View source for Gee Walker

{{Short description|American baseball player (1908–1981)}}
{{for|the anti-racism campaigner|Anthony Walker Foundation}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{refimprove|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Gee Walker
|image=Gee Walker by Apex.jpg
|image_size=220px
|caption=Walker, circa 1931–37
|position=[[Outfielder]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date|1908|3|19}}
|birth_place=[[Gulfport, Mississippi]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1981|3|20|1908|3|19}}
|death_place=[[Jackson, Mississippi]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=April 14
|debutyear=1931
|debutteam=Detroit Tigers
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 30
|finalyear=1945
|finalteam=Cincinnati Reds
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.294
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=124
|stat3label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=998
|teams=
* [[Detroit Tigers]] ({{mlby|1931}}–{{mlby|1937}})
* [[Chicago White Sox]] ({{mlby|1938}}–{{mlby|1939}})
* [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] ({{mlby|1940}})
* [[Cleveland Indians]] ({{mlby|1941}})
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|1942}}–{{mlby|1945}})
|highlights=
* [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1937 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1937]])
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1935}})
}}
'''Gerald Holmes''' "'''Gee'''" '''Walker''' (March 19, 1908 – March 20, 1981) was an American professional [[baseball]] [[outfielder]] who played in [[Major League Baseball]]. During his fifteen-year career he played with the [[Detroit Tigers]], [[Chicago White Sox]], [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]], [[Cleveland Indians]] and [[Cincinnati Reds]].

Walker played in 1,784 major league games over 15 seasons with a career batting average of .294, with 1,991 hits, 124 home runs and 998 RBI. He had 223 [[stolen base]]s, finishing nine times among the top ten for the season. He played for the Tigers in two [[World Series]]; [[1934 World Series|1934]] when they lost to the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], and [[1935 World Series|1935]] when they beat the [[Chicago Cubs]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/W/Pwalkg101.htm|title=Gee Walker Career Stats at Retrosheet|website=Retrosheet.org|accessdate= May 7, 2024}}</ref>

==Early years==
Born in [[Gulfport, Mississippi]], Walker attended the [[University of Mississippi]] and was a member of the Class of 1930. He played both football and baseball at Ole Miss, and is in both the [[Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame]] and the Ole Miss Sports Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.olemiss.edu/alumni/notable/sports.html |title=Notable Alumni |publisher=Olemiss.edu |access-date=2012-08-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010215047/http://www.olemiss.edu/alumni/notable/sports.html |archive-date=2012-10-10 }}</ref>

==Career==
Gee — a fiery competitor and a clown — became a favorite in Detroit. His antics earned him the moniker "'''The Madman from Mississippi'''."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=walkege02 |title=Gee Walker Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac |publisher=Baseball-almanac.com |access-date=2012-08-17}}</ref> He hit .300 or better in five of his first seven seasons. Though regularly among the league leaders in stolen bases, he could also be inattentive and overzealous on the basepaths. He once tried to steal a base during an intentional walk. In the 1934 World Series, he was picked off first while arguing with the Cardinal bench.  Earlier that year, on June 30, he was picked off base twice in the same inning. After [[Hank Greenberg]] singled, Walker reached on an error but was caught off base when the catcher threw to first. Greenberg tried to draw a throw by running to third base and was thrown out, with Walker taking second base. Moments later, with Walker standing six feet off the bag, the pitcher threw to second base and Walker was tagged out. Detroit manager [[Mickey Cochrane]] was so angered by Walker's inattention that he suspended Walker for 10 days and fined him $20.

[[File:GeeWalkerGoudeycard.jpg|thumb|left|180px|A 1934 Goudey baseball card of Walker]]
In 1936, Walker hit .353 — the highest batting average of his career and 6th highest in the American League.  He also hit 55 doubles — second only to his teammate [[Charlie Gehringer]].

In 1937, Walker began the season on fire. On [[Opening Day]], he [[Hitting for the cycle|hit for the cycle]] — the only player to accomplish that feat on Opening Day. He did it in reverse order (called an "unnatural cycle") – starting with a home run, followed by triple, then a double and finally a single. He continued his hot hitting with a 27-game streak in April and May, and his fast start put him in the [[1937 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1937 All-Star Game]], although he did not appear in the game. He ended 1937 with a career-high 18 HR, 113 RBIs and .335 average.

Despite Walker's strong performance that year, the Tigers (reportedly unhappy with his antics) traded him after the season. They sent two of their most popular players, Walker and [[Marv Owen]], to the White Sox for [[Vern Kennedy]], [[Tony Piet]] and [[Dixie Walker]]. The trade caused an uproar with Tiger fans, and owner [[Walter Briggs, Sr.|Walter Briggs]] was forced to issue an announcement from his Miami home that "the deal was made with my approval."

Walker continued to hit well for several years afterward, but was traded four more times. In December 1939, he was traded to the Washington Senators for [[Pete Appleton]] and [[Taffy Wright]]. In December 1940, he was traded to the [[Boston Red Sox]] for [[Doc Cramer]] and then sent to the [[Cleveland Indians]].

While playing for the [[Cincinnati Reds]] in 1942, in the second game of a [[Doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheader]] against the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] on May 30, Walker collided in the outfield with fellow Mississippi native [[Harry Craft]], and both were unable to finish the game.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15113136/red_cards_divide_three_players_hurt/ |title=Red, Cards Divide; Three Players Hurt |newspaper=[[The Tampa Tribune]] |date=May 31, 1942 |access-date=November 14, 2017 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1942/B05302CIN1942.htm |title=St. Louis Cardinals 10, Cincinnati Reds 5 (2) |website=[[Retrosheet]] |date=May 30, 1942}}</ref> Their injuries led to the major league debut of [[Clyde Vollmer]] the next day.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/c844a005 |title=Clyde Vollmer |first=Nelson |last=Green |website=[[Society for American Baseball Research|SABR]] |access-date=November 14, 2017}}</ref>

==Later years==
After retiring as a player, Walker served for a year as a coach for the [[Cincinnati Reds]], in 1946.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Walker died in 1981 at Mississippi State Hospital in [[Jackson, Mississippi]], one day after his birthday, at age 73 after a long illness. He was survived by four sons, a daughter and two brothers, one of whom, [[Hub Walker]], was also a former major league outfielder, with Detroit and Cincinnati.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04E2D61239F932A15750C0A967948260 |title=Gerald (Gee) Walker, Outfielder In Major Leagues for 15 Seasons |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=March 21, 1981}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/d261a06d |title=Gee Walker |first=Dave |last=Raglin |website=[[Society for American Baseball Research|SABR]]}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Baseballstats|br=w/walkege02|brm=walker001ger|retro=W/Pwalkg101}}
* {{Find a Grave}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-ach|ach}}
{{Succession box| before = [[Sam Leslie]] | title = [[Hitting for the cycle]]| years = April 20, 1937 | after = [[Joe DiMaggio]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{1935 Detroit Tigers|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Gee}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball center fielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball left fielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball right fielders]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians players]]
[[Category:American football halfbacks]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox players]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds coaches]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Detroit Tigers players]]
[[Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Ole Miss Rebels baseball players]]
[[Category:Ole Miss Rebels football players]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball managers]]
[[Category:Fort Smith Twins players]]
[[Category:Evansville Hubs players]]
[[Category:Sacramento Solons players]]
[[Category:Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players]]
[[Category:Wheeling Stogies players]]
[[Category:All-Southern college football players]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Gulfport, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Mississippi]]
[[Category:Baseball coaches from Mississippi]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Hattiesburg, Mississippi]]