Interview with Harry Walker, May 11, 1988

Interview Summary

Harry "The Hat" Walker, from Mississippi, was a Major League baseball player, manager and coach. In this interview, he discusses his childhood as part of a family already famous for baseball players, his early career playing in the Minor Leagues, his becoming a free agent, his dealings with team owner Branch Rickey, his salary as a player for the St. Louis Cardinals, his military service during World War II, spring training in 1946, and his stances and hitting techniques. He talks about being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, his career as a manager, the 1946 World Series, the creation of the player pension plan, some of his fellow Cardinals players, Phillies manager Ben Chapman, Jackie Robinson, his (Walker's) thoughts on playing with and managing black baseball players, and segregation in the North and South. Other topics include Walker's favorite movie genres, a comparison of different baseball parks he has played in, changes in baseball equipment over the years, the reserve clause, and his views on doing player endorsements.

Interview Keyword

Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler Baseball Baseball Commissioner Harry "The Hat" Walker

Interview LC Subject

Baseball Baseball--United States Chandler, Happy, 1898-1991 Walker, Harry Walker, Harry--Interviews

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.