Curt Walker

William Curtis Walker
(Honey)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9½", Weight 170 lb.
• School Southwestern University
• High School Beeville High School
• Debut September 17, 1919
• Final Game September 28, 1930
• Born July 3, 1896 in Beeville, TX USA
• Died December 9, 1955 in Beeville, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Curt Walker played 12 seasons in the majors, posting a batting average of .304. He was an expert in hitting triples, with 117 lifetime. He also stole 96 bases.

Walker was from Beeville, TX, near Corpus Christi, TX in the southern part of the state. He attended Southwestern University in Texas from 1915 to 1919, at the same time as Red Ostergard.

After playing for two minor league teams in 1919, he came to the majors in September for one game with the New York Yankees. He spent most of 1920 in the minors at Augusta but also played 8 games with the New York Giants. He was in the majors in 1921, split between the Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies, appearing in 85 games. The trade which brought him to the Phillies also brought Irish Meusel to the Giants.

Curt became an everyday player in 1922, playing 148 games for the Phillies and hitting .337 with 36 doubles, good for sixth in the league. He continued to be a regular for the rest of his major league career. In May 1924 he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds and spent the rest of his time in the majors with the Reds.

An article in the October 1977 Baseball Digest pointed out that he was one of the major leaguers who left baseball with a .300 average, since in his last season, 1930, he hit .307. He had hit .313 in his penultimate year. As of 2024, Walker was one of only six AL or NL players since 1901 to hit .300 or more in his final two big-league seasons and qualify for the batting title in both. The other five were Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ray Chapman, Bill “Wagon Tongue” Keister, George Sisler, and Kirby Puckett.

Walker mostly played right field in the majors, with 1,120 games at the position. While his OPS+ was usually above 100, he never led the league in batting categories.

In 1931 and 1932 he went back to the minors, hitting .322 for Indianapolis in 1931 and playing for two teams in 1932.

At the time of his death, he was serving as a Justice of the Peace in his hometown.

Notable Achievements

• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1922)

Records Held

• Triples, inning, 2, 7/22/26 (tied)

Further reading

• Gary Belleville: "June 8, 1928: Curt Walker’s 3 clutch hits lead Reds to comeback victory over Brooklyn", SABR Baseball Games Project [1].

Related Sites

• Curt Walker at the SABR Bio Project