Dixie Walker (September 24, 1910 - May 17, 1982) was a right fielder in Major League Baseball who played 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 an 18-season career, Walker posted a .306 batting average with 105 home runs and 1,023 RBI 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). An All-Star in five consecutive years (1943-47) and the 1944 National League batting champion, he was also considered for the MVP Award five times.
A native of Villa Rica, Georgia, Walker was the scion of a baseball family. His father, Ewart (the original "Dixie Walker"), was a pitcher for the Washington Senators (1909-12); an uncle, Ernie, was an outfielder for the St. Louis Browns (1913-15); and his younger brother, Harry "the Hat", also an outfielder, played for four National League teams between 1940 and 1955 and managed the St. Louis Cardinals (1955), Pittsburgh Pirates (1965-67) and Houston Astros (1968-72). All four Walkers batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
