Walter French (baseball)
Encyclopedia
Walter Edward FrenchWalter Edward French (born July 12, 1899 – May 13, 1984 , was a professional baseball
player who played outfielder
in the Major Leagues
from to . He played for the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1925 he batted .370 in 67 games for the Athletics and was the top pinch hitter
in the majors. He won the 1929 World Series
with the Athletics.
Aside from baseball, he also played football
for the Rochester Jeffersons
and the Pottsville Maroons
of the National Football League
. French was instrumental in helping the Maroons win the 1925 NFL Championship, before it was stripped from the team due to a technicality
. In 1925 French led the league by averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
French was the baseball coach at the United States Military Academy
from 1937 to 1942.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player who played outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
in the Major Leagues
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
from to . He played for the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1925 he batted .370 in 67 games for the Athletics and was the top pinch hitter
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
in the majors. He won the 1929 World Series
1929 World Series
In the 1929 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs in five games.The famous "Mack Attack" occurred in 1929, named for manager of the Athletics, Connie Mack, in which the Athletics overcame an eight-run deficit by scoring ten runs in the seventh inning of Game 4...
with the Athletics.
Aside from baseball, he also played football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
for the Rochester Jeffersons
Rochester Jeffersons
The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925.Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of the century , the team became known as the Jeffersons in reference to the locale of their playing...
and the Pottsville Maroons
Pottsville Maroons
The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. French was instrumental in helping the Maroons win the 1925 NFL Championship, before it was stripped from the team due to a technicality
1925 NFL Championship controversy
The 1925 National Football League Championship, officially held by the Chicago Cardinals, has been the subject of controversy since it was awarded. The controversy centers around the suspension of the Pottsville Maroons by NFL commissioner Joseph Carr, which prevented them from taking the title.The...
. In 1925 French led the league by averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
French was the baseball coach at the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
from 1937 to 1942.
A rival player at the U. S. Military Academy in 1920-21 was Walter French, but he did not graduate. In addition to being a baseball and basketball letterman, he won recognition at West Point as an All American football player. He left the Academy in the fall of 1922, and had a fling at pro football. The next spring he went south with Connie Mack's Athletics but was sent out for some baseball experience. He was called up that fall and played 6 years with the Athletics as a substitute outfielder and pinch hitter. He had a .303 career batting average in the majors and made a brief appearance in the 1929 World Series against the Cubs. He did not give up on football, however, playing with the powerful Pottsville Maroons in the NFL in 1925.
French played baseball several years in the high minors, leading the Southern Association three years in hits, 1931-33. He was a good bunter and a very fast runner. In 1936 he went back to the Military Academy to coach baseball. At the start of World War II he went on active duty with the Army as a reserve officer. He continued on active duty after the war in the Air Force. He retired in late 1959 as a light colonel. He now lives in retirement near San Jose, California. Colonel French had a heart attack in 1972, but says he is now holding his own. The former star of baseball, basketball and football now keeps in shape by playing golf three days a week.