Dixie Walker, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetDixie Walker
professional baseball player
Date of Birth: 24-Sep-1910
Place of Birth: Villa Rica, Georgia, United States
Date of Death: 17-May-1982
Profession: baseball player
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Libra 
About Dixie Walker
- Fred E.
- "Dixie" Walker (September 24, 1910 – May 17, 1982) was an outfielder, primarily a right fielder, in Major League Baseball, playing for the New York Yankees (1931, 1933–36), Chicago White Sox (1936–37), Detroit Tigers (1938–39), Brooklyn Dodgers (1939–47) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1948–49).
- In 11 years in the National League, Walker posted a .310 batting average (in nine seasons in the American League, an average of .295), with 105 total home runs and 1,023 RBIs in 1,905 games.Walker's popularity with the Ebbets Field fans in the 1940s brought him the nickname "The People's Cherce" (so-called, and spelled, because "Choice" in the "Brooklynese" of the mid-20th century frequently was pronounced that way).
- He was an All-Star in five consecutive years (1943–47) and the 1944 National League batting champion.
- Walker may be best known for his reluctance to play on the same team as Jackie Robinson in 1947.From the MLB Network special Jackie Robinson: ”A very popular player, a charming fellow, [Dixie Walker] prepared a petition [for Dodgers manager Leo Durocher] saying, ‘If you promote a black man [Robinson], we will not play.’ Branch Rickey [the Dodgers' president and general manager] contacted Durocher and said, ‘Stomp this fire out right now because we can’t let it spread.’ Durocher, hearing about it, called a meeting of the players and said, ‘I’ll tell you what you can do with your petition: If a guy can win games for me, I don’t care if he’s white, or black, or striped, or green, he’s going to play for me.’ Dixie Walker left a note for Branch Rickey, asking to be traded.
- Leeds, Alabama, is where Dixie Walker had his hardware store.
- He had to go home and answer to his customers, to his friends [who asked], ‘Do you mean you shower with this guy? Do you eat with this guy? We don’t do that.’ Branch Rickey explored trading Walker, but he couldn’t afford to lose his star outfielder, and he continued to rely on Leo Durocher to keep the team in line.”
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