| Walter French | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | July 12, 1899 |
| Place of birth | Moorestown Township, New Jersey, United States |
| Date of death | May 13, 1984 (aged 84) |
| Place of death | Mountain Home, Arkansas, United States |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Weight | 155 pounds (70 kg) |
| Position(s) | Outfield (Baseball) Halfback (Football) |
| College | Army Rutgers University |
| Career highlights | |
| Honors | *Collyers Eye Mag.: 1st team all-NFL (1925) *Won 1929 World Series *1925 NFL Championship controversy |
| Statistics | |
| Teams | |
| 1923– 1929 1923 1925 |
Philadelphia Athletics (Baseball) Rochester Jeffersons (Football) Pottsville Maroons (Football) |
Walter Edward French (born July 12, 1899 – May 13, 1984 , was a professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1923 to 1929. 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.[1] 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.[2]
French was the baseball coach at the United States Military Academy from 1937 to 1942.[3]
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.[4]
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