Evening star., 1927-08-01
He Saw Walter Johnson
Pitch His First Game
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
The writer belongs to the II was
there" club. How well he remembers
it. for 1t was on that very day that
my first grandmother died. Many
of my other grandmothers have died
since, but the death of the first one
was a sad one indeed, for 1t was on
that very day that Walter Johnson
made his big league debut and suffered
his first defeat. l remember that day
rs If 1t was yesterday. / was Office
boy and general nuisance to one of the
best sports that ever walked Gods
earth, my old friend William Barnum,
who was then editor of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington.
The morning of the game I was
very early, the boss desk had been
| cleaned as it never had before, new
ink and new pen points stood out, as
well as fresh blotters; every scrap of
paper had been thrown away beyond
recall. l even remember a bright new
necktie 1 bought that morning which
| would rival the rainbow. II the boss
sensed anything he did not give him.
self away. How we'll 1 remember the
beating of my heart in the expectation
of telling him the sad news of my de-
parted relative. l sometimes believe
paper, because he looked me straight
in the eye and told me that I could
attend the funeral. However, as a
| parting shot, he suggested that the
next time l attend a funeral it would
| be more becoming to wear a black tie.
| And then l knew that he knew and
| he knew that | knew that he knew.
You know what / mean.
However. the next morning the first
thing l was asked, What do you
think of him." Then / told the story
of giant from out of the great West;
he had arms 10 feet long; hands as
large as platters, etc. 1 told him
about large colored gentleman that
sat in front of me at the funeral"
He was having a great time and af-
ter a while he laid back, shut his
eyes and spoke his piece as follows:
Boys, I'm shutting nah eyes cause
| kin see this here game in the dark
Now, cherry time you hear dat bat
hit dat ball you know Washington's 8
at de bat. but when you hear dat ole
umpire yell "Three strikes, yer out.
den you know dis here new baby doll
Johnson's in de box" And after 20
years 1 can still see that big black boy
sitting near me with a mouth like
watermelon. enjoying life if ever one
did. sitting back with his closed eyes
and smiling a smile a mile long when
ever he heard Three strikes, yer out"
1 suppose my colored friend, If he Is
living today, has shut his eyes many,
many times and-smiled out loud!
The thought has often come to me
that Walter Johnson has done more
not only for base ball but for all the
sports Of our country than any ath-
lete that America has ever produced.
To those of us who have lived in his
day and watched his progress it has
been a blessing. / believe, too, that
his name will go down in the pages
of history as an example of what
real American stands for. that our
children and our children's children
will know full we'll that he was as
Asreat hero and idol as was any idol
of war-an idol of clean living, gen.
tlemanly sportsmanship and true
AmericaniSm!
This week, when all Washingto-
mans will honor their Big Boy, I am
sure that throughout the whole land
and across the seas, wherever the
American flag Is unfurled, the best
wishes and prayers of all true sports.
men will be here in spirit! And no
doubt the great majority will sit back
with eyes shut and smile as they hear
Three strikes. yer outv'
IRVING M, GREY.