Walter Dilbeck

Walter J. Dilbeck

• Born July 18, 1918
• Died May 30, 1991

Walter Dilbeck was the con man who created the Global League.

A World War II hero (though he claimed some medals that could not be verified), he was later part-owner of the Rock Hill, SC team and Louisville Colonels. He failed in two bids for mayor of Evansville, IN and had a real estate license revoked.

He managed to get big names like Johnny Mize, Happy Chandler and Enos Slaughter involved for his Global Baseball League, which was supposed to be a third major league, but this was based more on hype than planning, and the league quickly folded. He wound up in jail for income tax evasion and blamed his losses on his league.

Further Reading

• Warren Corbett: "A Global Fiasco: Walter Dilbeck tried to create a third major league. He wound up in prison.", in Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Vol. 49, Nr. 1 (Spring 2020), pp. 20-25.