Harvey Willos "Hub" Walker (August 17, 1906 – November 26, 1982) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. He played professional baseball from 1929 to 1945, including five seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

with the Detroit Tigers (1931, 1935, 1945) and Cincinnati Reds (1936–1937). He played in 297 major league games, 211 in the outfield, and compiled . 263

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with a .354 on-base percentage. He was a member of the Tigers teams that won the 1935 and

1945 World Series The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. Th ...

Early years

Walker was born in 1906 in

Gulfport, Mississippi Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolit ...

. He attended Hattiesburg High School and the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

. His younger brother

Gee Walker Gerald Holmes "Gee" Walker (March 19, 1908 – March 20, 1981) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. During his fifteen-year career he played with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Re ...

also played baseball. They were teammates both at Ole Miss and with the Detroit Tigers.

Professional baseball

Walker began his professional baseball career in 1929 with the Fort Smith Twins of the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Weste ...

, compiling a .345 batting average in 105 games. In 1930, he advanced to the

Evansville Hubs Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Indiana, ...

of the Three-I League where he hit .355 in 135 games. After two strong season in the minors, Walker joined the Detroit Tigers in 1931, making his major league debut on April 15, 1931. He appeared in 90 games, 61 as a center fielder, and compiled a .286 batting average and a .355 on-base percentage. Walker returned to the minor leagues in 1932 where he played for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the International League (1932),

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; p ...

of the International League (1932-1934),

Jersey City Skeeters The Jersey City Skeeters were a minor league baseball team which operated in Jersey City, New Jersey. The club started in the 1860s and by 1870 joined the National Association of Base Ball Players. By 1885, Jersey City had joined the Eastern Lea ...

of the International League (1933), and

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. He returned to the Tigers in June 1935 but appeared in only nine games. In 29 plate appearances, he had four runs, three walks, three doubles, four runs scored, and one RBI. On June 25, 1935, he was released by the Tigers. In November 1935, Walker signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds. He appeared in 92 games for the Reds in 1936, 48 as a center fielder and 24 as a left fielder. He compiled a .275 batting average and a .366 on-base percentage with 49 runs scored and 23 RBIs. He returned to the Reds in 1937 and appeared in 78 games, 37 in center field and 21 in left field. He compiled a .249 batting average and .349 on-base percentage. Walker again returned to the minors in 1938, appearing in 138 games for the Nashville Volunteers of the Southern Association with a .319 batting average and .475 slugging percentage. From 1939 to 1942, Walker played for the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the American Association. He appeared in 511 games for the Millers. In 1939, he hit .304 with 24 home runs, and in 1940, he hit .318 with 25 home runs. Walker missed the 1943 and 1944 seasons, and most of the 1945 season, due to service in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He saw combat in the South Pacific and sustained a knee injury. Interviewed in a San Diego hospital, he said: "I guess I have played my last game of baseball." After his discharge from the Navy, Walker designed an aluminum brace for his knee and made a comeback with the Detroit Tigers. He appeared in 28 games for the 1945 Tigers and had three hits, nine walks, and scored five runs in 32 plate appearances. With his limited plate appearances, Walker was ineligible for the World Series, but Commissioner Happy Chandler waived the rules to allow the returning World War II veteran to play in the postseason. Walker played in two games of the

for the Tigers, getting a double and scoring a run in two World Series at bats as a pinch hitter.

Later years

Walker died in 1982 at age 76 at a convalescent hospital in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. Walker donated his papers to the

Library. The papers available there include correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, and a notebook of World War II reminiscences.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Hub 1906 births 1982 deaths Major League Baseball center fielders Cincinnati Reds players Detroit Tigers players Ole Miss Rebels baseball players Nashville Vols players United States Navy personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Gulfport, Mississippi Sportspeople from Hattiesburg, Mississippi Baseball players from Mississippi