| Harry Walker | |
|---|---|
_-_Pittsburgh_Pirates_-_1966.jpg) Walker in 1966 | |
| Center fielder /Manager | |
| Born:(1918-10-22)October 22, 1918 Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S. | |
| Died: August 8, 1999(1999-08-08) (aged 80) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 25, 1940, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 19, 1955, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .296 |
| Home runs | 10 |
| Runs batted in | 214 |
| Managerial record | 630–604 |
| Winning % | .511 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Harry William Walker (October 22, 1918 – August 8, 1999) was an American professionalbaseball player,coach andmanager. Known by the nickname "Harry the Hat", he played as acenter fielder inMajor League Baseball between 1940 and 1955, most notably as a member of theSt. Louis Cardinals with whom he won two world championships and was the 1947National League batting champion.
A two-time All-Star player, Walker also played for thePhiladelphia Phillies,Chicago Cubs and theCincinnati Reds. After his playing career, he served as manager for three major league teams between 1955 and 1972.
Walker served in the65th Infantry Division in 1944 and 1945, earning aBronze Star for valor and thePurple Heart.[1]
Born inPascagoula, Mississippi, Walker was a member of a baseball family. He was the son of formerWashington SenatorspitcherEwart "Dixie" Walker and the brother ofFred "Dixie" Walker, also anoutfielder andNational Leaguebatting champion. He was also the nephew of fellow major league outfielderErnie Walker.[2] Walker batted left-handed and threw right-handed; he stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).[3]
"Harry the Hat" got his nickname from his habit during at-bats of continually adjusting his cap between pitches[2]—there were no batting helmets in his day. His batting title came in 1947, when hehit .363 in a season during which he was traded from his original team, theSt. Louis Cardinals, to thePhiladelphia Phillies.[3][2] The previous year he played for the Cardinals’1946 World Series championship team. In the decisive seventh game against theBoston Red Sox, withEnos Slaughter on first base, Walker doubled to left center and Slaughter scored from first base in a "mad dash" with the winning run.[4][5][2] Walker knocked in six runs during that Series, and batted .412.[3]
Walker lacked his brother Dixie's power—he hit only 10home runs in 807games played over all or parts of 11 seasons in the National League—but he compiled a .296 lifetime batting average and 786hits with the Cardinals, Phillies,Chicago Cubs andCincinnati Reds.[3] Harry and Dixie Walker are the only brothers in MLB history to win batting titles, Dixie having captured the National League batting title with a .357 average in1944 while playing for theBrooklyn Dodgers.[6][2]
After prepping as a skipper in the Cardinals’ minor league system beginning in 1951, Walker was called up fromRochester in theTriple-AInternational League on May 28, 1955, to replaceEddie Stanky as Cardinals’ manager.[7] Walker, then 36, was still a playing manager; he hit .357 (5-for-14) in 11 games—10 of which were as apinch hitter—during July and August.[8] However, the change backfired: the Cardinals fell two places in the standings under Walker, losing 67 of 118 games for a .432winning percentage.[3] Walker was replaced byFred Hutchinson at the end of the 1955 season, and it would be another decade before he would again manage in the majors.
During that exile, he returned to the Cardinal farm system to manage (1956–58; 1963–64), and served four years (1959–62) as a St. Louis coach. After piloting theJacksonville Suns to the 1964 International League pennant, Walker was hired[9] by thePittsburgh Pirates as manager, replacingDanny Murtaugh, who stepped down for health reasons. The Pirates battled for the pennant until the closing days of the1965 and1966 seasons—each year finishing third behind the championLos Angeles Dodgers and the runner-upSan Francisco Giants. But when the1967 Pirates—further strengthened by an off-season trade for standoutshortstopMaury Wills—stumbled to a disappointing .500 mark in mid-season, Walker was let go on July 18 in favor of his predecessor, Murtaugh.[10] Less than a week later, Walker was hired to be the organizational batting coach for theHouston Astros.[11]
Eleven months later, on June 18,1968, the Astros replaced skipperGrady Hatton[12] with "Harry the Hat". The last-place1968 Astros were only 23–38 under Hatton, but, featuring players likeJoe Morgan,Jimmy Wynn, andDon Wilson, their record under Walker improved to 49–52. In1969, they contended for theNational League West Division title before fading to finish 12 games behind theAtlanta Braves. After back-to-back 79–83 marks in1970 and1971, Walker was sacked August 26,1972, in favor ofLeo Durocher; with the Astros at 67–54 and in third place at the time of the firing, it was Walker's best season in Houston. Over his managing career, he won 630 games, losing 604 (.511). After his firing, Walker returned to the Cardinals as a hitting instructor.[13]
Walker served as the head coach for theUAB Blazers baseball team at theUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham from 1979 to 1986, as the program's first coach.[14] In eight seasons, he compiled a record of 211–171, a .552 winning percentage.[14] In 1980, the Blazers finished first in theSun Belt Conference's North Division in the program's second season, and repeated as division champions in 1981 and 1982.[14]
Walker was profiled inJim Bouton's memoir of the 1969 season,Ball Four. Bouton mentioned that other players warned him about Walker as a guy who was going to scream at him and that he could adjust to him just like they had. Upon meeting him, Bouton felt that he would get along with Walker, and he credited him as the reason the team was doing as well as it was, one who managed to "keep everybody agitated and playing better baseball."[15]
Walker's uniform number 32 has beenretired by the UAB baseball program, and he was inducted to theAlabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.[14]
Walker died inBirmingham, Alabama, in 1999 at the age of 80.[16] His interment was at Cedar Grove Cemetery inLeeds, Alabama.[3] He was survived by his wife, Dot, and three daughters.[2]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Columbus Red Birdsmanager 1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Rochester Red Wingsmanager 1952–1955 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Houston Buffaloesmanager 1956–1958 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | St. Louis Cardinalsfirst-base coach 1959–1962 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Atlanta Crackersmanager 1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Jacksonville Sunsmanager 1964 | Succeeded by |