Albert Bluford "Rube" Walker (May 16, 1926 – December 12, 1992) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

catcher and longtime

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

Career

A native of

Lenoir, North Carolina Lenoir ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 18,263 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Lenoir is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. To the northe ...

, Walker batted

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply l ...

, threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

and was listed as tall and during his playing career. He was signed by the

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 ...

' organization in 1944 and spent four full years in their

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

, where he was the All-Star catcher in the Class B Three-I League (1946) and the Double-A

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

(1947).

Catcher

He made his major league debut with the Cubs on April 20, 1948, and spent 11 years in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

as a second-string catcher. He appeared in 608

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

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 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 ...

, in which the league-leading Dodgers obtained the Cubs' slugging

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

Andy Pafko Andrew Pafko (February 25, 1921 – October 8, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs (1943–51), Brooklyn Dodgers (1951–52), and Milwaukee Braves (1953–65), Milwauke ...

. But when injury sidelined Brooklyn's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

catcher,

Roy Campanella Roy Campanella (November 19, 1921 – June 26, 1993), nicknamed "Campy", was an American professional baseball player, primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering ...

, Walker was behind the plate in the deciding game of the

1951 National League tie-breaker series The 1951 National League tie-breaker series was a best-of-three playoff series that extended Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1951 regular season to decide the winner of the National League (NL) pennant. The games were played on October 1, 2, and ...

on October 3, , 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 The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

, in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

against 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 ...

. He went hitless in two

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

. 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 The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

' coach. He finished his MLB career with 360 hits, including 69 doubles and 35

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

. He batted .227 lifetime.

Coach

Walker then was a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

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'

s from 1960 through 1964. After he was a pitching coach for the Washington Senators,

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

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, working closely with managers

Gil Hodges Gilbert Raymond Hodges (born Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Broo ...

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (born Lorenzo Pietro Berra; May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of Manager (baseball), manager and Coach (baseball), coach. He played 19 seas ...

and

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre Jr. (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball Senior management, executive and former player, Manager (baseball), manager, and television color commentator. He has served as a special assistant to the Commiss ...

, 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, , after Hodges suffered a mild

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

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 George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cin ...

and

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Ryan pitched for the New Yo ...

. Walker scouted for the Braves and

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

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 Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on December 12, 1992, in

Morganton, North Carolina Morganton is a city in and county seat of Burke County, North Carolina, United States. It is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the Catawba River. The population was 17,474 at the 2020 census. Morganton is approximately ...

at age 66. He is interred at Blue Ridge Memorial Park, Lenoir, North Carolina.

Popular culture

In the 1985 film ''

Mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

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

External links

Rube Walker
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)

at The Deadball Era * : {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Rube 1926 births 1992 deaths Atlanta Braves coaches Atlanta Braves scouts Atlanta Crackers managers Atlanta Crackers players Baseball coaches from North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Brooklyn Dodgers players Chicago Cubs players Davenport Cubs players Deaths from lung cancer in North Carolina Erwin Cubs players Houston Buffaloes managers Houston Buffs players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Nashville Vols players New York Mets coaches People from Lenoir, North Carolina Portsmouth Cubs players St. Louis Cardinals scouts St. Paul Saints (AA) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) coaches 20th-century American sportsmen