Walter Johnson

Bailey Hotel
Walter Perry Johnson was born Nov. 6, 1887, to Swedish emigrants on a rural farm four miles west of Humboldt in Allen County. His family left the Humboldt area for the oil fields of California in 1901, and in 1907, at the age of 19, Johnson began his phenomenal major league baseball career with the Washington Senators. No matter how far away from his geographical roots, however, Johnson always cherished Humboldt as his hometown.

In his 20-year major league baseball career, the man nicknamed "The Big Train" pitched a dozen 20-plus win seasons and amassed a total of 417 victories -- the most by any pitcher in the 20th century. Johnson also collected 110 shutouts -- more than fellow Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Carl Hubbell and Dizzy Dean had combined. He struck out 3,508 American League batters -- more than any pitcher ever -- and he was involved 64 times in 1-0 games, winning a record 38 of them and losing a record 26.

Johnson's best season came in 1913, when he achieved a 36-7 win-loss record with 11 shutouts and a 1.14 earned run average. He was voted the American League MVP that season (he would win a second AL MVP in 1924, at the age of 36). Nine times during a 10-season stretch would Johnson achieve an earned run average below 2.0.

Johnson and the Washington Senators won the World Series in 1924, the same year another Humboldt native, George A. Sweatt, helped the Kansas City Monarchs win the Negro World Series. In 1936, Johnson was one of five inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame. The others were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honas Wagner, and Christy Matheson. The Sporting News named Johnson the greatest pitcher in baseball history.

In honor of Johnson, the Humboldt community dedicated a baseball park, Walter Johnson Field, for area youths. Humboldt also hosts the Johnson-Sweatt Classic baseball tournament every summer.

If you're interested in learning more about Johnson, ESPN.com features an entertaining and comprehensive biography of The Big Train. In addition, Johnson's grandson Henry W. Thomas has written an excellent and fascinating book about him:

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