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Harry Walker
Nickname(s): The Hat
1916-1999

OF 1940-43, 46-51, 55 Cardinals, Phillies, Cubs, Reds
Manager in 1955, 65-72 Astros
  • Led League in ba 47
  • All-Star in 1947

GamesAverageHRRBI
Career 807.29610214
World Series 13.27806

Wins-LossesWinning %
Manager 630-604.511

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» 1946: Slaughter’s Race for the Roses

Greatest Teams
» 1942 Cardinals

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» Who wore #5 for the Cardinals in the 1940s?

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» June 18, 2003 (#238)

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The son of major league pitcher Ewart "Dixie" Walker and brother of 1944 NL batting champ Fred "Dixie" Walker, Harry is the only player to win a NL batting title playing for two teams in the same season (and the Walker brothers are the only major league siblings to each win a batting average crown). Harry was hitting .200 through May 3, 1947 when the Cardinals traded him to the Phillies. He pounded the ball for a .371 average the rest of the way to finish at .363. It was to be his only outstanding season.

It was Walker who, in Game Seven of the 1946 WS, drove in Enos Slaughter from first base with the winning run to defeat the Red Sox. He was called Harry the Hat because, at the plate, he would adjust his cap after every pitch. As a result of his tugging, he went through 20 caps a season. He became a manager, taking over the Cardinals from Eddie Stanky for most of 1955 and pinch hitting nine times. He managed Pittsburgh from 1965 through mid-1967 (twice bringing them in third) and Houston from 1968 through late 1972. He continued in baseball as a batting coach. (JK)


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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
» October 15, 1946: Enos Slaughter sprints all the way from 1B and slides into home with the winning run in the 8th inning on Harry Walker's double, as the Cardinals edge the Boston Red Sox 4–3, giving St. Louis the World Series four games to 3. Harry Brecheen wins three games for the Cardinals, including Games six and 7, the only pitcher ever to win those. Billed as the duel between the two best hitters in baseball, the Series sees Stan Musial go 6-for-27 and Ted Williams 5-for-25. With the Series held in two small ballparks and the broadcast fees now aimed at a player pension fund, the Cardinal share of $3,748 and the Red Sox portion of $2,140 is the smallest Series payoff since 1918.

» May 3, 1947: The Cards trade Harry Walker to the Phillies for OF Ron Northey. Although batting only .200 with the Cards, Walker will hit .371 for the Phils in 130 games to finish the season with a league-leading .363 batting average.

» May 11, 1947: In front of 41,660 at Shibe Park—the largest crowd to date to watch a baseball game in Philadelphia—the Phils take two from Brooklyn to take three out of four in the series. The Jays win 7–3 and 5–4. In the first game, the Phils score all their runs in the 3rd and 4th to give knuckler Dutch Leonard his 5th win against a defeat, and his 2nd win in three days against the Bums. Del Ennis's first homer of the year scores 3. Schoolboy Rowe, with relief help from Ken Heintzelman wins the nitecap. He also bangs a homer, and wins his 9th straight over two seasons. Harry Walker raises his average in a Phils uniform to .406 and "closes out the nitecap with one of the most spectacular catches of the season, a catch that would have made the immortal Dode Paskert of 30 years ago doff his hat." (Philadelphia Inquirer)

» May 18, 1947: In St. Louis, the Cards drop a pair to Philadelphia, losing 6–3 and 1–0. Ken Raffensberger wins the nitecap for the Blue Jays with a brilliant complete-game shutout. Ken Heintzelman wins the opener for the Phils. Harry Walker is 5-for-10 in the two games, while Emil Verban (.337) knocks in the winning run in the 12th.

» May 28, 1955: Harry "the Hat" Walker replaces Eddie Stanky as manager of the Cardinals with the team in 5th place with a record of 17-19.

» August 14, 1955: Cardinals manager Harry Walker pulls a shift by moving P Tom Poholsky to LF and bringing in lefty Luis Arroyo to face slugger Ted Kluszewski of the Redlegs. Big Klu foils the manager by homering. Cards rally to win anyway 5-4.

» October 12, 1955: The Cardinals hire Fred Hutchinson as their field manager, replacing Harry Walker.

» October 19, 1964: Harry Walker is named manager of the Pirates.

» July 18, 1967: Harry Walker (42-42) is fired as manager of the Pirates. Danny Murtaugh is called back to finish the season.

» June 18, 1968: Grady Hatton (23-38) is fired as manager of the Astros. He will be replaced by Harry Walker.

» July 25, 1972: Cubs GM John Holland announces that Leo Durocher has stepped down as manager in favor of Whitey Lockman. Leo contends he was not fired, but has "stepped aside." The Astro will hire Durocher in late August to replace Harry Walker.

» August 26, 1972: Leo Durocher, formerly of the Cubs, replaces Harry Walker as manager of the Astros. It is only the 2nd time someone has managed two National League teams in the same season. The first was in 1948, when Durocher piloted the Dodgers and the Giants.