Albert Bluford "Rube" Walker was a Major League catcher for 11 seasons and later a long-term Major League pitching coach. Offered is a rare, Rube Walker single-signed baseball. Born in Lenoir, North Carolina, in 1926, Walker played for the Chicago Cubs (1948-51) and the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1951-58). He was a second-string catcher noted for his defense and knowledge of pitching. He was behind the plate, subbing for an injured Roy Campanella, during the 1951 famous National League three-game playoff for the pennant, when Bobby Thomson hit his famous home run, the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" home run, to give the New York Giants the NL crown. Walker batted a lifetime .227. He was on four NL pennant winners with the Dodgers and was a part of the Brooklyn Dodgers' only World Championship, in 1955. After his playing career, he managed in the minor leagues and became a Major League pitching coach.

He was the New York Mets' pitching coach for 14 seasons, and he helped to develop the great, young Mets 1969 pitching staff, a group that took New York to the Miracle Mets World Championship - a staff that included two Hall of Famers: Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan. Walker was also a pitching coach with the Washington Senators and Atlanta Braves, and as a Major League pitching coach he worked under three managers who were Hall of Famers: Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, and Joe Torre. Rube Walker passed away in 1992. Johnny Podres, who won the game that gave the Brooklyn Dodgers the team's only World Series, said of Walker: "When it comes to setting up the hitter, there were none better." Tom Seaver also had high praise for Walker, stating, "He was a pitcher's pitching coach." Using blue ballpoint ink, Walker neatly signed an Official American League (Brown) Ball with a signature, on the sweet spot, that rates about 8/10. Overall, the Walker signed ball is in NM-MT condition.