Gee Walker
Gee Walker (Gerald Holmes Walker) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder who played 15 seasons from 1931 to 1945 for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds. Born March 19, 1908, in Gulfport, Mississippi, he attended the University of Mississippi, where he played both football and baseball. He died March 20, 1981, in Jackson, Mississippi, at age 73.
He compiled a career batting average of .294, with 1,991 hits, 124 home runs, 998 RBIs and 223 stolen bases over 1,784 games. Walker was a two-time World Series participant with the Tigers, winning the title in 1935, and was selected as an All-Star in 1937.
Known for his fiery, entertaining style, Walker earned the nickname “The Madman from Mississippi” and became a fan favorite in Detroit. He posted a .300-plus average in five of his first seven seasons, and in 1936 he hit .353 with 55 doubles, one of the league leaders that year.
In 1937 he had a standout season: he opened with a cycle on Opening Day (the only player to do so on Opening Day in that era) and enjoyed a 27-game hitting streak in spring and early summer. He finished the year with a career-best 18 home runs, 113 RBIs and a .335 average, which helped earn his All-Star selection. Despite his performance, Detroit traded him to the White Sox after the season, a move that upset Tigers fans.
Walker continued to play for several teams—the Senators, Indians, and Reds—through 1945. While with Cincinnati in 1942, he collided with fellow Mississippi native Harry Craft, an injury that led to Clyde Vollmer’s major league debut the next day. After retiring as a player, Walker briefly coached the Reds in 1946.
He passed away in 1981 after a long illness. He left behind four sons, a daughter and two brothers; one brother, Hub Walker, also played in the majors for Detroit and Cincinnati.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:04 (CET).