archive.org/details/myfirstfiftyyear00mart/page/24/mode/2up|url-access=registration}}</ref>
===Electoral history===
{{Election box begin no change | title=Maryland's 6th congressional district election, 1940<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Campaigns - MD District 6 Race - Nov 05, 1940 |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=27949 |website=www.ourcampaigns.com |access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = [[William D. Byron]] (incumbent)
|votes = 60,037
|percentage = 53.46
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = Walter Johnson
|votes = 52,258
|percentage = 46.54
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 112,295
| percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no swing
|winner = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}

==Personal life==
Walter married Hazel Lee Roberts on June 24, 1914, and they had five children.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ghostsofdc.org/2012/06/08/walter-johnson-marriage-1914/|title=Mr. and Mrs. Walter Johnson Tie the Knot on Monroe St. NW|last=Tom|date=June 8, 2012|website=Ghosts of DC|language=en-US|access-date=March 2, 2019}}</ref> Johnson's eldest daughter died from [[influenza]] in 1921.<ref name="Russo 20">Russo, p. 20</ref> His wife died in August 1930 from complications resulting from [[heat stroke]] after a long motorcar ride from Kansas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ghostsofdc.org/2013/07/02/this-is-so-sad-walter-johnson-buries-his-wife-hazel/|title=Hazel Lee Roberts Buried By Husband Walter Johnson - Ghosts of DC|website=ghostsofdc.org|date=July 2, 2013}}</ref> Ty Cobb was a good friend of Johnson, often bringing Johnson's children gifts when he visited the family.<ref name="Russo 20"/>

At 11:40 pm on Tuesday, December 10, 1946,<ref name="date-of-death">[https://books.google.com/books?id=0ca-EYo-gY0C&pg=RA2-PA348 Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train], by Henry W. Thomas, Published by U of Nebraska Press, 1998, page 346. On Google Books</ref> Johnson died of a [[brain tumor]] in Washington, D.C., five weeks after his 59th birthday, and was interred at [[Rockville Cemetery (Maryland)|Rockville Cemetery]] in [[Rockville, Maryland|Rockville]], [[Maryland]].<ref name="cemetery">[https://books.google.com/books?id=0ca-EYo-gY0C&pg=RA2-PA348 Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train], by Henry W. Thomas, Published by U of Nebraska Press, 1998, page 348. On Google Books</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Walter Johnson by Charles Conlon, 1910s.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Johnson c. 1910s]]
*[[Walter Johnson High School]] in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], is named for him. The monument to him that once stood outside [[Griffith Stadium]] has been moved to the school's campus. The school's yearbook is called ''The Windup'' and its newspaper is called ''The Pitch''.
*A baseball field in [[Rockville, Maryland]] is named for him. A wood sculpture of him is located near the field.
*A large recreation park (Walter Johnson Park) is named after him in [[Coffeyville, Kansas]], where he maintained a part-time residence for several years.
*The [[Bethesda Big Train]], a summer collegiate baseball team based in Bethesda, Maryland, is named in his honor and features a Walter Johnson sculpture in front of their stadium. A sculpture of sportswriter Shirley Povich and Walter Johnson is located inside the stadium.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bigtrain.org/history/walterjohnson|title=The Official Site of Bethesda Big Train Summer Collegiate Baseball: Walter Johnson|website=bigtrain.org}}</ref>
*The baseball field in Memorial Park, in [[Weiser, Idaho]], is called Walter Johnson Field.
*Johnson was the first American League pitcher to strike out four batters in one inning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats19.shtml|title=4 Strikeouts In 1 Inning|website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}</ref>
*Johnson holds the record for most three-pitch innings by any major league pitcher with four.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/3_pitch_inning.shtml|title=Three Pitch Innings|website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}</ref>
*In 2009, a [[Statue of Walter Johnson|statue of Johnson]] was installed inside the center field gate of [[Nationals Park]] along with ones of [[Frank Howard (baseball)|Frank Howard]] and [[Josh Gibson]].
*Walter Johnson baseball field in [[Humboldt, Kansas]].
*Walter Johnson Road in [[Germantown, Maryland]].
*In 2024, a thick gray flannel jersey worn by Johnson between 1919 and 1922 was sold for $2.01 million at [[Heritage Auctions]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-05-17 |title=Walter Johnson’s jersey from 1920 showdown with Babe Ruth is up for auction |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/05/17/walter-johnson-jersey-auction-babe-ruth/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240517151723/https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/05/17/walter-johnson-jersey-auction-babe-ruth/ |archive-date=2024-05-17 |access-date=2025-07-31 |work=Washington Post |language=en}}</ref>

===Nicknames===
He was also called "Sir Walter", "the White Knight", and "The Gentle Johnson" for his gentlemanly sportsmanship, and "Barney" after auto racer [[Barney Oldfield]] (he got out of a traffic ticket when a teammate in the car told the policeman Johnson was Barney Oldfield).<ref name=autogenerated1>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0ca-EYo-gY0C&pg=PA94 Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train], by Henry W. Thomas, Published by U of Nebraska Press, 1998, page 348.</ref>

===Other===
In [[1999 in baseball|1999]], ''[[The Sporting News]]'' ranked Johnson number 4 on its list of Baseball's 100 Greatest Players, the highest-ranked pitcher.<ref>[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/lisn100.shtml Baseball's 100 Greatest Players] by ''The Sporting News''</ref> Later that year, he was elected to the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The All-Century Team|website=[[MLB.com]]|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/mlb_history_moreinfo.jsp|access-date=February 15, 2007|archive-date=January 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119065808/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/mlb_history_moreinfo.jsp|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, ''[[The Athletic]]'' ranked Johnson at number 7 on its "Baseball 100" list, compiled by sportswriter [[Joe Posnanski]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Posnanski |first1=Joe |title=The Baseball 100: No. 7, Walter Johnson |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1708673/2020/03/30/the-baseball-100-no-7-walter-johnson/ |magazine=[[The Athletic]] |date=March 30, 2020}}</ref> In 2022, as part of their SN Rushmore project, ''[[The Sporting News]]'' named Johnson on their "Washington, D.C. Mount Rushmore of Sports", along with [[Washington Capitals]] hockey player [[Alexander Ovechkin]], [[Washington Redskins]] football player [[Darrell Green]], and [[Washington Bullets]] basketball player [[Wes Unseld]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Iyer |first1=Vinnie |title=Washington's Mount Rushmore of Sports: Alex Ovechkin, Darrell Green, Wes Unseld, Walter Johnson voted best of the best
|url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/washington-mount-rushmore-alex-ovechkin-darrell-green-wes-unseld-walter-johnson/ux6oknl1mxl4ywmijhjlqpyj |work=[[The Sporting News]] |date=July 31, 2022}}</ref>

In 1985, [[Jonathan Richman]] recorded the song "Walter Johnson", which dwelt on Johnson's personality and behaviour as an exemplar of what can be good in sport.<ref name="m118">{{cite web | title=Bloop Hits: Jonathan Richman Rides the Big Train | publisher=FOX Sports | date=2015-03-27 | url=https://www.foxsports.com/stories/other/bloop-hits-jonathan-richman-rides-the-big-train | access-date=2024-11-14}}</ref>

In 2015, he along with [[Nap Lajoie]], [[Christy Mathewson]] and [[Cy Young]] were named the "Greatest Pioneers Group." They were voted for by baseball fans online as part of the Franchise Four competition and were "selected as the most impactful players". The results were announced at the [[2015 MLB All-Star Game]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2015/franchise_four.jsp?c_id=pio|title=2015 Franchise Four: MLB Pioneers|website=Major League Baseball}}</ref>

Johnson's gentle nature was legendary, and to this day he is held up as an example of good sportsmanship, while his name has become synonymous with friendly competition. This attribute worked to Johnson's disadvantage in the case of fellow Hall of Famer [[Ty Cobb]]. Virtually all batters were concerned about being hit by Johnson's fastball, and many would not "dig in" at the plate because of that concern. Cobb realized that the good-hearted Johnson was privately nervous about the possibility of seriously injuring a batter. Almost alone among his peers, Cobb would actually stand closer to the plate than usual when facing Johnson.<ref name="Damn Senators">{{cite book |first=Mark Gauvreau|last=Judge|author-link=Mark Judge (writer) |title=[[Damn Senators|Damn Senators: My Grandfather and the Story of Washington's Only World Series Championship]]|publisher=Encounter Books |location=San Francisco |year=2004 |page= 170|isbn=1-59403-045-6 }}</ref>

Johnson is mentioned in the poem ''"[[Line-Up for Yesterday]]"'' by [[Ogden Nash]]:

{{Quote box |width= 18em |border= 4px |align= center |bgcolor= #FAF0E6 |qalign= center | title=''Line-Up for Yesterday''|quote=''J is for Johnson'' ''The Big Train in his prime'' ''Was so fast he could throw'' ''Three strikes at a time.''
|source= — [[Ogden Nash]], [[Sport (US magazine)|''Sport'' magazine]] (January 1949)<ref>{{cite web|title=Baseball Almanac|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_line.shtml|access-date=2008-01-23 }}</ref> }}

==Career statistics==
=== Pitching ===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Category !! W !! L !! ERA !! GS !! CG !! SHO !! SV !! IP !! HR !! BB !! SO !! HBP !! WHIP !! FIP !! ERA+
|-
| Total || 417 || 279 || 2.17 || 666 || 531 || 110 || 34 || 5,914.1 || 97 || 1,363 || 3,509 || 205 || 1.061 || 2.38 || 147
|}

'''Note''': Official MLB statistics show 3,508 career strikeouts, with 70 in his first season ({{mlby|1907}}) while statistics at websites such as [[ESPN]], [[Baseball-Reference]], and the official site of the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] (see "External Links", below) all show 3,509 career strikeouts, with 71 in his first season. This has resulted in minor differences seen in references to Johnson's record when reading media and Wikipedia articles of other pitchers in the [[3000 strikeout club]].

=== Hitting ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Category!! G !! BA !! AB !! R !! H !! 2B !! 3B !! HR !! RBI !! SB !! CS !! BB !! SO !! OBP !! SLG !! OPS
|-
| Total || 934 || .235 || 2,324 || 241 || 547 || 94 || 41 || 24 || 255 || 13 || N/A || 110 || 419 || .274 || .342 || .616
|}

'''Note''': [[Major League Baseball]] began to regularly track "[[caught stealing]]" in 1951; prior to that year, records on this statistic are either incomplete or not recorded at all.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
*[[Walter Johnson High School]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball career ERA leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball career FIP leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball no-hitters]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball single-inning strikeout leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise]]
*[[Major League Baseball titles leaders]]
*[[Triple Crown (baseball)|Major League Baseball Triple Crown]]
*[[List of Washington Senators Opening Day starting pitchers]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* Kavanagh, Jack (1997). ''Walter Johnson: A Life'' (Diamond Communications) {{ISBN|0-912083-94-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Russo|first=Frank|title=The Cooperstown Chronicles: Baseball's Colorful Characters, Unusual Lives, and Strange Demises|location=New York|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2014|isbn=978-1-4422-3639-4}}
* Thomas, Henry W. (1995). ''Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train'' (University of Nebraska Press: Bison Books) {{ISBN|0-9645439-0-7}}
* Treat, Roger L., with contributions by [[Clark Griffith]] (1948). ''Walter Johnson King of the Pitchers'' (New York: Julian Messner)

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Burns |first=Ken |title=Baseball: An Illustrated History |location=New York |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |year=1994 |isbn=0-679-40459-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/baseballillustra00ward }}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{bbhof|johnson-walter}}{{Baseballstats|espn=23414|mlb=116635|br=j/johnswa01|fangraphs=|brm=johnso009wal}}
*{{Baseball-reference manager|johnswa01}}
*{{sabrbio|0e5ca45c|Charles Carey|April 26, 2016}}
*[http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080714&content_id=8053&vkey=hof_news Baseball Hall of Fame: Washington's 'Big Train' first to 3,000 strike] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801202203/http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080714&content_id=8053&vkey=hof_news |date=August 1, 2008 }}
*{{Find a Grave}}
*{{IMDb name|id=1766081|name=Walter Johnson}}
*[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/lisn100.shtml Baseball Almanac]
*[http://ghostsofdc.org/2014/02/12/what-did-walter-johnsons-voice-sound-like-listen-to-this-1939-senators-broadcast/ What Did Walter Johnson's Voice Sound Like? Listen To This 1939 Senators Broadcast.]
*[http://ghostsofdc.org/2012/05/01/walter-johnson-debut-washington-senators/ 19-Year-Old Phenom Debuts for Washington: Walter Johnson]
*[http://ghostsofdc.org/2013/04/01/walter-johnson-was-a-suffragist/ Walter Johnson Was a Suffragist]
*[http://ghostsofdc.org/2012/06/08/walter-johnson-marriage-1914/ Mr. and Mrs. Walter Johnson Tie the Knot on Monroe St. NW]

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|ach}}
{{succession box|before=[[Rube Waddell]]|title=[[American League]] [[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|Pitching Triple Crown]]|years=1913, 1918 & 1924|after=[[Lefty Grove]]}}
{{succession box|before=[[Ray Caldwell]]|title=[[List of Major League Baseball no-hitters|No-hitter pitcher]]|years=July 1, 1920|after=[[Charlie Robertson]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Navboxes|list=
{{MLBACT}}
{{MLBATT}}
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{{AL wins champions}}
{{AL ERA champions}}
{{AL strikeout champions}}
{{1924 Washington Senators}}
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{{Minnesota Twins Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{TwinsManagers}}
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}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Walter}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
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