"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."
-- Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers
"He’s got a gun concealed about his person. You can’t tell me he throws them balls with his arm."
-- Ring Lardner, sportswriter
"...arguably the greatest pitcher of all time."
-- Tim Kurkjian, sportswriter
"He had a slingshot delivery with nice, easy movement, which didn't seem to be putting any strain at all on his arm. But he could propel that ball like a bullet."
-- Fred Lindstrom, New York Giants
"You can't hit what you can't see."
-- Cliff Blakenship, Washington Senators
"His fastball looked about the size of a watermelon seed and it hissed at you as it passed."
-- Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers
"There’s only one way to time Johnson’s fastball. When you see the arm start forward-swing."
-- Birdie McCree
"I felt sorry for him when we shook hands because his hand trembled so. I knew what he was thinking. He was thinking he mustn't let down the fans all over the country who were rooting, even praying for him."
-- Art Nehf, New York Giants
"Those last four innings of the world series comprise beyond all question the most dramatic stretch that sport has ever known... In the space of two hours, Walter Johnson had come from a lone, dejected and broken figure in the shadows of the clubhouse to a personal triumph that no other athlete had ever drawn in all the history of sport."
-- Grantland Rice, sportswriter
QUOTES FROM JOHNSON:-- Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers
"He’s got a gun concealed about his person. You can’t tell me he throws them balls with his arm."
-- Ring Lardner, sportswriter
"...arguably the greatest pitcher of all time."
-- Tim Kurkjian, sportswriter
"He had a slingshot delivery with nice, easy movement, which didn't seem to be putting any strain at all on his arm. But he could propel that ball like a bullet."
-- Fred Lindstrom, New York Giants
"You can't hit what you can't see."
-- Cliff Blakenship, Washington Senators
"His fastball looked about the size of a watermelon seed and it hissed at you as it passed."
-- Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers
"There’s only one way to time Johnson’s fastball. When you see the arm start forward-swing."
-- Birdie McCree
"I felt sorry for him when we shook hands because his hand trembled so. I knew what he was thinking. He was thinking he mustn't let down the fans all over the country who were rooting, even praying for him."
-- Art Nehf, New York Giants
"Those last four innings of the world series comprise beyond all question the most dramatic stretch that sport has ever known... In the space of two hours, Walter Johnson had come from a lone, dejected and broken figure in the shadows of the clubhouse to a personal triumph that no other athlete had ever drawn in all the history of sport."
-- Grantland Rice, sportswriter
"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?"
"I throw as hard as I can when I think I have to throw as hard as I can."
"The beanball is one of the meanest things on earth and no decent fellow would use it. The beanball is a potential murderer. If I were a batter and thought the pitcher really tried to bean me, I'd be inclined to wait for him outside the park with a baseball bat."
"Can I throw harder than Joe Wood? Listen, Mister, no man alive can throw any harder than Smokey Joe Wood."
"I throw as hard as I can when I think I have to throw as hard as I can."
"The beanball is one of the meanest things on earth and no decent fellow would use it. The beanball is a potential murderer. If I were a batter and thought the pitcher really tried to bean me, I'd be inclined to wait for him outside the park with a baseball bat."
"Can I throw harder than Joe Wood? Listen, Mister, no man alive can throw any harder than Smokey Joe Wood."
