Tom Walker Stats

Robert Thomas Walker was a Major League Baseball player with the Montreal Expos (1972-1974), Detroit Tigers (1975), St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Montreal Expos (1977), and California Angels (1977). Tom, his nickname, was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1968 Baseball Draft, during the first round, ninth overall, out of Brevard Community College (now known as Eastern Florida State College), and when Walker made his debut on April 23, 1972, he was the first former Titan to play in the majors.

Tom Walker Rookie Card | 1973 Topps Baseball Card (#41 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Tom Walker "established an all-time pro baseball record with the longest no-hitter ever, a 15-inning masterpiece for Dallas-Fort Worth vs Albuquerque. Tom faced only two batters over the minimum 45, 2 of the 4 batters he walked were erased, one on a steal and the other on a double play. Tom retired the first 18 batters he faxed and the last 22. Game was played 8-4-71." The research above is on the back of Walker's rookie card, pictured directly above, and the front of this 1973 Topps Baseball Card, appears in the biographical research section, because Tom signed one for Baseball Almanac in 2008. The original newspaper story for the Tom Walker No-Hitter:

Tom Walker No-Hitter | 4 August 1971 | Fort Worth Star Telegram | Page 13
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Major League infielder Neil Walker, Tom's son, once said in a post game press conference, on Roberto Clemente Day in 2017, "I still get goosebumps talking about it. My dad does too. I certainly wouldn't be here if he had gotten on that plane." Walker was one of the ballplayers who helped Roberto Clemente load a small plane filled with emergency supplies, bound for Nicaragua, on December 31, 1972. Walker was going to board the plane, stayed in Puerto Rico, and soon after takeoff, the plane went down, killing everyone on board. Tom said, "I can still see him standing on the ramp to the plane, and I was talking to him. I'm probably the last ballplayer to see him alive. As I worked my way back to my apartment that evening, the person across the street from me came over to tell me that his plane had crashed and there's no survivors. Well, there's no English-speaking radio stations in Puerto Rico, there's no ESPN, there's no cell phones in 1972, so I thought, 'This cannot be.'" It was, however, completely true, Roberto Clemente died that day. Tom Walker died on Monday, October 22, 2023. He was 74-years-old.