Arthur D. Walker, Jr. (November 24, 1933 – May 26, 1973) was an American football player. He was an All-American at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1954 and played seven seasons of professional football with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

from 1955-1961.

Early years

Walker, an African-American who grew up four miles east of

South Haven, Michigan South Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city is in Van Buren County, although a small portion extends into Allegan County. The population was 4,403 at the 2010 census. Because of its position on Lake Michigan, at the ...

, attended South Haven High School where he was an All-Big Seven Conference tackle and president of the student council. He was also a catcher on a local baseball team.

University of Michigan

After graduating from high school in 1951, Walker was awarded an

Elmer Gedeon Elmer John Gedeon (April 15, 1917 – April 20, 1944) was an American professional baseball player, appearing in several games for the Washington Senators in . Gedeon and Harry O'Neill were the only two Major League Baseball players killed duri ...

scholarship to the

. The Gedeon scholarships, created in memory of a multi-sport student athlete who was killed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, were awarded on the basis of "moral character, good citizenship, scholastic ability, and achievement, promise of leadership and success, and physical ability." Walker played left tackle at Michigan from 1952 to 1954. As a 192-pound sophomore in 1952, Walker started nine games for the Wolverines and was named an All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...

player. In June 1953, Walker suffered a setback when he pleaded guilty in

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

Municipal Court to stealing gasoline from a parked car; Walker and another student admitted siphoning gas from a car parked behind a dormitory and paid fines totaling $16.25. As a 200-pound junior in 1953, Walker suffered from injuries. Walker played with a leg injury against

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

in October 1954, and the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

described Walker as the "sparkplug of the Wolverine line" and reported that, despite the injury, he "made smashing tackles and was a demon getting down under punts." However, his play against Tulane aggravated the injury, resulting in his missing the following game. As a 218-pound senior in 1954, Walker had his best season at Michigan. He played alongside left end

Ron Kramer Ronald John Kramer (June 24, 1935 – September 11, 2010) was a multi-sport college athlete and professional American football player. Kramer attended the University of Michigan from 1953 to 1957, winning a total of nine varsity letters in fo ...

, giving the Wolverines "the strongest defensive left side in the Big Ten." During the 1954 season, Walker played more minutes than any other Michigan player—playing 479 out of 540 minutes in Michigan's nine-game schedule. He was named to the 1954 All-Big Ten teams selected by the Associated Press and the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

. He was also selected to play in the annual

East-West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

, and selected by the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media ou ...

to the '' Look magazine'' All-American team in 1954. Walker was flown to New York to receive the Look magazine award on

The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMon ...

in December 1954. Walker was the first South Haven athlete ever to receive an All-American rating, and local residents honored him at a testimonial banquet in February 1955. Michigan's line coach

Jack Blott Jack Leonard Blott (August 24, 1902 – June 11, 1964) was an All-American football center and place kicker for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1922–1923. He was also a baseball catcher for the Wolverines from 1922–1924. A ...

spoke at the banquet, and Walker was given a set of luggage.

Professional football in Edmonton

Walker was drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

in the 12th round of the 1955 NFL Draft, but opted instead to play in Canada. Walker told a reporter that he went to Canada because they offered more money than the NFL, and he had heard tales of salary troubles of Green Bay players. Walker played seven seasons of professional football as an offensive tackle and defensive guard for the

of the

Western Interprovincial Football Union The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagu ...

from 1955-1961. Prior to the fourth season of Walker's tenure with the Eskimos, the WIFU agreed to a merger with the

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

which resulted in the formation of the

. His best season as a professional player was 1957, when he was named Edmonton's Most Valuable Player and was named to the Western Division all-star teams in two polls, one selected by the fans and the other by sportswriters and broadcasters. He also played in the 1957 CFL All-Star Game. After the 1957 season, Walker told a reporter from his home town that he had no regrets about playing in the CFL, despite having to participate in a practice in 17 below zero weather and playing in a game in six below zero weather. In seven seasons with the Eskimos, he became one of the team's most popular players. After a victory over the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play their h ...

in 1959, a

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

columnist credited Walker with the victory:

There are many reasons why the Bombers failed to make it close, but a major one was a gent by the name of Art Walker. Even a delighted Eagle Keys went on record that he had never seen Walker play a better game than he did last night. Art handled Ed Kotowich and Fred Cole as if he owned them.

Another writer described Walker's performance in the same game as follows:

Thursday night Walker, who seemed bent on some personal vendetta, simply refused to let Winnipeg run anything to the left side of the Edmonton line. Mostly it was sheer ability, but to make his performance even more galling to the Winnipeg offensive unit, every time he guessed right.

Walker's football career came to an end after the 1961 season. He missed most of the 1960 season with a damaged Achilles tendon and battled through pain during training camp in 1961. After making it through the first 15 games of the 1961 season without an injury, Walker's Achilles tendon injury returned in the third quarter of the season's final game. Following the game, Walker told a reporter that, as he hobbled to the sidelines, he knew his football career were over. He said:

I'd never go through another training camp like I did this year. Anyway what's the point of kidding anyone. I'd never be able to play as well again, even if I tried.

After retiring from football, Walker stated his intent to remain in Edmonton as his permanent home. He noted that he and his wife had good teaching jobs in Edmonton, and "the people in Edmonton have been wonderful to both my family and myself."

Death

According to the book "The Canadian Pro Football Encyclopedia" by Tod Maher and Bob Gill (Maher Sports Media 2011), Walker died on May 26, 1973 in Marquette, Michigan at age 39.

References

External links