Walter Johnson made his major league debut 2 August 1907. This is how the baseball weekly, The Sporting News, reported the event. I've snipped out several paragraphs which detailed the last-place Nationals' woeful performances in other games.

How woeful were the Nats? They began the day in last place, with a record of 28 wins and 58 losses, for a .326 percentage, 25½ games behind the league-leading Chicago White Sox and 6 games behind the 7th place St. Louis Browns.

Walter Johnson's addition to the Nats' rotation had no effect, as Washington finished the 1907 season dead last, 43½ games behind the pennant-winning Tigers.

ONLY ONE VICTORY.

NATIONALS FELL DOWN IN TWO SERIES.

Anderson Deserts and Cantillon Adds Several Promising Young Players to His Team.

WASHINGTON, AUGUST 4. -- SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE:-- Seven games were played last week and only once did victory perch on the banner of Cantillon's tribe. By losing three out of four to Chicago, Washington enabled that team to retain first place while here and then by losing a double-header on Friday to Detroit, they let the Tigers jump over the Sox and take the lead. They tried to let the Tigers keep it yesterday, but the Highlanders like the Sox better than the Tigers, so they lost two while we were losing one and the Chicago team resumed its place at the head of the table...

CLEAN SWEEP FOR TIGERS.

Then came Detroit and Hughey Jennings with his "Ki-yah" and his Choctaw dialect. The first game on Friday was notable, because it marked the big league advent of Walter Johnson, the Idaho boy wonder. And it must be said that the youngster made a most favorable impression and gives evidence of becoming a star of the first water. He held the hard-hitting Tigers to six hits and two runs and would probably have won his game had he finished it, but he was taken out in the eighth to allow Blankenship to bat for him and Hughes finished the game, the winning run coming in on a series of mishaps...

Johnson is going to be a great pitcher some day. He lacks only experience...

J. D. ABRAMS

The Sporting News 8 Aug 1907 page 5