Evening star., 1932-12-02
WALTER JOHNSON
H0N0RED BY FANS
Nearly 1000 Attend Dinner
Given for City's Greatest
Sports Idol.
The Capital paid homage to its great

The Capital paid homage to its great
est sports idol last night.
At a testimonial dinner, attended by
nearly a thousand sports fans, Walter
Johnson was lauded as pitcher. a
sportsman and a gentleman while the
assembled guests cheered the speakers
whose praise of the Big Train" was in
terspersed with other entertainment
features of the evening.
Radio and base ball stars, as well as
headliners In virtually every other
phase of modern life, participated IN
the tribute to the man whose score OF
wears in base ball established him as
one Of the games greatest characters.
Scroll Presented Barney"
Arranged by a group Of washington
base ball fans, the dinner at the
Shoreham had as its highnght the pres
entation of a scroll to Barney, as
johnson was known to base Dali 1ans OF
decades. The scroll read:
"a quarter of a century has passed
into history since you came to us from
the land where the ghosts OF bufIaloes
still dream Had you been an ordinary
man of your profession, you would have
heard our applause in your hours OF
triumph and have witnessed our merc1-
less thumbs down in defeat-and
passed into oblivion. But there was,
and there is, nothing ordinary ABOUT
you.
"For more than Is years you haye
lived in the glare Of pitiless publicity.
And lived stainlessly.
Loyalty, fidelity, straightforward
ness, calm judgment, alertness, paul
ence These have ever been your cnar-
acteristics. -
I'm victory, modest and generous,
"In defeat, undaunted, undlsmayed.
1--WE have seen you when the tn
umphant shouts Of multitudes swelleo
into roar and, it seemed, the very
skies with acclamation rang. And we
have been with you in the hour OF
sorrow and shared your grief.
"You have been an example and an
inspiration to American boyhood.
Greater praise can be sounded Of no
man.
And so at the end Of a quarter Of
"The citizens of the Nations Capital
salute you
Hopes to Stay in Game.
Dignitaries and national figures who
could not attend the dinner sent mes
sages, and johnson, often clearing his
throat, made a speech OF acceptance
that not only showed his deep appre-
citation. but displayed his inability to
cover the feelings of regret that ne IS
no longer a part of the base ball club
that has represented Washington for
nearly quarter of a century.
johnson spoke highly of his successor
,x, al NJ
Cronin-and wished the youthful pilot
success, adding he did not know where
he was going from here, but hopes to
stay in base ball-and in the American
League, If possible.
Among those from whom messages
were read were President Hoover, for
mer President Coolidge, who saw john
son pitch the Washington team to q
world championship in 1924; Senator
James E. Watson of Indiana, Gene
Tunney, Grantland Rice, Cronin and
Will Rogers, who said the country's two
greatest pitchers were johnson and
George Washington, who whipped q
dollar across the Potomac"
And both wore knee breeches,"
Rogers concluded.
When the Big Train" spoke. he re-
marked that heretofore when Washing
tonians honored him it had been be-
cause of some real achievement, but this
time "I've lost my job and you're all
here celebrating it,"
Special March Played.
The program was concluded by spe-
cially arranged movies, including news
reels of Johnsons great pitching
chievements-notably the twelfth-in-
ming victory over the New York Giants
in the world series of 1924-and dane
ing. This part Of the program was
opened by a specially composed Walter
johnson March," to the tune, Lets
Go Out to the Ball Came" interspersed
with the calling" of strikes in memory
of the pitching arm that sent regulars
and pinch-hitters back 20 the bench
as If they were but "bushers."
Among the artists who took part In
the program. arranged by Radio Joe"
Kaufman, were George O'Connor,
Matt Horne, Jeannette Bittner, Gene
Kressin, Katherine Latimer. Maxine
Kindleberger, Jack Bowie, George II.
Wilson. Dorothy Davenport. Elizabeth