Separating Men and the Myths

Recollections from another time. How would they play?

“George Coleman? Why I remember George Coleman. He led Santa Ana to the Southern California championship in Nineteen-aught-five.”

Gee, wasn’t that the same year future Hall of Famer Walter Johnson--then a Fullerton High whippersnapper--struck out 27 batters in a game?

“Oh yeah, that’s right. But you should have seen Coleman pitch.”

Ah, fact and legend. Coleman was the former. Johnson became the other.

With that in mind: Most of what follows is true. . . .

It was a crisp, spring day. Abner Doubleday threw out the first pitch. The nation watched as the pride of Fullerton and Santa Ana highs set to do battle. Johnson hurled the horsehide past every unsuspecting batsmen. Grantland Rice turned to a fellow sportswriter and said, “That boy’s delivery is like a Big Train comin’ at ya.” He then typed, “Outlined against a blue-gray April sky.” He paused and thought better of it. “Naw, that one works better for the fall,” Rice chuckled. Scouts scrambled to reach the Western Union office.

All right, none of that’s true.

The facts:

--Johnson pitched for Fullerton High School in 1905.

--He struck out 27 batters in a 15-inning high school game.

--Coleman stuck out 17 in the same game.

A couple more facts:

--Johnson was an 18-year-old freshman at Fullerton in 1905, then left school. The term “dropout” comes to mind.

--The 27 strikeouts is listed as a Southern Section record. A neat accomplishment, considering the Southern Section would not be formed for another nine years.

--Grantland Rice never gave Coleman a nickname. He didn’t even rate a horseman.

But who wants facts when you can have a legend.

And, as with all legends, it has humble beginnings. Johnson’s family moved from Kansas in 1901. He was a kid right out of the Olinda oil fields, a company town set up by the Santa Fe Oil Co. Young men did two things in Olinda: work for the Santa Fe Oil Co. and play baseball.

It has never mentioned where Coleman came from.

Naturally, Johnson played baseball for the Olinda team. An Olinda outfielder said years later: “All I ever got out there in center was a good tan from standing around waiting for someone to get a hit off Walter.”

No one waxed poetic about Coleman in years to come.

Johnson made the Fullerton team in 1905, but it wasn’t until the school principal intervened with the team captain that Johnson got to pitch.

Coleman was Santa Ana’s ace from Day 1.

On April 15, 1905, Fullerton and Santa Ana played one in a series of games to determine the Orange County championship. Johnson overwhelmed hitters. He also allowed seven hits. Coleman struck out 17 and gave up three hits. No runs were scored off either pitcher.

Why the game was stopped was debated. Some said it got dark. Some said the players were worn out. Some said the fans were worn out. Take your pick.

The Fullerton Tribune ran merely a paragraph the following week, noting, “A fast game of amateur baseball was witnessed at Santa Ana.”

Ah, it was time for the moment to fade into legend.

Fact is, Coleman led Santa Ana to the Southern California championship that year. He threw a one-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Los Angeles High School in the title game. Today, that would have made him player of the year. Then, it made him a footnote to a legend.

So, yes, Walter Johnson struck out 27 batters in 15 innings on April 15, 1905. That’s a fact. You can look it up.