June 8, 1928: Curt Walker’s 3 clutch hits lead Reds to comeback victory over Brooklyn

In 2011 the Cincinnati Enquirer published a list of the 100 greatest players in the 130-year history of the Cincinnati Reds.1 Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan topped the rankings, which were brimming with the names of renowned ballplayers. But coming in at number 62 was Curt Walker, a long-forgotten right fielder who spent 7 of his 12 major-league seasons in a Reds uniform and compiled a career batting average of .304. “Clearly, he is The Greatest Red You Never Heard Of,” wrote the Enquirer’s John Erardi.2

Walker was a fan favorite in Cincinnati from 1924 to 1930, largely because of his hustle, consistency, and solid all-around play.3 Although Walker never appeared in a World Series or All-Star Game,4 his career was not without its highlights. Perhaps his greatest big-league moment came on June 8, 1928, in a 5-3 Reds victory over the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field.5 Walker had a hand in all five Cincinnati runs, including a game-winning two-run home run in the 11th inning off future Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance.

After Walker kicked off his big-league career with brief stints with the New York Yankees and New York Giants, he was traded to the last-place Philadelphia Phillies in late July 1921, giving him a greater opportunity to play.6 The lefty-swinging slugger hit .338 for the remainder of the 1921 season and enjoyed a career year in 1922, batting .337 with 12 homers and 89 RBIs.

The Phillies dealt Walker to the Reds at the end of May 1924.7 During the 1926 pennant race − Cincinnati’s first since 1920 – he contributed a .306 batting average, 6 homers, and 78 RBIs. His home ballpark, spacious Redland Field, deflated his home-run totals, but Walker blasted 20 triples in 1926, the second most in the National League.8 To the chagrin of Reds fans, their team faded down the stretch and finished two games out.9

With an aging roster, the Reds slipped to fifth place in 1927, and they were not expected to contend in 1928.10 But Cincinnati got great pitching in the early going, led by 26-year-old Red Lucas and graybeards Eppa Rixey and Carl Mays, propelling the team into first place in late May.11

The Reds began a four-game series against the Brooklyn Robins on June 6 with a 2½-game lead over the second-place Giants. After they dropped the first two games of the series to the fifth-place Robins, Cincinnati’s lead was just 1½ games.

Cincinnati turned to 32-year-old southpaw Jakie May on June 8 in the hopes of snapping its three-game losing skid. His record stood at 1-1 with a 4.73 ERA after three starts and four relief appearances so far in 1928. He was opposed by Vance, a 37-year-old right-hander with plenty of gas still left in his tank. With a 4-5 record and a 3.09 ERA, Vance was off to a relatively slow start, but he went on to win 22 games in 1928 while capturing the ERA title and leading the NL in strikeouts for the seventh consecutive season.12

Vance issued a one-out walk to Marty Callaghan in the top of the first. The Cincinnati center fielder stole second, moved to third on Wally Pipp’s groundout, and scored when shortstop Dave Bancroft booted Walker’s groundball, giving Cincinnati a 1-0 lead without a hit.

May had trouble finding the plate in the bottom of the inning, walking the first three batters he faced.13 Rube Bressler’s sacrifice fly tied the game, and rookie first baseman Del Bissonette gave Brooklyn a 2-1 lead when he slapped a single into center field.14 Cincinnati manager Jack Hendricks gave May the quick hook and replaced him with 24-year-old righty Pete Jablonowski,15 who retired the side without further damage.

Both pitchers cruised through the next four innings. Only one man reached base against Vance, Horace “Hod” Ford on a third-inning walk. Jablonowski allowed only two baserunners, on a single by Babe Herman in the third and a walk to Harvey Hendrick in the fifth.

Vance took a no-hitter into the sixth. Callaghan broke up the no-no with a two-out single, and he moved into scoring position on Pipp’s single. Walker, batting in the cleanup spot, tagged Vance for another single and the game was tied, 2-2.

Brooklyn put runners on the corners with one out in the eighth on hard singles by Herman and Bisonnette.16 Lefty-swinging Jay Partridge, pinch-hitting for second baseman Harry Riconda, hit a sacrifice fly off Jablonowski to give the Robins a 3-2 lead.17

With Cincinnati down to its final three outs, Walker led off with a triple to the left-center-field fence, his major-league-leading eighth three-base-hit of the season.18 According to the Cincinnati Post, the blast rattled Vance so much that he immediately tossed a wild pitch in the dirt, and Walker trotted home with the tying run.19 It was the only wild pitch uncorked by Vance in 280⅓ innings in 1928.

Jablonowski retired Brooklyn in order in the bottom of the frame to send the game into extra innings. Both Vance and Jablonowski tossed one-two-three innings in the 10th.

Pipp reached on a one-out single in the 11th and was removed for a pinch-runner, Billy Zitzmann. Walker then stepped into the batter’s box and “nonchalantly heaved the pellet into Bedford Avenue,” for a two-run homer,20 giving him his third consecutive clutch hit off Vance.

Jablonowski kept the Robins off the scoresheet in the bottom of the inning, and Cincinnati had a much-needed 5-3 victory. Jablonowski picked up the win with 10⅔ gutsy innings of relief. He limited Brooklyn to one earned run on five hits, two walks, and four strikeouts.21

Walker finished the game with a single, triple, home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored.

The Reds soon fell back to earth, partly because of injuries. Their ace hurler, Lucas, broke his arm when he was struck by a line drive during batting practice on May 27, and he missed six weeks of action.22 On June 13 Mays was removed from a game because of a sore arm; he didn’t win another game all season.23

The streaking St. Louis Cardinals took over first place on June 15, and Cincinnati dropped out of the pennant race by losing 11 of 14 games to end the month. The Reds wound up in fifth place with a 78-74 record,24 giving them their second of an eventual 11 straight second-division finishes.

Walker’s season was cut short on August 31 when he attempted to break up a double play at second base. He was struck in the head on the throw to first by Chicago Cubs shortstop Woody English, and suffered a fractured skull. Walker spent several weeks in the hospital. For a while it was unclear if he would ever play again, but he bounced back in 1929 to hit .313 with 7 homers, 83 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases.

The next season Cincinnati moved Walker into the leadoff spot and for the first time in his big-league career he was used primarily as a left fielder. Although he hit .307, there were signs that his skills were in decline. His range in the outfield had become below average and he was successful in only 4 of 10 stolen-base attempts.

Dan Howley, who took over as Reds manager in 1930, continued to remake his team by releasing several players in the offseason, including Walker.25 The 34-year-old wasn’t ready to retire just yet, so he played two more seasons in the American Association. True to form, Walker hit a combined .308 in 1931-32. As of the start of the 2024 season, Walker remained one of only six National or American League players since 1901 to hit .300 or more in his final two big-league seasons and qualify for the batting title in both.26

In a 1954 interview – less than two years before he died − Walker expressed a fondness for his time in the Queen City. “In the seven years I played for the Reds, I was never booed,” he stated proudly. “[Cincinnati] fans could be rough at times; I’ve even heard them boo as fine a player as Eddie Roush, but for some reason they never picked on me. It’s nice to remember that, and also to remember that the years in Cincinnati were the happiest of my baseball life.”27

Walker named spitballer Burleigh Grimes as the hurler he found most difficult to hit in his career.28 The pitcher he felt he had the easiest time with may have been a surprise to some: Dazzy Vance.29 Walker batted .331 with 19 RBIs in 142 career at-bats against him. “I never have been able to explain that,” he said. “Vance had a tremendous amount of stuff … for some reason I had Vance’s number.”30

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kevin Larkin and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Stathead.com, and Retrosheet.org. The author also reviewed the SABR biographies of Curt Walker and Pete Appleton. Unless otherwise noted, all play-by-play information for this game was taken from the article “Curt Walker Is Star of 11-Inning Game, Which Reds Win, 5-3,” on page 11 of the June 9, 1928, edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO192806080.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1928/B06080BRO1928.htm

Photo credit: Curt Walker, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 “The Enquirer’s 100 Greatest Reds,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 4, 2011: C12.

2 John Erardi, “Appropriately Named Walker an Unsung Star,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 4, 2011: C1.

3 Erardi, “Appropriately Named Walker an Unsung Star.”

4 The first All-Star Game was played in 1933, three years after Walker’s final season in the major leagues.

5 Another highlight of Walker’s career came when he tripled twice in the second inning of a 13-4 blowout of the Boston Braves on July 22, 1926. According to the Baseball Almanac, it was almost 80 years before another NL player hit two triples in an inning. Cory Sullivan of the Colorado Rockies turned the trick on April 9, 2006, against the San Diego Padres.

6 On July 25, 1921, the Giants traded Walker, catcher Butch Henline, and $30,000 to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Irish Meusel. Meusel helped the Giants win four straight pennants and two World Series championships from 1921 to 1924.

7 On May 30, 1924, the Phillies sent Walker to the Reds for outfielder George Harper.

8 Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Waner led the NL with 22 triples in 1926.

9 The St. Louis Cardinals won the pennant and they went on to win their first World Series championship.

10 Associated Press, “Yanks Will Repeat, National League Will Again Be Thriller, Is 1928 Outlook,” Atlantic City Press, April 9, 1928: 16; Grantland Rice, “The Sportlight,” Chattanooga (Tennessee) News, April 9, 1928: 2B.

11 Lucas (8-2, 2.16 ERA) was leading the league in wins at the end of May, while Rixey was 7-4. Mays missed most of April before going 4-1 in May. His last win of the season came on May 27, a 2-0 shutout of the tough St. Louis Cardinals.

12 Vance caught fire after the June 8 game. He went 18-4 with a 1.64 ERA for the remainder of the season. Vance posted his third and final 20-win season in 1928; it was also the last time he led the league in strikeouts. He added his third and final ERA title in 1930.

13 The walks were issued to Arnold “Jigger” Statz, Harvey Hendrick, and Babe Herman. There was also a passed ball by Val Picinich with Hendrick at the plate and a double steal with Herman batting.

14 Tom Swope, “Redlegs Again Cheer Gotham,” Cincinnati Post, June 9, 1928: 6. Bissonette was on his way to an outstanding season, leading all rookies in RBIs (106) and homers (25). He had three of the six Brooklyn hits in this game.

15 During the 1933-34 offseason, Jablonowski changed his surname to Appleton. He appeared in 341 major-league games from 1927 through 1945.

16 Swope, “Redlegs Again Cheer Gotham.”

17 Bisonnette was thrown out at second base attempting to advance on Partridge’s sacrifice fly for an inning-ending double play.

18 Walker missed the final 26 games of the season with an injury and finished in a tie for sixth place in the league with 12 triples.

19 Swope, “Redlegs Again Cheer Gotham.”

20 Jack Ryder, “Curt Walker Is Star of 11-Inning Game, Which Reds Win, 5-3,” Cincinnati Enquirer, June 9, 1928: 11.

21 This appearance turned out to be the longest outing of his 14-year career in the majors.

22 “Lucas Laments ‘Tough Break,’” Cincinnati Post, May 28, 1928: 1.

23 Cincinnati released the 36-year-old Mays in the middle of August. He spent the final season of his major-league career with the Giants in 1929. Jack Ryder, “‘Met Enemy and They are Ours,’ Reds Say after Giant Battles,” Cincinnati Enquirer, June 14, 1928: 12; “Notes of the Game,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 15, 1928: 8.

24 The Cardinals went 95-59 to claim their second pennant in three seasons.

25 Tom Swope, “This Is Station Swope Broadcasting,” Cincinnati Post, February 16, 1931: 10; Jack Ryder, “Bub Seeking to Land with Millers,” Cincinnati Enquirer, January 21, 1931: 15.

26 Two of the six players to hit at least .300 in their final two big-league seasons did so under unique circumstances. Shoeless Joe Jackson was banished from baseball for his role in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, and Ray Chapman died after being hit by a pitch thrown by Carl Mays in 1920. In addition to Walker, the three other players in this elite group were Bill “Wagon Tongue” Keister, George Sisler, and Kirby Puckett.

27 Lee Allen, “Curt Walker Living Quietly in Beeville,” Cincinnati Enquirer, March 7, 1954: 53.

28 Walker hit .309 in 123 career at-bats against Grimes, although his memory may have been clouded by going hitless in eight plate appearances against him during the 1926 pennant race.

29 “How Tribesmen Broke In,” Indianapolis News, May 4, 1932: 7.

30 Allen, “Curt Walker Living Quietly in Beeville.”