T205 Walter Johnson Tobacco Reprint Baseball Card with Gold Borders

T205 Walter Johnson Tobacco Reprint Baseball Card

The Washington Senators were only in existence for seven years when Walter Johnson started. His first pitching assignment was against the Detroit Tigers. Even though the Senators suffered a loss, fellow baseball player Ty Cobb immediately recognized the young pitcher’s unbelievable ability. “The first time I faced him, I watched him take that easy windup – and then something went past me that made me flinch. I hardly saw the pitch, but I heard it.Every one of us knew we’d met the most powerful arm ever turned loose in a ballpark,” Cobb said.

Despite Walter Johnson’s best efforts, he could not lift the ailing team, experiencing consecutive losses five years straight. However, in 1912, Washington sprang into second place asJohnson miraculously had a career season with 32 wins, 303 strikeouts and a 1.39 ERA. Even though the Senators struggled the rest of the decade due to a dearth of quality players being recruited, Johnson held his own. He garnered All-Star recognition in 1909, 1915 and 1918. He became the first pitcher in baseball to earn the prestigious Chalmers Award in 1913 and became the American League’s MVP that same year. In addition, Walter Johnson was successful at winning the Triple Crown as a pitcher in 1913, 1918 and 1924. During the 1916 season he also pitched a record 369.2 innings without giving up a single home run…a record that still stands proudly today.

By the 1920s, Walter Johnson knew he was on his career’s downside. Personal tragedy struck twice when, in July 1921, his father died of a stroke. Later that year, his oldest daughter died of influenza. Stricken with grief and now the oldest pitcher in baseball, Johnson considered retirement.

In honor of his contributions to the game of baseball, Johnson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. It is only fitting that the greatest right-handed pitcher in historyshould be among the elite first group selected for enshrinement.

T205 Walter Johnson Reprint Baseball Card is available at a fraction of the original.

T205 Walter Johnson Reprint Card

"I was the greenest rookie that ever was. One evening I was standing out on the sidewalk when a stranger approached and said, 'You're famous already, kid. See, they've named a hotel for you.' I looked across the street and, sure enough, there was a big illuminated sign that read, 'Johnson Hotel.' Well, do you know that I was so green that I actually believed the man?"--Walter Johnson