Damn Senators: My Grandfather and the Story of Washington's Only World Series Championship

by Mark Gauvreau Judge

In Damn Senators, Mark Judge has written a book that is at once a touching memoir of his grandfather, star first baseman for the old Washington Senators; a history of baseball in its golden age; and an exciting account of the Washington Senators' 1924 World Series victory.

For years, the Senators were the doormat of the American league, a disappointment to the presidents and ordinary people who flocked to Griffith Stadium. But in 1924 everything came together. Team owner Clark Griffith made shrewd off-season deals for journeyman players who would have their best years. Aging Walter ("Big Train") Johnson, arguably the greatest pitcher of all time, had one final triumphant season. "Goose" Goslin, another future Hall of Famer, was one of the most feared hitters in baseball.

The anchor of the team was the author's grandfather, Joe Judge, the best fielding first baseman in the league and a lifetime .300 hitter who would eventually be inducted into RFK Stadium's Hall of Stars. Judge was also befriended by writer Douglas Wallop later in life and became the prototype for Joe Hardy, the lead character in Wallop's Damn Yankees.

Damn Senators is filled with unforgettable portraits of baseball legends like the wily Griffith, fireballing Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth, Al Schacht ("The Clown Prince of Baseball"), and John McGraw. With a new baseball franchise rumored to be on its way back to the nation's capitol, Damn Senators may take us back to the future.

Mark Gauvreau Judge's work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Weekly Standard and other publications. He is the author of If It Ain't Got that Swing: The Rebirth of Grown-Up Culture.