1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #12 "Dixie" Walker

Sunday, December 10, 2023

#12 "Dixie" Walker - New York Yankees

Fred Walker

New York Yankees

Outfield

Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 6'1" Weight: 175

Born: September 24, 1910, Villa Rica, GA

Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1931, 1933-1936; Chicago White Sox 1936-1937; Detroit Tigers 1938-1939; Brooklyn Dodgers 1939-1947; Pittsburgh Pirates 1948-1949

World Series Appearances: Brooklyn Dodgers 1941, 1947

Died: May 17, 1982, Birmingham, AL (71)

Dixie Walker played in parts of 18 seasons in the majors, earning his way onto five All-Star teams while with the Dodgers and winning the N.L. batting title in 1944 when he hit .357. He ended the 1946 season as the most popular player in Brooklyn history, according to legendary broadcaster Red Barber, but he'd later become better known as the player who tried to thwart Jackie Robinson from joining the Dodgers in 1947. Walker initiated a player petition asking that Robinson not be permitted to join the team and then later requested that Dodgers owner Branch Rickey trade him. Later in life, he told author Roger Kahn the petition was "the stupidest thing he'd ever done."

Rickey honored Walker's request and traded him to the Pirates on December 8, 1947, where he played the final two years of his career. In his nine seasons with the Dodgers, Walker enjoyed the best years of his career, batting .311 with 67 home runs and 725 RBIs. He was dubbed "The People's Cherce," in reference to the way the word "choice" sounds when said in a Brooklyn accent. In 1,905 career games, Walker had a .306 average with 2,064 hits. Following his playing days, he served as a coach for the Cardinals (1953, 1955), Braves (1963-1965) and Dodgers (1970-1974).

Updated back from 1935

Building the Set

November 27, 2023 from Los Angels, CA (Greg Morris Cards) - Card #94

Surprisingly one of the least expensive cards I've added to our set, this is the second of three Walker cards I plan to add to my version of a master set - see below. I don't think there were many other bids on this eBay auction, as I sent through my opening bid at a fairly low price and surprisingly won the auction a few days later. Everyone once in a while I find myself getting lucky on eBay, and this was one of those instances.

Variations Available

1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright / mentions Babe Ruth retiring ✅

2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright / mentions Babe Ruth to Braves

3 - 1936 / blue back / no statistics / 1934 copyright / no mention of Babe Ruth

The Card / Yankees Team Set

The first version of this card I added back in January 2021 was the variation version issued in 1935, noting that Walker "is expected to help fill the gap left by Babe Ruth moving to Boston (Braves)." This version of this card, issued in 1934, notes that Walker "is expected to fill Babe Ruth's shoes when the great Yankee slugger retires." Ruth (#109b) was released by the Yankees on February 26, 1935 and signed with the Braves that very same day so the card I now own was issued after that date.

Walker's father, also Dixie Walker, is mentioned on the back of the card and the elder Walker pitched for four seasons with the Senators between 1909 and 1912. His brother, Harry Walker, was a two-time All-Star for the Cardinals and played for 11 seasons in the majors. The batting tip on the back encourages batters to relax and step out if needed "until the nervousness has disappeared."

1934 Season

Walker was expected to play a big role with the Yankees in 1934, but he developed an arm injury in spring training that would limit him to just 17 games throughout early August. By mid-August, unable to help the team at all, Walker was put on the voluntarily retired list, missing the rest of the season. Of his 17 games, only one was a start. On July 28th, he started in left field against the Athletics, going 0 for 5. The rest of his 16 appearances were as a pinch-hitter or a pinch-runner, so it was truly a wasted season. Walker batted just .118 (2 for 17) for the year.