Mysterious Mitchell Revealed!

Mysterious Mitchell Revealed

In 1910, The Spokane Press published a drawing asking readers to identify a player on the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League.

No one was able to do so. And that was just a part of the story.

Frederick Mitchell Walker was a star halfback for legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg at the University of Chicago from 1904 to 1906. In one practice session, Walker suffered a concussion so severe he became confused and believed he was playing against Northwestern in a live football game.

Walker was also a star pitcher for the Maroons baseball team for three years, also coached by Stagg. In one season, Walker pitched in every game except two.

Upon graduation, Walker coached various sports at several colleges including Utah State where one of his football players died from a tackle and Ole Miss where his 1910 baseball team won the southern college championship. After the college season, Walker reported to the Cincinnati Reds and pitched one game.

Later that summer, a sensational pitcher named “Mysterious Mitchell” joined the San Francisco Seals, baffling batters and even winning both games of a double header. Everyone out west thought he showed up from nowhere. He drew huge crowds. He threatened to break cameras and refused to take the field unless umpires directed photographers to leave.

Eventually a Chicago writer identified him as Frederick Mitchell Walker. For the rest of his sports career, he was known as both “Mysterious Mitchell” and “Mysterious Walker.” After his short stint with the Reds, Walker had signed a contract with the Giants, was accused of assault by a hotel maid, invented an alias and had disappeared.

Now identified, Walker went back to college coaching and was fired from one job for punching a referee. He also played professional basketball in Pittsburgh.

In 1912, Mysterious resurfaced in the Major Leagues. He again pitched in just one game, this time with the Cleveland Indians.

Then things got really mysterious. Walker spent the next several years bouncing back and forth between Major League baseball and college coaching. In 1913, he pitched almost 60 innings for the Brooklyn Superbas. In 1914, Mysterious joined the Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federal League and earned the dubious distinction of leading the league in wild pitches. In 1915, he ended his big-league career pitching for the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League.

What happened next? Mysterious Walker coached basketball, baseball and football for 25 years at over ten colleges including the University of Texas, Rhode Island, Michigan State, Loyola-New Orleans, Williams and Dartmouth.

Mystery solved!