Norwich bulletin., 1917-04-18
JoHNsoN's GREATEST
 FEAT IN BASEBALL
In Game Against Athletics When He Famed Three Pinch Hitters on Ten Pitched Balls.

''' ~~'s~ NS6htot NtutcIiCS when lie
 Tanned Three Pinch Hitters on Ten | Pitched Balls.
 waiter Johnson is considered one of
 the best pitchers the game has had. ana that is saying a whole mouthful Inoeed, his record since emerging from
 onscurity justifies this conception of | ms class and worth. Like a few other
 pitchers who rank high in the annals or the game. he is laboring under the l urawoack of being always connected | with team which is never expected
 ana ana never has won a championship. l HIS great pro-type is George Barclay | tWinnfe) Mercer. than whom no bet | ter all around player ever got into a uniform. for he was not only a great pitcher, neider and base runner. He, | too, was member of the Washington | team. but that was before Johnson l dreamed Of gaining fame on the dia- mond and marrying a congressman 1 daughter.
 | orlg1nal, that his team in two seasons (1S12 and 191S) finished in second l place, whereas; during Winnie's ca reer Of six years with them, the Wash | ingtonS could get no higher than sixes | place Gin 1S97). and then had to be
 satisfied with a tie. the Brooklyns fin- | 'shing with the same percentage of | games won and lost In 1901 Winnie | L.
 CT a seasons sojourn with the Giants
 and the Senators again finished In | sixth place.
 | In 1910: Johnson's fourth season with | opening game (April 14), his oppon- ents being the Philadelphias, who were destined that year to win the cham
 pionship of the American league and
 or the world. He gave them but one
 hit and shut them opt by a score of 8 to 0. This feat, of course. brought him and his team more prominently
 before the publis; but after that first l grand victory he seemed to be DOW | el-less against the coming champions 1 He afterwards faced them three times 1 and each time was beaten by narrow
 scores, 4-3. S-2. and 7-5.
 1 In the last of these three games on | July S1 at Philadelphia he met Chief l Bender for the first time that season l Not a run did the Chief allow the Sen
 ators for eight innings. Therefore, l when the WaShingtonS began the ninth the score was to against them. 1 Then the savage offspring got his bumps Before the ninth inning he l had allowed the Washingtons but four
 hits, hut in that inning four hits in | succession, three singles and triple. sent three Senators oyer the plate | In spite of his vaunted steadiness poor
 To lost his nerve and gave the next l two batters bases on balls. This fill- ed the corners with nobody out and | three runs in.
 At this point Eddie Plank was called upon and the Indian sadly sought the seclusion of the bench. Plank prompt ly struck out Bob Unglaub, who batted
 in place of Johnson. Then forced in
 a run by giving the next batter base on balls. An out followed. which brought the Washingtons fifth run. Then Frank Reisiing was sent to bat
 instead of Jack LeliveIt and strucck
 otu. ending the game 7-5 in favor of l the Athletics. It will be noticed that l fha nnIV fVVn rinQh hiffarS noda ,,h
 and Reislfng. struck out.
 l The next time Johnson met the
 Athletics, his fifth time. he was again l opposed by Chief Bender This was on September 8. 191O and the game
 proved the most remarkable of any be- | tween the two teams. The Athletics
 were then in first place and the Sen
 the washingtons had nearly been shut l out by the Athletics in both games
 of a double headed. the scores being 5-1 and 2-1. The game of September
 3 was the last the two teams played
 at Washington that year. They were
 scheduled to play a double header later on. October 8. but these games
 were prevented by rain.
 After three successive defeats by | the Athletics, it may be assured that
 Johnson was in no humor for trifing. and his team was as much in earnest
 as himself However. in the very first inning the Athletics scored a run. I Frisco Lord. the first batter. who. in l July, had been secured by Phf1adeI- , phia from Cleveland in Trade for
 out put him on third base and a wild I throw by Wade Kilifer, the second
 baseman enabled him to cross the | plate. It was the only run scored by
 error was in keeping wit hthe tra- l ditions of the Washington team.
 The Washingtons at onse tied the
 score in the second half ofo4 OOOI I s-. %I,~fy- I,41f ~ G,-.% and in the second took the lead by l scoring once again. These runs were charged against Bender, who after the
 third timing, at his own request. made | room for Harry Krause. The last | named did very well until the seventh 1 when the Washingtons added another
 run, making the score to in their favor.
 The Athletics were desperate when 1 they began the eighth inning. Their determination to capture the game and | thus make themselves more secure in
 in first place led Manager Mack to l rush pinch hitters to the front. by so doing he gave Johnson the opportuni- | ty of making a record that will be scarcely equaled an dhardly ever sur- passed, unless the catcher drops the
 ball after a third striks. Mack sent | Topsy Hartze1l to bat for Jack Bar | ry, Jack Lapp for Stuffy McInnis and l Ben Houser for Ira Thomas. Johnson struck out all three of them on 10 The fans of Washington are not | made of stone, and they include per- | sons in all ranks from the President of the United States down to the boot | black in the streets. There were real l old fashioned bootblacks in those days, | who carried their weirdly decorated boxes at all hours of the day and night Well, when Johnson struck out | HartseIl a faint cheer broks out among | the high and low fans. Although the | score was : to in their favor, they
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