Walter Johnson: A Life

With 417 victories--100 of them shutouts--Johnson ranks second to Cy Young as baseball's most winning pitcher. What makes that total remarkable is that the Big Train played his entire 21-year career with the Washington Senators, a weak-hitting team usually mired in the second division of the American League, although he led them to pennants in 1924 and '25. A farmer's son who grew up in Kansas and California, he was shy, modest and sweet-tempered, never blaming his teammates and unwilling to throw at batters, which was standard practice in his time. He neither smoked nor drank, not from moral conviction but because he didn't like the taste. He was happily married to a congressman's daughter and had a large family, to which he was devoted. Like many talented players, he attempted to work as a team manager after his playing days were over and did badly at it. Johnson died in 1946 at age 59. This scrupulously researched, detailed biography by freelancer Kavanagh does him credit. Photos. (Apr.)