#438 Harry Walker MG - Pittsburgh Pirates

Harry William Walker
Pittsburgh Pirates
Manager

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  175
Born:  September 22, 1918, Pascagoula, MS
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before 1937 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1940-1943, 1946-1947; Philadelphia Phillies 1947-1948; Chicago Cubs 1949; Cincinnati Reds 1949; St. Louis Cardinals 1950-1951, 1955
As a Manager:  St. Louis Cardinals 1955; Pittsburgh Pirates 1965-1967; Houston Astros 1968-1972
Died:  August 8, 1999, Birmingham, AL (age 80)

1982 G.S. Gallery All-Time
Greats #3

Harry "The Hat" Walker starred for the Cardinals in the 1940s and missed two seasons in his prime while serving in the military.  Before and after his military service, he helped lead the Cardinals to two World Series titles in 1942 and 1946.  He hit .412 (7 for 17) in the 1946 World Series and drove home the winning run with an RBI double in the decisive Game 7 against the Red Sox.  Traded to the Phillies in May 1947, he won the National League batting title with a .363 average and also led the league with a .436 OBP.  He appeared in the 1943 and 1947 All-Star Games and finished his 11 year career with a .296 average and 786 hits.  His brother Dixie Walker was a four-time All-Star with the Dodgers in the 1940s, and his father, the elder Dixie Walker, played for the Senators between 1909 and 1912.

Walker started his big league managerial career as a player-manager for the Cardinals in mid-1955, replacing the fired Eddie Stanky.  He was let go as Cardinals manager following the season, but he remained with the organization as a minor league manager and a coach for the club between 1959 and 1962.  As Pirates manager between 1965 and 1967, he had his most success the first two seasons, leading the club to third place finishes in the N.L.  He'd later manage the Astros for five seasons.  In parts of nine seasons as a manager in the Majors, Walker compiled a record of 630-604.

Building the Set
February 29, 2020 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #70
Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held on the bottom floor of the Valley Forge Casino on the final day of February.  This was our first baseball card show of 2020 and the fourth show we've attended in Valley Forge since March 2019.  I did a post over at The Phillies Room with a few pictures of Doug taken with some of the show's autograph guests.  We ended up adding 23 cards to our set.

This Walker card was from an initial batch of 17 commons and semi-stars purchased from John's Sports Cards within the first hour of our arrival.  I didn't track each individual price of the cards purchased, but this card was from a half-price binder and the 17-card lot cost me $50 total.  John's table has been located in the back right of the showroom floor for as long as we've been going to these shows, and I know I've bought a bunch of vintage Topps cards from him in the past including cards needed for my 1971 Topps set.  He's one of those dealers who you can't help but remember, probably because he genuinely seems happy and to be enjoying what he's doing.  Doug and I would come back to him later in the show for a few major purchases for our set, and I'll eventually feature all cards added in upcoming posts.

The Card
I'm assuming Walker is wearing a Cardinals uniform in the photo here and Topps smudged out the "StL" logo on his navy blue hat.  The back of the card contains a fairly detailed biography for Walker up to that point in his career.

Pirates Team Set

1965 Season
This was to be Walker's best season as manager, as he guided the Pirates to a 90-72 record and a third place finish.  The team entered August with a 53-53 record and went 37-19 in the final two months of the season to finish strong.  His SABR biography notes he occasionally clashed with his players, including future Hall of Famers Bill Mazeroski (#95), Willie Stargell (#377) and Roberto Clemente (#160).  Bill Virdon (#69) reportedly retired following the season primarily to get away from Walker and long-time and now unhappy Pirate Bob Friend (#392) was granted a trade to the Yankees.

Phillies Career
Walker was originally signed by the Phillie before the 1937 season, but then sent to the Cardinals before the 1940 season in what Baseball Reference calls an "unknown transaction."  His SABR biography notes he was signed by the Indians, and not the Phillies.  In any event, on May 3, 1947, the Cardinals traded him to the Phillies with Freddy Schmidt for Ron Northey.  Walker earned his second All-Star game nod in 1947 and he started in center field and led off for the N.L.  His brother Dixie batted second and played right field.

His Phillies career lasted through the 1948 season as he was traded to the Cubs on October 4, 1948 for Bill Nicholson.  In 242 games with the Phillies, Walker hit .339.

1949 Bowman #130

1960 Topps #468

1967 Topps #448

1970 Topps #32

1972 Topps #249

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #130
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1960, 1965-1967, 1970-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #45

71 - Walker non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/13/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Prior Card:  #437 Chico Cardenas - Cincinnati Reds

Next Card:  #439 Moe Drabowsky - Kansas City Athletics