The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-11-16
SENATOR'S ACE HAILED
 AS GAMES GREATEST
Washington Star Holds Strikeout And Shutout
 Record For All Time On Mound

with 109 shutoutS. since he became a member of the Washington club in 1907. With Smokey" Joe Wood of the Bos- ton Red Sox he shares the honor of having won more straight victories than any pitcher in the American league. Sixteen was the total and these were won in 1912, the same year that Wood hung up similar record.
 Fans Four Men, One Frame.
 On April 15, 1911 the Washington ace famed four men in one inning, his catcher missing a third strike, in game with the Boston Red Sox. This feat has yet to be surpassed in the American league. A year later Sir Walter put another record on the base ball books when he pitched 56 consecu- tive runless innings between April 7 and May 14. In 1908 he earned right fully the title given to Iron Man Me Ginnity when he pitched three straight games on September 1, , and G.
 T could not do that now Walter said as he recalled this feat. As l grow older it becomes harder for me to pitch as often as I would like. l used to be able to pitch every three days; now I need about four days for recuperation before I can go into an- other game"
 Is it any wonder that this great big giant, modest to the very core, has been hailed as the premier pitcher of all time? But the strangest part of his remarkable career is the way in which he blazed his trail to the top. That is his story, however, and we shall let him tell it:
 Born In Humbolt.
 q was born in Humboldt, Kan, No vember 6, 1987," he said to me at his home in Washington where l had gone to gather the material for the F ar ticles relating to his twenty years on the mound. If you will look at the map of the United States you will learn that Humboldt is in a rich farm sec tion in one of the best heat-growing states of the union. We have lots of oil in that country, too. Humboldt Is in the southeastern part of the state not far from Emporia, the home of William Allen White, the editor, and not far from Topeka and Kansas City. I well remember the thrills 1 used to get when my father used to allow me to go with him to the big towns to buy things for the farm and to see the sights.
 Like the average farmers boy l liked to get away from the farm occa- sionally but l was very much inter- ested at home nevertheless and l found a lot of happiness there. 1 was much more interested in fooling about the place than 1 was in the ordinary sports that the average American boy ln- dulges in at an early age. l much pre- ferred to run around chasing hogs and chickens and trying to ride some of my fathers colts that did not seem to take a liking to being broken in at such a tender age. was never much of hand at going around with the gang either. But don't get the idea that I did not take part in most ot the kid sports such as are experienced by any country boy. l did, and l owe much of my present physique and strength to the wholesome outdoor life I led in the Kansas plains many years ago. Besides, doing chores on the farm is hard work and l had to do my share before and after school"
 Started At Fourteen.
 "You will be surprised when I tell you that up to the time l was 14 years of age I never had baseball in my hand" Walter Johnson continued with his story. Yet if I had wanted to l could have gone out in the wide open spaces of Humboldt to join the kids. The idea never occurred to me, how ever, that 1 would ever be interested in the game. If someone had told me that some day 1 was to become pro- fessional, 1 would have laughed at him. It is strange, too, that l really have achieved the success my admirers have given me credit for, because l have always felt that ball players are born and not made.
 Of course there are few exceptions to this rule. Perhaps this principle does not apply so much ill respect to pitchers. A pitcher has a peculiar po- sition on the diamond. He is there to pitch. He has got to remember that there are eight other men on the club who are drawing salaries to do the work assigned to them. These men are supposed to be all-around ball play CTS who can field, hit and run. They must do all these three things well be- fore they can hope to achieve success in major league baseball. On the other hand the pitcher is paid mostly for the way he handles himself in the box As long as he can pitch winning ball, the manager is going to overlook his weaknesses as a fielder or a bat ter. I must confess that l have never done anything in these two latter lines to merit any especial praise. Net In all my twenty years experience in base ball as l have seen great ball players come and go-men like Lajoie, Wagner, Chance, Chase, Keeler, Evers and so on down the line-I can come to only one conclusion, and that is that only natu- ral ball players could have achieved the brilliant things these men accom- plished on the diamond, and to be natural ball player you have got to learn to know baseball almost from the cradle.
 Most Players Learn Early.
 "I know that most of the players have come in touch with played the game from early childhood and, thus learning the fundamentals at an early age it is second nature for them to run around the diamond with com plete confidence in themselves. They seem to have the instinct to do the tho riU1t timn which IS