The Washington herald., 1912-03-07
WALTER JOHNSON
REACHES CAPITAL
Nationals Great Twirlsr
Talks Of Street for
Knight Swap.
GROOM ALSO REPORTS
By WILLIAM PEEr.


the season without my old battery part
ner. Gabby Street." said Walter johnson,
the Nationals great pitcher. who ar
rived from his home in Coffeyviiie, Kans-,
and registered at the Dewey shortly be-
fore noon yesterday.
'I certainly will miss Gabby. and wish
him all the luck in the world with the
New York club" Walter added.
The big pitcher stated that he had re-
Gently read in one OF the Chicago papers
that Street would make q good second
catcher for Sweeney. and commenting on
the story exclaimed: That makes me
smile I'll miss my guess II Sweeney
doesn't make a second string man for
Street"
While ne will not admit 1t in so many
words, johnson down In his heart thinks
Street win prove a better man than
Sweeney. "Gabby's got the old pep"
said Walter. He's in the working every
minute"
Asked II he thought John Henry and
Eddie Ainsmtth would have any trouble
holding his speedy shoots, Walter
grinned and replied: mo, indeed; those
boys are all right: they win not have a
bit Of trouble with my delivery"
With waIter Johnson came Bob
last night and Travelled to the Capital
together. Both looked the picture OF
health. and Groom actually appeared 10
have taken on weight. although he says
he could not have added more than q
couple Of pounds. Groom left for Char
lottesville on the Birmingham special at
4 o'clock yesterday afternoon.
An early morning train brought in
Il. .
outfelder. Clyde had to pull himself out
Of bed at , o'clock Monday morning in
order to reach q railroad station in time
TO catch q train for Washington.
Ailan's home is in Linden. Tenn. or
rather 10 miles outside Linden. and he
has spent the winter out OF doors. Clyde
Is as brown as a berry and says he never
felt better in his life.
Johnson. Groom, and Milan were all
asked what they thought Ct the Street
for knight swap, and agreed that IL
Knights arm is all right, Il looks as
IL Grin had pulled a good trade; they de-
clare that while Street Is a great catch
er, the club Is well fortified In this de-
partment. with Ainsmi:h and Henry,
who lack only the experience to put them
in the front row OF American league
backstops.
All admit that knight Is a good hitter
and a irst-class inheIder. and that the
club will be strengthened.
Walter johnson hasn't seen baseball
since the season closed last year. He
owns a big farm in Cofeyville, Kans..
and says the necessary work OF running
the establishment has kept him busy,
both out OF doors and inside.
When johnson and Groom started for
Washington from st. Louis. they both
jumped on a pair Of scales in the big
depot. Walter weighed exactly lsI
pounds in his street clothes and over
coat, and Groom 175.
Walter is much lighter than when he
showed up in Atlanta last spring and de-
cIares that two weeks work will put
him in shape TO start the season.
u received letter from a Washing
ton baseball fan not long ago" said Wal
ter, "in which he intimated that IL the
players on our club took as much |
interest as did Griffith, the team would
probably finish higher up.
That made me hot under the collar
retorted the pitcher. Il suppose some of
the fans think we do not have the inter-
ests Of the club at heart That's foolish.
I know ! voice the sentiments Of every |
one of the old players when / say that
We always stand ready to do all in our |
power to help make a winning combina- |
tion.
Personally, / am tickIed to death that |
Grift has a lot Of young pitchers down |
IN Charlottesville. and II 1 can help him |
develop aEy of them you can bet I'll do |
IT, Nobody is more anxious than / am TO |
give the Capital what II deseryes-a win !
ming ball cfub-and ] know the other |
players feel the same way"
Walter has recently been troubled with |
an aching tooth, and waited until he |
reached washington before looking up |
dentist He spent a bad half hour In the |
torture chair yesterday afternoon, and |
win have all his molars fiSed up before |
he leaves for Charlottesville. Evidently |
johnson hasn't much faith in the Coffey- |
Vile dentists.
Bob Groom spent the winter quietly at |
his home in Belleville. Ill, Just outside |
the big city Of st. Louis. Ha has been |
studying medicine at ST. Louis Univer-
sity, and hopes some day to hang out \
his shIngle and be a regular fellow in |
the medical league when his baseball
days are over.
Groom is the proud father Of a fine \
young son. Robert Groom, jr., who was |
born six months ago. Bob says he IS /
going to give the kid an education first, /
and will not advise him to take UP pro-
fessional baseball II he can make a living |
at some other vocation
1T Is true that part OF last season |
gave my own signals" stated the lanky
finger. ''McAleer told me to switch dur
ing the last Western trip. as he thought
the other club was getting our battery
signs. think Il worked like a charm,
for won lot OF games. and am going
to suggest to Grif that he allow me to
do so this summer"
II see they have a lot of young out.
fielders slated for a trial." was Clyde
Milan's first statement to the writer.
Looks like will have to go some to
hold down my old job in center field,
don't Il?
well. the more the merrier I'm feel
ing pretty. good after right smart cold
winter down in Tennessee, and the base
ball season cannot start soon enough to
please me-" he added.
Milan told an interesting story of his
trials and tribulations on his big farm
in Linden during the late fall
II seems that Milan owns some prop
srty down In that neck Of the woods and
thought 1t might be a good plan to help
out in some of the improvements. There
was a long stone wall to be laid and
some grading to be done. Clyde had no
trouble in laying the wall. but when 1t
came to running q hand scraper attached
TO couple Of strong mules, there was
trouble.