Walter Kirby Higbe (April 8, 1915 – May 6, 1985) was an American right-handed

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

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(MLB) from 1937 to 1950. Best known for his time with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

, he was a two-time

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(NL)

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Early baseball career

Higbe was born in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, in 1915."Kirby Higbe Stats"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 6, 2021. A hard thrower, he played mostly in the minor leagues from 1933 to 1938. In 1937, with the

Moline Plowboys The Moline Plowboys was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Moline, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities. Moline teams played as members the 1892 Illinois-Iowa League, 1894 Western Association, the Mississippi Valley League (19 ...

of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League, Higbe had a 21–5 record and led the league in wins. He also had short stints with the NL's

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in 1937 and 1938. In May 1939, the Cubs traded Higbe to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. He finally stuck in the majors, and in 1940, went 14–19 with a 3.72

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) for a last place Phillies' team. That year he led the NL with 137

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s, and was named an All-Star.

Brooklyn Dodgers

In November 1940, the Phillies traded Higbe to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Bill Crouch, Mickey Livingston, Vito Tamulis, and $100,000. Higbe had his most successful season in 1941, going 22–9 with a 3.14 ERA and 121 strikeouts. He tied his teammate Whit Wyatt for the league-lead in wins and finished seventh in the

NL MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers ...

voting as the Dodgers won the pennant. In the

1941 World Series The 1941 World Series, the last before the entry of the United States into the Second World War, matched the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games to capture their fifth title in six years, and the ...

, Higbe started one game but did not get a decision, and the Dodgers lost the series to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. Higbe went 16–11 in 1942 and then went 13–10 in 1943. After the 1943 season, he joined the

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during

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. Initially assigned to the

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, he soon received training as a rifleman and saw combat in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1945, Higbe and his fellow soldiers went to the

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; however, when they arrived there, they learned that

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had surrendered. Nonetheless, he stayed in

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until March 1946, at which point he finally returned to the United States. Back with the Dodgers for the 1946 season, Higbe went 17–8 with a 3.03 ERA and 134 strikeouts. He was named an All-Star for the second time. He began the 1947 season with a 2–0 record for the eventual NL champion Dodgers, but he insisted upon being traded when Brooklyn added

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

to the team as the first black major leaguer in the 20th century. According to Higbe, the Dodger players who were opposed to having Robinson on the team "didn't have anything personal against Jackie Robinson or any other Negro ... but we were Southerners who had never lived or played with Negroes, and we didn't see any reason to start then."

Later baseball career

The Dodgers traded Higbe to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in May 1947. He was reunited with his old Dodgers manager

Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager and coach (baseball), coach. He playe ...

when he was acquired by the

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from the

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for Bobby Rhawn and Ray Poat on June 6, 1949. Towards the end of his career, Higbe threw primarily knuckleballs. His last season in the majors was 1950. He then went back to the minor leagues, where he played until 1953. Higbe finished his MLB career with a 118–101 record, a 3.69 ERA, 971 strikeouts, and a 102 ERA+.

Later life

After his baseball career ended, Higbe drifted from job to job, getting in trouble with the law multiple times. He published an autobiography, ''The High Hard One'', in 1967. Higbe died in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1985 at the age of 70. In the 2013 film '' 42'', he was portrayed by Brad Beyer.

References

External links