Walter Johnson Marquee Hall of Fame 1936

b. November 6, 1887 · Washington Senators 1907–1927, Washington Senators

Walter Johnson pitched all 21 of his seasons for Washington, a club that finished in the second division for most of them, and won 417 games — second only to Cy Young. He threw 110 shutouts, which is the record and is not close, struck out 3,509 with a 2.17 earned run average, and completed 531 of his starts.

He led the American League in strikeouts twelve times, topping out at 313, and in shutouts seven times. He was known for a sidearm fastball that hitters described as arriving before the sound of it, and for refusing to throw at anyone, on the grounds that at his speed he might kill them.

He finally reached a World Series in 1924 at 36, lost his first two starts, and won game seven in relief in twelve innings. He was one of the five men elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936, and later managed both Washington and Cleveland.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
Baseball Magazine All-Star	14	1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1923, 1924, 1925
Triple Crown (pitching)	3	1913, 1918, 1924
Most Valuable Player	2	1913, 1924
The Sporting News All-Star	1	1925

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1907	WSH	14	36	3	4	0	1	0	1	1	10	0	.111
1908	WSH	36	79	7	13	3	2	0	5	6	23	0	.165
1909	WSH	40	101	6	13	3	0	1	6	1	21	0	.129
1910	WSH	45	137	14	24	6	1	2	12	4	34	2	.175
1911	WSH	42	128	18	30	5	3	1	15	0	39	1	.234
1912	WSH	55	144	16	38	6	4	2	20	7	41	2	.264
1913	WSH	54	134	12	35	5	6	2	14	5	14	2	.261
1914	WSH	55	136	23	30	4	1	3	16	10	27	2	.221
1915	WSH	64	147	14	34	7	4	2	17	8	34	0	.231
1916	WSH	58	142	13	32	2	4	1	7	11	28	0	.225
1917	WSH	57	130	15	33	12	1	0	15	9	30	1	.254
1918	WSH	65	150	10	40	4	4	1	18	9	18	2	.267
1919	WSH	56	125	13	24	1	3	1	8	12	17	1	.192
1920	WSH	33	64	6	17	1	3	1	7	3	10	0	.266
1921	WSH	38	111	10	30	7	0	0	10	6	14	0	.270
1922	WSH	43	108	8	22	3	0	1	15	2	12	0	.204
1923	WSH	42	93	11	18	3	3	0	13	4	15	0	.194
1924	WSH	39	113	18	32	9	0	1	14	3	11	0	.283
1925	WSH	36	97	12	42	6	1	2	20	3	6	0	.433
1926	WSH	35	103	6	20	5	0	1	12	3	11	0	.194
1927	WSH	26	46	6	16	2	0	2	10	3	4	0	.348
Career	—	933	2324	241	547	94	41	24	255	110	419	13	.235

Pitching, season by season

Year	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1907	WSH	5	9	14	12	0	110.1	100	23	20	71	1.88
1908	WSH	14	14	36	30	1	256.1	194	47	53	160	1.65
1909	WSH	13	25	40	36	1	296.1	247	73	84	164	2.22
1910	WSH	25	17	45	42	1	370.0	262	56	76	313	1.36
1911	WSH	25	13	40	37	1	322.1	292	68	70	207	1.90
1912	WSH	33	12	50	37	2	369.0	259	57	76	303	1.39
1913	WSH	36	7	48	36	2	346.0	232	44	38	243	1.14
1914	WSH	28	18	51	40	1	371.2	287	71	74	225	1.72
1915	WSH	27	13	47	39	4	336.2	258	58	56	203	1.55
1916	WSH	25	20	48	38	1	369.2	290	78	82	228	1.90
1917	WSH	23	16	47	34	3	326.0	248	80	68	188	2.21
1918	WSH	23	13	39	29	3	326.0	241	46	70	162	1.27
1919	WSH	20	14	39	29	2	290.1	235	48	51	147	1.49
1920	WSH	8	10	21	15	3	143.2	135	50	27	78	3.13
1921	WSH	17	14	35	32	1	264.0	265	103	92	143	3.51
1922	WSH	15	16	41	31	4	280.0	283	93	99	105	2.99
1923	WSH	17	12	42	34	4	261.1	263	101	73	130	3.48
1924	WSH	23	7	38	38	0	277.2	233	84	77	158	2.72
1925	WSH	20	7	30	29	0	229.0	217	78	78	108	3.07
1926	WSH	15	16	33	33	0	260.2	259	105	73	125	3.63
1927	WSH	5	6	18	15	0	107.2	113	61	26	48	5.10
Career	—	417	279	802	666	34	5914.2	4913	1424	1363	3509	2.17

On this day & linked events

1887

Born November 6, 1887

Humboldt, KS, USA

1946

Died December 10, 1946

1907

Major-league debut: Walter Johnson

Walter Johnson made a major-league debut on August 2, 1907.

1920

Walter Johnson's No-Hitter

Walter Johnson threw a no-hitter for the Washington Senators against the Boston Red Sox on July 1, 1920, winning 1–0.

1927

Final major-league game: Walter Johnson

Walter Johnson played a final major-league game on September 30, 1927.

1936

The Hall of Fame's First Five

The Baseball Writers' Association of America announces the first five players elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson.

1939

The Baseball Hall of Fame Opens

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum opens in Cooperstown, New York, marking the sport's presumed centennial and enshrining its first classes of inductees.

Image: Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942, photographer, public domain