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Rube Walker

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(Redirected from Albert Bluford Walker) American baseball player and coach (1926–1992) For Walker's younger brother (1929–1971), who was nicknamed after him, see Verlon Walker.

Baseball player
Rube Walker
As pitching coach of the Mets
Catcher
Born: (1926-05-16)May 16, 1926
Lenoir, North Carolina, U.S.
Died: December 12, 1992(1992-12-12) (aged 66)
Morganton, North Carolina, U.S.
Batted: LeftThrew: Right
MLB debut
April 20, 1948, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
June 15, 1958, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average.227
Home runs35
Runs batted in192
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Albert Bluford "Rube" Walker (May 16, 1926 – December 12, 1992) was an American Major League Baseball catcher and longtime pitching coach.

Career

A native of Lenoir, North Carolina, Walker batted left-handed, threw right-handed and was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 170 pounds (77 kg) during his playing career. He was signed by the Chicago Cubs' organization in 1944 and spent four full years in their farm system, where he was the All-Star catcher in the Class B Three-I League (1946) and the Double-A Southern Association (1947).

Catcher

He made his major league debut with the Cubs on April 20, 1948, and spent 11 years in the National League as a second-string catcher. He appeared in 608 games played over that span, and his 50 games started as a catcher with the 1950 Cubs were the most of his big-league career. The following season, on June 15, 1951, he was involved in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Dodgers, in which the league-leading Dodgers obtained the Cubs' slugging outfielder, Andy Pafko. But when injury sidelined Brooklyn's Hall of Fame catcher, Roy Campanella, Walker was behind the plate in the deciding game of the 1951 National League tie-breaker series on October 3, 1951, when Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World," costing the Dodgers the pennant.

Walker then backed up Campanella for the next six seasons, the Dodgers' last years in Brooklyn. Over that time, they won four National League titles but Walker appeared in only one World Series, in 1956 against the New York Yankees. He went hitless in two at bats as a pinch hitter. The previous season, Walker was a member of Brooklyn's only world championship team; that year he appeared in 48 regular-season games as Campanella's backup and batted .252.

After retiring as an active player in June 1958, Walker served out the season as a Los Angeles Dodgers' coach. He finished his MLB career with 360 hits, including 69 doubles and 35 home runs. He batted .227 lifetime.

Coach

Walker then was a minor league manager for six seasons. He helmed the unaffiliated Houston Buffs of the American Association for part of 1959, then managed at Double-A in the Dodgers' and Yankees' farm systems from 1960 through 1964. After 1965 he was a pitching coach for the Washington Senators, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, working closely with managers Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra and Joe Torre, among others. Walker was the Mets' pitching coach for 14 seasons, from 1968 through 1981, including service on the 1969 World Champion "Amazin'" Mets. He also served as the club's emergency manager from September 25–29, 1968, after Hodges suffered a mild heart attack and went on medical leave for the final four games of the season; under Walker, the Mets were 2–2. As the Mets' pitching coach, he supervised Hall of Famers Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan. Walker scouted for the Braves and St. Louis Cardinals after his coaching career ended.

Legacy and family

The book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings (2004) includes short stories from the former Dodger pitcher. Walker is prominent in many of these stories.

A younger brother, Verlon "Rube" Walker, was nicknamed after him; Verlon was a minor league catcher and manager who served for ten years (from 1961 until his death in March 1971) as a coach for the Cubs.

Death

Rube Walker died from lung cancer on December 12, 1992, in Morganton, North Carolina at age 66. He is interred at Blue Ridge Memorial Park, Lenoir, North Carolina.

Popular culture

In the 1985 film Mask, Rocky Dennis states he is in need of a Rube "Ruby" Walker baseball card to complete his 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers set.

External links

Preceded bySid Hudson Washington Senators Pitching Coach
19651967
Succeeded bySid Hudson
Preceded byHarvey Haddix New York Mets Pitching Coach
19681981
Succeeded byBill Monbouquette
Preceded byCloyd Boyer Atlanta Braves Pitching Coach
19821984
Succeeded byJohnny Sain
Brooklyn Dodgers 1955 World Series champions
1 Pee Wee Reese
4 Duke Snider
6 Carl Furillo
8 George Shuba
10 Rube Walker
12 Frank Kellert
14 Gil Hodges
15 Sandy Amorós
17 Carl Erskine
19 Jim Gilliam
23 Don Zimmer
30 Billy Loes
32 Sandy Koufax
34 Russ Meyer
36 Don Newcombe
37 Ed Roebuck
39 Roy Campanella (NL MVP)
40 Roger Craig
41 Clem Labine
42 Jackie Robinson
43 Don Hoak
45 Johnny Podres (World Series MVP)
46 Don Bessent
48 Karl Spooner
54 Dixie Howell
Manager
24 Walter Alston
Coaches
22 Billy Herman
31 Jake Pitler
33 Joe Becker
Regular season
Dodgers–Yankees rivalry
Subway Series
New York Mets 1969 World Series champions
3 Bud Harrelson
4 Ron Swoboda
5 Ed Charles
6 Al Weis
7 Ed Kranepool
9 J. C. Martin
10 Duffy Dyer
11 Wayne Garrett
12 Ken Boswell
15 Jerry Grote
17 Rod Gaspar
20 Tommie Agee
21 Cleon Jones
22 Donn Clendenon (World Series MVP)
24 Art Shamsky
27 Don Cardwell
30 Nolan Ryan
31 Jack DiLauro
34 Cal Koonce
36 Jerry Koosman
39 Gary Gentry
41 Tom Seaver (NL CYA)
42 Ron Taylor
43 Jim McAndrew
45 Tug McGraw
Manager
14 Gil Hodges
Coaches
8 Yogi Berra
52 Joe Pignatano
53 Eddie Yost
54 Rube Walker
Regular season
National League Championship Series
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