Walt Whittaker

Walter Elton Whittaker (June 11, 1894 – August 9, 1965), nicknamed "Doc", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics in a single game in 1916.

Walt Whittaker
Pitcher
Born: (1894-06-11)June 11, 1894
Chelsea, Massachusetts
Died: August 7, 1965(1965-08-07) (aged 71)
Pembroke, Massachusetts
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 6, 1916, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
July 6, 1916, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Win–loss record0–0
Earned run average4.50
Strikeouts0
Teams

Biography

A native of Chelsea, Massachusetts, Whittaker played baseball at Somerville High School, where he was the winning pitcher in eight of the team's 15 victories in 1911.[1] He then attended Worcester Academy and Tufts University.[2] While at Tufts in 1914 and 1915, he played summer baseball for the Falmouth Cottage Club in what is now the Cape Cod Baseball League. One of the top pitchers in the league, he threw a no-hitter for Falmouth against Oak Bluffs in 1915.[3][4][5][6] Whittaker played a key role in what has been called the "greatest college baseball battle ever waged," a 1916 championship game between collegiate baseball powerhouses Tufts and Harvard.[7]

Whittaker's only major league appearance came for Baseball Hall of Fame manager Connie Mack's historically poor-performing 1916 Philadelphia club. Whittaker tossed the final two innings for the Athletics on July 6 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia's 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers, whose lineup featured Hall of Famer Ty Cobb.[8]

Upon graduation from Tufts, Whittaker pursued a career in dentistry.[1] He died in 1965.

References
  1. Forr, James (2010). Pie Traynor: A Baseball Biography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7864-4385-7.
  2. "Walt Whittaker - Player Card". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  3. "Baseball Games at Falmouth Heights Start With Rush". Falmouth Enterprise. Falmouth, MA. July 4, 1914. p. 2.
  4. "New Bedford Colonials Beaten By Falmouth". Falmouth Enterprise. Falmouth, MA. July 25, 1914. p. 6.
  5. "Baseball at Heights". Falmouth Enterprise. Falmouth, MA. September 4, 1915. p. 7.
  6. "Base Ball Notes". Falmouth Enterprise. Falmouth, MA. July 1, 1916. p. 5.
  7. Tom Simon. "Heinie Stafford". sabr.org. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  8. "Detroit Tigers at Philadelphia Athletics Box Score, July 6, 1916". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
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