Walter Phillip Rehg (August 31, 1888 – April 5, 1946) was a
reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
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 ...
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), ...
, playing mostly as a
right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...
for four different teams between the and seasons. Listed at , 160 lb., Rehg batted and threw
right-handed
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...
. He was born in
Summerfield, Illinois
Summerfield is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 451 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Summerfield is located at (38.596948, -89.751171).
According to the 2010 census, Summerfield has a total area of , of wh ...
.
Rehg entered the majors in 1912 with the
Pittsburgh Pirates, playing for them one year before joining the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
(1913–1915),
Boston Braves (1917–1918) and
Cincinnati Reds (1919). He appeared in a career-high 88 games with the 1914 Red Sox, as a backup for the
fabled ''Million-Dollar Outfield'' of
Duffy Lewis
George Edward "Duffy" Lewis (April 18, 1888 – June 17, 1979) was an American professional baseball left fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Washington Senators from 1910 to ...
(
LF),
Tris Speaker
Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), he compiled a career ba ...
(
CF) and
Harry Hooper
Harry Bartholomew Hooper (August 24, 1887 – December 18, 1974) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Hooper was born in Bell Station, Ca ...
(RF). His most productive season came in 1917 with the Braves, when he posted career-numbers in
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 ...
(.270),
runs (48),
RBI (31) and
stolen bases (13), while appearing in 87 games. He also was a member of the 1919
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
champions Reds, although he did not play in the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
.
In a seven-season career, Rehg was a .250 hitter (188-for-752) with two
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s and 66 RBI in 263 games, including 85 runs, 24
doubles, 11
triples and 26 stolen bases.
In between major league stops, Rehg saw regular action in the
minor leagues
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...
at
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
and
Providence, and also served 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 ...
in 1918 during World War I. He also played in the minors from 1920 through 1930, mostly for Triple-A
Indianapolis Indians, and managed the
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
team of the
Arizona State League
The Arizona State League was a minor league baseball league that existed from 1928 to 1930. It operated as a six–team Class D-level league, and consisted of teams based in Arizona and Texas, evolving into the Arizona-Texas League in 1931.
His ...
in his last baseball season.
Besides baseball, Rehg appeared in the films ''Fast Company'' (1929), playing himself, and as an uncredited ballplayer in ''
Alibi Ike'' (1935), a baseball comedy starred by
Joe Brown and
Olivia de Havilland
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...
.
Following his baseball career, Rehg worked as an electrician helper at
Paramount Pictures Studios. He fell ill on March 28, 1946, and left the hospital on April 4. He died of a heart attack on April 5, 1946, at his home in
Burbank, California.
[; ]
References
RetrosheetSABR biographyIMDb entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rehg, Wally
Boston Braves players
Boston Red Sox players
Cincinnati Reds players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Major League Baseball right fielders
Minor league baseball managers
American male actors
United States Navy personnel of World War I
Baseball players from Illinois
1888 births
1946 deaths
Hartford Senators players
St. Paul Saints (AA) players
Providence Grays (minor league) players
Indianapolis Indians players
Columbus Senators players
Hollywood Stars players
Tucson Cowboys players