The 1925 World Series got under way on a beautiful fall day, October 7, in Pittsburgh in front of nearly 42,000 fans in expansive Forbes Field. Walter Johnson had his fastball humming, something catcher Ruel attested to even before the game started. The curveball would be deadly accurate on this day as well, although by the late innings Walter would be relying almost exclusively on the fastball.
Barney did let one get away from him early and hit the second Pirate batter of the game, Max Carey, in the ribs with a hard one. Walter would bean Carey again in the ninth inning, prompting the Pittsburgh star to tell his teammate and former American League star Stuffy McInnis that Johnson, who was thought of as a control pitcher, probably didn't like him very much. Carey's presence on first base in the first inning was of no consequence. Ruel cut down the 35-year-old speed merchant -- who'd just won the N.L. base-stealing championship for the tenth time in 13 years -- as he tried to swipe second. Johnson then fanned Kiki Cuyler, a .357 hitter in this, his sophomore season.
In the top of the second, Moon Harris connected on a curveball off the bespectacled Lee Meadows, driving the ball over the low fence in right center. Johnson would not surrender the lead on this afternoon. In the fifth, the Nats padded their margin when Harris, Bluege, and Peckinpaugh singled in succession to open up the frame. After Ruel and Johnson both struck out, Sam Rice, who hit what would remain a career-high .350 during the regular season, came through with a two-run single.
Johnson allowed just five hits and a walk, surrendering a lead-off homer to Pie Traynor in the bottom of the fifth which quickly cut the lead to 3-1. the score stayed that way until the ninth, when Bluege singled in Goslin off reliever Johnny Morrison, who'd been summoned to pitch the ninth. Game 1, final score 4-1, was won thanks to a performance that had been vintage Walter Johnson. His ten strikeouts and potential for two more starts had the Nats in good shape right off the bat in Pittsburgh. Walter was ecstatic, knowing that for the first time in a World Series game, he had performed up to what he knew were his capabilities. Barney called this the game of his life, and said he could not find words to express the elation he felt.
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