Clarence William "Tilly" Walker (September 4, 1887 – September 21, 1959) was an American professional baseball player. After growing up in

Limestone, Tennessee Limestone is an unincorporated community on the western border of Washington County and the eastern border of Greene County in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its zip code is 37681. Limestone is part of the Johnson City ...

, and attending college locally at

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

, he entered

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 ...

(MLB). He was a

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

and

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns,

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

from 1911 to 1923. In 1918, he tied

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

for the

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

crown that season. His power output increased for three seasons beginning in 1920. In 1922, he finished second in the league in home runs and he became one of five players to have reached 100 career home runs. He struggled in his final MLB season and was released by Philadelphia. After his MLB career, Walker played for several seasons in the minor leagues. He also managed a minor league team for one season and worked for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Early life and career

Walker was born in

Telford, Tennessee Telford is a census-designated place and Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Washington County, Tennessee, located between Jonesborough, Tennessee, Jonesborough and Limestone, Tennessee, Limestone. As of the 2010 census, ...

. His family moved to

, when he was a child. His father, W. N. Walker, was an undertaker and a member of the local county high school board of education. Walker later recalled that there was not much to do in Limestone, so he developed his throwing ability by tossing rocks. He attended Jonesboro High School aka Academy Hill right outside of Limestone, TN where he played baseball and graduated in 1908. He then pitched and played right field for the baseball team at

in Limestone in the 1908–09 and 1909–10 school years. Walker's professional baseball career began with the Spartanburg Spartans of the Carolina Association in 1910 and 1911. Hitting for a .390

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with Spartanburg in 35 games in 1911, Walker caught the attention of the Washington Senators. The team purchased Walker's contract from Spartanburg and played him in 95 major league games. Walker finished the season with a .278 average, 2 home runs and 12

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s.Tillie Walker Statistics and History
Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 6, 2015. Starting the 1912 season with the Senators, he hit .273 through 35 games, but he committed 8 errors. The Senators started that season poorly, so manager Clark Griffith sold his contract to the minor-league Kansas City Blues in an attempt to overhaul his team. Walker said that he had been present when Griffith handed a telegram to a telegraph operator one night. Owing to telegraphy experience from a boyhood job, Walker heard the Morse Code and realized that the telegram was requesting waivers on him. He was sold to the Blues after no major league teams were interested. He considered returning to Limestone as a telegraph operator, but he ultimately went to the Blues. Walker spent most of 1913 with the Blues, hitting .306 with 6 home runs. He made it back to the major leagues that year with the St. Louis Browns, appearing in 23 games. According to Nellie King, Browns manager

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

compared Walker to

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent ...

in terms of ability, saying that they differed only because Cobb displayed more effort.

Middle career

Walker hit .278 with 6 home runs, 78

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI) and a career-high 29 stolen bases in 151 games during the 1914 season. His offensive totals dropped with the 1915 Browns; he finished with a .269 average, 5 home runs, 49 RBI and 20 steals. Just before the 1916 season, the

purchased Walker's contract for US$3,500 ($ today). The purchase of Walker indirectly facilitated the sale of Red Sox star outfielder

Tris Speaker Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1907 to 1928. Considered one o ...

to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

; the Walker deal signaled to Cleveland executives that Boston was looking to trade Speaker, so Cleveland executives began negotiations with the Red Sox that resulted in Speaker's purchase for $55,000. Walker was seen as a good hitter and he had a strong arm, having led the league's outfielders in assists for the two previous seasons. However, he had been criticized for his mood swings and for not being a team player. Walker earned one of his lowest batting averages (.266) that year, but Boston won the

1916 World Series The 1916 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1916 season. The 13th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox against the National League champion Brooklyn Rob ...

. In that series, he batted twelve times and earned three hits, including a triple. He played only 106 games in 1917, hitting a career-low .246 for the Red Sox. Before the 1918 season, Walker was sent to the

as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in a multiplayer trade for first baseman Stuffy McInnis. He tied Ruth as the league leader in homeruns (11) in 1918. In 1919, Walker and two other

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

(AL) players each hit 10 home runs, while Ruth hit 29.

Later career

After the introduction of a new type of ball in 1920, Walker slugged 17 home runs. He registered home run totals of 23 the next year and 37 in 1922. He finished second in the AL in home runs in 1922, ahead of Ruth and trailing Ken Williams by two home runs. Walker passed 100 career home runs that year, becoming one of the first five major league players to reach that milestone. After the 1922 season, Athletics manager

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...

opted to prioritize pitching and defense over hitting, so he moved the fences 30 to 40 feet deeper in Philadelphia. Walker struggled under the new conditions and played only 52 games in 1923. Walker was given an unconditional release from the Athletics in December 1923. He returned to the minor leagues for the 1924 season. Walker spent six years with the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

and

Greenville Spinners The Greenville Spinners was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams located in Greenville, South Carolina between 1907 and 1962. Greenville teams played as members of the South Carolina League in 1907, Carolina Association (1908–19 ...

. He hit for double-digit home run totals five times as a minor league player, including a 1928 season in which he hit 33 home runs. The 1929 season was his last; he appeared in only 12 games that year. He spent a year as an umpire in the Piedmont League in 1934. In 1940, he was the

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 ...

of the Erwin Mountaineers in the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

Career statistics

In 1421 games over 13 seasons, Walker posted a .281

(1423-for-5067) with 696 runs, 244 doubles, 71

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, 118

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 ...

, 679 RBI, 129

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

, 416

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

, .339

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

and .427

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

. He finished his career with a .949

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

playing at all three outfield positions.

Later life

Beginning in 1940, Walker worked as a patrolman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, stationed in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. He made his home in Limestone. In 1959, he died of natural causes at his brother's home in Unicoi, Tennessee. He is buried at Urbana Cemetery in Limestone.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Tilly Boston Red Sox players Philadelphia Athletics players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball center fielders People from Washington County, Tennessee Baseball players from Tennessee American League home run champions 1887 births 1959 deaths Minor league baseball managers Spartanburg Spartans players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Mobile Bears players Greenville Spinners players People from Limestone, Tennessee