The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-14
Johnson Credits Success To Fine Physical Condition
Walter Once Shut Out Yankees For 27 Innings
 On Three Consecutive Days

called the Highlanders in those days were fighting hard at the time even though they were pretty low. on the league standing. It was also about the time that Hal Chase had left them flat and departed for regions unknown.
 Three In Row
 "When we arrived in New York, Joe Cantillon called me aside at the ball grounds and said to me: Walter, l may want you to pitch the next three games against New York; three of the boys are in pretty bad shape. You go ahead and pitch this first game today and then let me know how you feel told Joe I was willing to go in and do my best and that if he needed me to fill in for the other boys, would gladly do so.
 q had Jack Chesbro opposing me. That was one September and hot day it was. Chesbro's splitter wasn't working any too well so he was yanked in the fifth inning when Washington had three runs to the good. Right here let me state that there>are great many fans who are under the impression that Washington was always poor ball club. Many seem to think that we were never in the race. This is far from the truth, Many Washington team show ed flashes of championship form during the last eight years. In 1908 we had men like Unglaub on third, Mcbride at short, Delehanty on second and Free man on first. Unglaub and Mcbride were pretty sweet fielders and many time they pulled me out of bad hole. In that first game against New York these two players starred on the field. We beat New York that day 5 to O.. After the game Joe asked me how my arm felt, and I said it felt all right. Are you ready to pitch tomorrow, Wal fer. if we need you?" he asked. We want to win all the games we can but I don't want to work you to death un- less you can stand it." I told Joe l would go in again and do my best.
 Starts Second Game
 "A young pitcher can recover his strength much quicker than an older man. Being a kid and having lot of confidence went into that second game with as much confidence as in the first game, About this time I was learning how to conserve my strength. Blanken- ship and Cantillon taught me whole lot about pitching that has helped me in my career. In my first year l relied | wholly on my fast ball. never attempting to try a change of pace and seldom pitching curve balls. But with careful coaching I was now beginning to mix lem. First, I would throw fast balls and then I would try a slow one and so on, and I found out that l could pitch just as effectively by this method as by relying on only fast ball. Well, we beat New York in the second game, 6 to 0, and the next day being Sunday, the boys had a good rest. But the oth- CT pitchers were still suffering from sore arms and it seemed that the Sun- day lay-off did not help them in the least. Remember, there was no Sun day baseball in New York in those days
 Anyhow Cantillon thought l had earned a good rest and offered to let me off on Monday, too, if wanted to take the day off. I was going to take him up when word came to me at the hote Monday morning that the other fellows could not go in and do their turn in the box.
 Shuts 'Em Out
 q knew Joe hated to ask me to gt in the box again, so he directed Cliff Blankenship to tell me that he planned using me again in the third game. Be ing a youngster at an age when l wal not even eligible to vote for president felt quite proud when l was asked to pitch the third consecutive game fol the team. As I recall those three games I remember there were 27 innings il all without a single run being scored off my delivery and only 12 hits in all.
 "There was to be double-header or that Monday, too, and l was ready tt go into the last game, but Jack Ches bro hit me in the ribs when one O his spitters went wild: My side hur so much that I couldn't pitch a ball Hughes went in and helped win tn, fourth straight game from New 1orl by the score of 9 to 3.
 "This is the only time in my caree that I was ever called to pitch so man! games consecutively as during that SC ries, and I doubt very much if coul' do the same stunt again. Old Fathe Time won't stand for such tricks.
 "As I was saying, there are yer, many fans who believe that Washing ton has always had mighty poor tean but I wonder if the fans still remembe when we won IT straight games an almost broke a new record for consecu , tive games won in one season. m was in 1912.
 Win 17 Straight
 ''We had been playing in-and-out bal until we struck Boston on May 3O, Dec , oration Day. There was double-head l; CT that day. The first game wen , aganist us, 3 to ?, and the second gam . we won by the score of to O. was one of my lucky days: The break were in my favor, and l managed | strike out Is men in spite of the fac , that I was unusually wild. If some body had told us that we would wi the next IS games and climb to secon , position in the league race, we woui } have thrown that somebody into tn river. Little did the boys suspect tha we were in for a winning streak tha would make baseball history. From tha very day we started to win every ba
 game we played.
 I've won the next four games fror