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Clarence William "Tilly" Walker (September 4, 1887 – September 21, 1959) was an American professional baseball player. After growing up in Limestone, Tennessee, and attending college locally at Washington College, he entered Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a left fielder and center fielder for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics from 1911 to 1923. In 1918, he tied Babe Ruth for the home run 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.〔 His family moved to Limestone, Tennessee, 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 pitched and played right field for the baseball team at Washington College 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 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 bases.〔(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 compared Walker to Ty Cobb in terms of ability, saying that they differed only because Cobb displayed more effort. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tilly Walker」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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