Walter Johnson: A Life

by Jack Kavanagh

A winner of the 1994 MacMillan/SABR Award, Walter Johnson: A Life by Jacke Kavanagh preserves the legacy of baseball's most extraordinary pitcher in this fascinating and timeless biography.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Biography

320 pages, Hardcover

First published March 25, 1995

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biography of one of the greatest pitchers of all time, who was able to adjust his style to adapt to the end of the dead ball ear.

Very informative.

[Patrick Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I found the book to be very dry. While the subject matter itself, the great Walter Johnson is of interest to me I felt that the book was written in a way that left me feeling it was just a listing of facts.

Sure, the author wrote of his wife and life but in a manner that seemed dry to me. I am a reader of histories so for me to say a book was dry to me is quite a statement. There must be better books out there on Mr. Johnson

[Tony Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Kavanagh obviously revered Walter Johnson. He carefully details the pitcher's life and accomplishments. Each season is a separate chapter. The best parts were, naturally, the Walter's greatest feats pitching - no-hitters, striking out Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, etc. And of course, the famous 1924 World Series. I would have liked more details on these great feats. Some chapters were slow, just statistics and games, but overall, I enjoyed getting to know one of the greatest pitchers who ever played the game - if not the greatest. Walter Johnson certainly was a supreme athlete and a person of integrity.

[Daniel DeLappe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very good book. The statistics given had no depth and there was not enough written on the man himself.