The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-08-02
WALTER JOHNSON { ROUNDS OUT EIGHTH
 YEAR WITH WASHINGTON

Walter Perry Johnson, the big. Washington twirler, will round out his eighth year with the Nationals to- day, as it was on August 2, 1907, that he pitched his first game in the Amer ican League. Johnson was born in Humboldt, Kan, and did his first pro fessiona1 pitching for the Weiser, Ida no, club ten years ago. He played with the Idaho aggregation a couple of seasons, and in 1907 he was invit- ed to join the Washington<f forces; Ar ter a short time the big Kansant was acclaimed as a great find, and it was largely due to his efforts that Wash ington escaped from the American Leagu dungeon. Hailed in recent years as the king of pitchers, John son has lately seemed to be slipping and the fans have enthroned a new
 monarch in the person of Alexander the Great. Grover, like Waiter, is a product of the middle West, and, whereas Johnson put Humboldt, Kan, an the map, Alexander has made known to the world at large that there is such a place as St. Paul, Neb., by the simple expedient of being born in that village.
 Considering the fate of these pa trtarchs who, as boys, predicted the downfall of Christy Mathewson, it is not well to be too previous in suggest ing that Walter Johnson is on the down of his admirers will have to admit that the celebrated finger is not the men ehce wos. Johnson is now in his twenty-seventh year, and, if he pos sesses the tenacity of a Mathewson,
 he ought to stick around the main show for many years yet. While he
 has taken good care of himself. John son has not saved his wing as well as the canny Matty.
 1 The Johnson vesus| Alexander con 1 troversy is now raging virulently and
 many players insist that Alexander the Great is a better pitcher than
 Johnson ever was This belief is always depended largely on his tre- mendous speed. while the Nebraskan 1 has a curve that is about the most bafling that 6 batter has ever been
 called upon to solve. It Is admitted l that AIexander's fast one hasn't the Tremendous velocity attained, by the
 pellet propelled by Johnson's trusty arm, but it is quite good enough for 1 all practical purposes, while his l curve and his slow ball are hard to
 beat, and his control is better than fJohnson's. A pitcher who depends 1 largely on speed seldom lasts so long
 as one who has greater versatility in
 the art of inducing batsmen to hit
 lem where they ain t.
 l Johnson and Alexander, born in lneighboring States, both come from a section which has produced many
 baseball stars. Everybody knows ltrat Sam Crawford was born in Wa
 hoo, Neb Leslie Mann, outhelder
 with last years world champions, is l a native of Lincoln, Neb., and Fred
 Beebe, former National League pitch l er. hailed from the same cityA Ted l EasterIy. of the Kanfeds, formerly with Los Angeles and the Cleveland Americans, is also product of Bill Bryan's town, as is Leslie Nuna- macher. Joe Tinker was born al
 Muscoda, Kan, and Smoky Joe Wood, Noisy John'' K1ing and Geo StovaH all got their start in Kansa: City.
 i Of Johnson's many pitching feat.
 perhaps the greatest was pulled off 1T 1908. about a year after his ma5o1
 league debut when he shut out New York three days, pitching twenty-sev
 en innings without a run.