UAB
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B A S E B A L L
HARRY “THE HAT” WALKER One of the most colorful characters to ever grace the UAB campus, Harry “The Hat” Walker passed away on August 8, 1999. Walker served as the first head coach for the Blazer baseball program from its inception in 1979 to 1986. His No. 32 is the only UAB baseball jersey number to be retired. Walker, who was inducted in the UAB Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013, led the Blazers to two Sun Belt North Division titles (1981-82) and had an eight-year record of 211-171 (.552). What cannot be measured about Walker in pure numbers can be measured in terms of the impact that he had in the early days of the UAB program. A veteran of five decades in professional baseball, “The Hat” brought a style, and more importantly, instant credibility to the fledgling program.
Harry William “The Hat” Walker Batted: Left; Threw: Right Height: 6-2; Weight: 190 Born: Oct. 22, 1916 (Pascagoula, Miss.) Died: Aug. 8, 1999 (Birmingham, Ala.) Major League Debut: September 25, 1940
From a modest 21-29 record in his first season in 1979, Walker and the Blazers followed with a 30-20 mark in 1980 and a 40-17 record in 1981. He finished out his career at UAB with four consecutive 20-plus victory seasons. Nicknamed “The Hat” for his habit of adjusting his cap between pitches in the batter’s box, Walker spent 22 years as a player in professional baseball. He played eight years with the St. Louis Cardinals, appearing in three World Series (1942-43, 46) and two All-Star Games (1943, 47). A left-handed hitter, he won the 1947 National League batting title with a .363 average while playing for two different teams, St. Louis and Philadelphia. In all, he hit over .300 five times and had a .296 lifetime average. The versatile player, who was mostly an outfielder during his career, also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. Walker spent 20 years as a manager, including major league stints with the Cardinals (1955), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1965-67) and the Houston Astros (1968-72). After the 1972 season, Walker worked as a hitting instructor for the Cardinals for three seasons. He was St. Louis’ minor league farm director in 1976 and the Cards’ advance scout and major-league scout for trades from 1977-78. Walker came from a family steeped in tradition. His father, Ewart (Dixie) Walker, was the first Alabamian to go to the majors. Dixie pitched for Washington in 1909 and his uncle, Ernie, played for the St. Louis Browns. His brother, Fred (Dixie), was a star outfielder in both the AL and NL. Dixie also won the National League batting title in 1944. Walker was revered as one of the game’s great hitting instructors, as he worked with stars such as Cesar Cedeno, Matty Alou, Manny Mota and many others. During the 1997 season, the Harry “The Hat” Walker Press Box was dedicated prior to the March 4 game vs. Vanderbilt. The “Hat Box” was a dream for Walker, who wanted the local and visiting media to enjoy the hospitality of UAB Baseball at Young Memorial Field. Walker was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.
Playing Record Year Team (League) 1940 St. Louis (NL) 1941 St. Louis (NL) 1942 St. Louis (NL) 1943 St. Louis (NL) 1946 St. Louis (NL) 1947 St. Louis (NL) Philadelphia (NL) 1948 Philadelphia (NL) 1949 Chicago (NL) Cincinnati (NL) 1950 St. Louis (NL) 1951 St. Louis (NL) 1955 St. Louis (NL) Total
G 7 7 74 148 112 10 130 112 42 86 60 8 11 807
AB R 27 2 15 3 191 38 564 76 346 53 25 2 488 79 332 34 159 20 314 53 150 17 26 6 14 2 2651 385
H 5 41 60 166 82 5 181 97 42 100 31 8 5 786
2B 2 1 12 28 14 1 28 11 6 15 5 1 2 126
3B 0 0 2 6 6 0 16 2 3 2 0 0 0 37
HR 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 10
RBI 6 1 16 53 27 0 41 23 14 23 7 2 1 214
Avg. .185 .267 .314 .294 .237 .200 .371 .292 .264 .318 .207 .308 .357 .296
3B 0 0 0 0
HR 0 0 0 0
RBI 0 0 6 6
Avg. .000 .167 .412 .278
RBI 0 0 0
Avg. .000 .000 .000
Led National League in sacrifice hits (36) in 1943 Led National League in batting average (.363) in 1947 World Series Record Year Team 1942 St. Louis-NL 1943 St. Louis-NL 1946 St. Louis-NL Total
G 1 5 7 13
AB 1 18 17 36
R 0 0 3 3
H 0 3 7 10
2B 0 1 2 3
Member of the 1942 and 1946 World Series Champions All-Star Game Record Year League 1943 National 1947 National Total
AB 1 2 3
R 0 0 0
H 0 0 0
2B 0 0 0
3B 0 0 0
HR 0 0 0
Major League Managerial Record Year Team (League) W L 1955 St. Louis (NL) 51 67 1965 Pittsburgh (NL) 90 72 1966 Pittsburgh (NL) 92 70 1967 Pittsburgh (NL) 42 42 1968 Houston (NL) 49 52 1969 Houston (NL) 81 81 1970 Houston (NL) 79 83 1971 Houston (NL) 79 83 1972 Houston (NL) 67 54 Total 630 604
Pct. .432 .556 .568 .500 .485 .500 .488 .488 .554 .511
League Finish 7th 3rd 3rd 6th 10th 5th-West 4th-West 4th-West 2nd-West
Collegiate Coaching Record Year School (Conf.) W 1979 UAB 21 1980 UAB (Sun Belt) 30 1981 UAB (Sun Belt) 40 1982 UAB (Sun Belt) 14 1983 UAB (Sun Belt) 29 1984 UAB (Sun Belt) 27 1985 UAB (Sun Belt) 26 1986 UAB (Sun Belt) 24 Total 211
Pct. .420 .600 .702 .438 .617 .628 .491 .480 .552
Conference Finish
All-Star Game starter in 1947
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U A B
B l a z e r s
L 29 20 17 18 18 16 27 26 171
2nd 1st-North 1st-North 2nd-West 3rd-West 3rd-West 3rd-West