Celebrating a Humboldt legend

A billboard noting Humboldt baseball icon Walter Johnson was dedicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday. Johnson, who carried the local nickname "The Humboldt Thunderbolt" before earning his more famous moniker "Big Train," was one of the inaugural inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

November 16, 2023 - 4:38 PM

Allie Utley, center, holds aloft a ceremonial set of shears after cutting the ribbon Thursday in front of a new billboard celebrating Humboldt baseball legend Walter Johnson. Taking part are from left, Jim Frederick and Walter Wulf Jr. of Monarch Cement, Allen Community College baseball player Parker Martin, Allie, Amy and Curtis Utley, Tamisha Sewell of Thrive Allen County and Kansas Department of Tourism Director Bridgette Jobe. Photo by Richard Luken / Iola Register

A large, festive crowd gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for a new billboard dedicated to the memory of Humboldt native Water Johnson, baseball’s “Big Train.” (Little known fact: Long before Johnson earned his iconic nickname, he was known to locals as the Humboldt Thunderbolt.)

Click here to see the ceremony.

Alley Utley, granddaughter of the late Dick Davis, a baseball historian extraordinaire, spearheaded the efforts to upgrade the billboard, replacing one her grandfather had erected along U.S. 169 south of Humboldt more than 20 years ago.

Representatives from various partners, including Monarch Cement Co., Utley’s Iola auto Body, General Repair, Sherwin Williams, Thrive Allen County, SignCo, Kinfolk Creative and painter Greg Kreisler in Brooklyn, N.Y., were recognized.

Also on hand were members of the Allen Community College baseball team, alongside head coach Clint Stoy.

A full write-up of the ceremony will be in the weekend Register.

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