The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-12-11
JOhnsOn's Long Fight for Life
 Typical of His Pitching Career
R HARRY CRIMSON NRA SpMee Eamsr


 New vea&. Deo, n ~- SNEN = waaer eegsy SoanSonS eoag ana rSllanR llxAt eor Aas Gle typSaes The Rle TsN1nS entlre csreer,
 Barney pStcnea Ss unparalleled seasons = fwice eor an eighth and Eve ssmeS for Q seventA~plsce oloe -neRare cENck1ng the World Series, but never a ermiAble,
 ResAaps tAe biggest eisappoint~ ment la SohnSoaS Gfe was ms tait~ uyN as a mAnAeer. which colminat~ eA in a alSrracefua pexfozIaance- his practically beng oooe6 out ot ola leaeue Park sn Cleveland tn AaEuss asSs. Barney was too eaSg cosng so run the works.
 Rut the hardest blow to Johnson uas the death of his lovely wife. nausl. mother of his five children, with his SluStrsous pitching years nehana him and ct Q time when he needed her most,
 casrk crfnth reveals how catcher CqsR BaanRensA1pS little finger turned out to be the biggest break the Washington club eyer got
 m 1907, someone ln weiser, Ida waS writing manager Joe Cantil- lon Of the Senators about a gang Hnr raght-hanaer who could throw she ban faster than a bullet, but khe oane had nc scouts, Blanken> ships broken. little finger healed wAila he t-Aveaee to the far west to bring back Q as~vear-olo kid aes- tined so eStaoliSh himself generally as the greatest pitcher who ever lived.
 m aeoR a 20-year-old . Johnson sa,uf ont she E1hlanders at. the old Hfntop grounds in New York on Friday with six hits. on Saturday win four and on Monday with two. Had there been Sunday ball m AEanhatsan then, he would have 6aanked them on that afternoon. too.
 The native of Humboldt. Kans. SDent his entire a masor-league campaigns with the one club, an amazing tribute an itself.
 Johnson had . pennulun arm which urupened the bah like Q s,inrshot. mace pitching effOrtless, control amazing for one with his gwaftnesS HIS sweeping delivery was a little 2oweS than that of a sidearm pitcher.
 Had there been Q mean streak sn Johnson. hafeerS would not have dared to leave the 6ugOut, but they knew the ban would be over the nasse CT thereAbouts Kind-hearNeo and eood-natured Barney refused 10 dux them od, didn't have to.
 Had Johnson been ambitious to establish records. he would have set more than he did, and more than A dozen of his marks still stand. He struck out 3ss7 without especially trying for strikeouts. do- inr nothing more than what came naturally. Bob Feller is not yet hall way there.
 Johnson had an earne6-run aver age of lla 3n lsIs. finished with llss or less on eight occasions.
 Johnson admitted he was a Thrower until he hurt his arm in 1920. following which. he ''learnee to pitch" but his advice to young pitchers was ao pour the bal through there while they had it 10 the end of his pitching days however. Johnson was only eXperl- mentinE when he resoENed to any thing but the hard one.
 In the days of trick deliveries Johns0n's pitching was an open book. The Big Train did not makt the slightest attempt to conceal anything. The batter saw the bal from the time Barney got it until it left his hand. but that usually was the last he saw of it.
 Johnson had to pitch overland to throw a curve. and conseqnent- ly everybody knew when it wal coming. The Big Train liked tC experiment when he could afford to, which was frequently the case Fellows like Eddie Collins would say: -Tu get two fast ones and