Hub Walker

Harvey Willos Walker

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 175 lb.
• School University of Mississippi
• High School Hattiesburg High School
• Debut April 15, 1931
• Final Game September 30, 1945
• Born August 17, 1906 in Gulfport, MS USA
• Died November 26, 1982 in San Jose, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Harvey "Hub" Walker played five seasons in the majors, during 1931, 1935 to 1937, and 1945. He had 200+ at-bats in a season three times.

Hub was the brother of Gee Walker and was his teammate on the Detroit Tigers in 1931 and 1935. In 1931, Hub played 60 games in center field for the Tigers while Gee played 41. In 1935, when Jo-Jo White was the regular centerfielder, Gee appeared in 45 games in centerfield (along with games at the other two outfield positions) while Hub was in centerfield during 7 of his 9 major league games that year.

Hub, like his younger brother Gee, was born in Gulfport, MS and attended the University of Mississippi. He is listed as having been there between the years 1925-1930 while Gee was there in 1927-1928. Hub started in the minors hitting .341 with Fort Smith in 1929, and then in 1930 was a teammate of his brother Gee at Evansville, where Gee hit .378 and Hub hit .355. Both hit far better in average than anyone else on the team.

Gee made his major league debut with the Tigers on April 14, 1931 while Hub made his debut the next day on April 15th. Hub appeared in 90 games, getting 252 at-bats, and hitting .286. He had 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts but hit no home runs.

Hub then spent 1932 to 1934 and most of 1935 in the minors. With Toledo in 1935, he hit .335 and appeared with the Tigers in nine games. Gee was his teammate and while the Tigers won the 1935 World Series, Hub did not appear in the Series.

Hub was in the majors all of 1936 and 1937 with the Cincinnati Reds, a team which would sell him on December 2, 1937 to Nashville. On that same date, his brother Gee was traded as well, by the Tigers to the Chicago White Sox. In 1936 and 1937, Hub showed an ability to draw walks, posting OBP's of .366 and .349, both much higher than the team OBP.

Hub was then in the minors from 1938 to 1942, first at Nashville and then for four years at Minneapolis. He hit over .300 during three of those five years, and began to show some power with 24 and then 25 home runs for Minneapolis in 1939 and 1940.

Walker served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His brother Leo Walker, also a star athlete at the University of Mississippi, was killed while flying a plane in the service in 1941 during bad weather. Source: Baseball in Wartime.

In 1945 Hub split his time between Buffalo, where he hit .323 in 15 games, and the Tigers, where he appeared in 28 games. His last major league appearances were in the 1945 World Series where he went 1 for 2 with a double.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Detroit Tigers in 1945

Further Reading

• Gregory H. Wolf: "Hub Walker", in Scott Ferkovich, ed.: Detroit the Unconquerable: the 1935 World Champion Tigers, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2014, pp. 146-151. ISBN 978-1-933599-78-6

Related Sites

• Hub Walker at the SABR Bio Project