Mysterious Walker Frederick Mitchell Walker ( March 21 , 1884 – February 1 , 1958 ) , nickname d " Mysterious " , was an American athlete and coach . He was a three - sport athlete for the University of Chicago from 1904 to 1906 and played Major League Baseball as a right - handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds , Cleveland Indians , Brooklyn Superbas , Pittsburgh Rebels and Brooklyn Tip - Tops . He earned the nickname " Mysterious " after pitching under a pseudonym for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1910 . He also served as a college basketball , baseball and football coach at numerous colleges and universities , including Utah State University , University of Mississippi , Oregon State University , Carnegie Tech , Washington & Jefferson College , Williams College , Dartmouth College , Michigan State University , DePauw University , Loyola University New Orleans , University of Texas , and Wheaton College . Early years . Walker was born in 1884 in Utica , Nebraska . He later moved during his youth to the Hyde Park section of Chicago . Athlete at University of Chicago . He attended the University of Chicago where he played football , baseball and basketball . He played at the halfback position for Amos Alonzo Stagg ' s Chicago Maroons football teams from 1904 to 1906 . As a freshman in October 1904 , Walker suffered a concussion during a practice session when he collided with another player . The injury initially appeared not to be serious , but later that night Walker became " temporarily deranged " and , during his " delerium " he believed he was playing a football game against Northwestern that was scheduled for the following week . He was a member of the 1905 Chicago Maroons football team that defeated Michigan by a score of 2 – 0 ending a 56 - game unbeaten streak for Fielding H . Yost ' s " Point - a - Minute " teams . Walker played a strong first half in the 1905 win over Michigan , but was forced to leave the game at the start of the second half due to a knee injury . In November 1906 , the " Chicago Daily Tribune " wrote : " Fred Walker is playing his third year on the maroon team and is considered to be one of the best all round players in the country . Last year in the backfield , he is being used at end this season . " Walker was also one of the most dependable pitchers for the Maroons ' baseball teams for three years , also coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg , and won one varsity letter in basketball . In one season , he pitched in every baseball game except two for the University of Chicago . Coaching career and professional baseball . 1907 – 1910 . After graduating from Chicago in 1907 , Walker was hired as the athletic director and coach of four sports at Utah Agricultural College , now known as Utah State University . His 1907 Utah Aggies football team finished the season with a 6 – 1 record and outscored opponents 184 to 25 . The 1908 team began the season 4 – 0 after scoring 138 points to 6 for the opponents . However , during the 1908 football season , one of Walker ' s football players was killed during a game , and the sport was abolished at the college . He spent the latter part of the 1908 season as an assistant coach under John P . Koehler at Denver University . In the summer of 1908 , Walker played semi - professional baseball for the Rogers Parks team on the north side of Chicago . His pitching for Rogers Parks brought Walker to the attention of Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey , who reportedly told Walker to " name his terms . " In 1909 , Walker returned to the University of Chicago as an assistant football coach under head coach Stagg . In 1910 , he coached the University of Mississippi baseball team and led them to the southern college championship , finishing with a record of 11 – 3 . At the conclusion of the college baseball season in 1910 , Walker left Mississippi and joined the Cincinnati Reds as a pitcher . He appeared in one game for the Reds , pitching three innings on June 28 , 1910 , and allowing four hits and one earned run . Walker finished the 1910 season playing baseball for the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League . He appeared in 11 games for the Seals and compiled a record of 6 – 4 with a 2 . 68 earned run average . While playing for San Francisco in 1910 , Walker identified himself as Frank Mitchell , leaving off his last name . Mystery surrounded his appearances in the Pacific Coast League . Some accounts indicate that he wore a mask while pitching for the Seals . After he won both games of a doubleheader over the Los Angeles Angels in early September 1910 , allowing seven hits in the first game and six in the second , the " Los Angeles Times " first referred to him as " Mysterious Mitchell , " reporting as follows : " The big feature of this first double - header was the work of the iron ' busher ' who heaved in both games . In the first , of ten innings , he allowed but seven hits , and in the second , of seven innings , six swats were made off him . . . . Hash Mitchell , the mystery that came from nowhere to pitch four straight victories for the Seals . . . Every one watched Mitchell in the hope that they might guess who he is by looking at him , and while they were gazing they saw some real spit ball pitching that was remarkable for the amount of juice he used to deceive the local batsmen . " The following week , the buzz surrounding " Mysterious Mitchell " continued to grow . Following a game in San Francisco , the press reported that Mitchell remained the focus of attention : " Mysterious Mitchell furnished the sensation at Recreation Park once more this afternoon when 8000 wildly excited fans upset baseball tradition . . . . Until after the game the twirler created as much interest and excitement as the contest itself as there was still more to follow . He was the center of a throng as he left the stand and when he went to the offices of the baseball company , several hundred people gathered to look at him and call for a speech . " On September 19 , 1910 , Chicago sporting writers identified Mysterious Mitchell based on a photograph published by the " Los Angeles Times " as Fred Walker , the former pitching star for the University of Chicago . The press reported that Walker had signed earlier in the summer with the New York Giants but " got into trouble with a chambermaid at a hotel where he stopped , who accused the young pitcher of attempted assault . " Following the accusation , Walker had disappeared leaving no trace until his photograph appeared in the " Los Angeles Times " . For the rest of his career in baseball , Walker was known as either " Mysterious Walker " and " Mysterious Mitchell . " 1911 – 1916 . In 1911 , Walker coached the baseball team for the Oregon Aggies . His Oregon Aggies team finished 8 – 7 and lost the championship by a half game . During the winter of 1911 – 1912 , Walker served as the coach for a basketball team in San Francisco . He was discharged in January 1912 after striking a referee in an altercation that grew out of a disagreement in a game . Members of the team petitioned to have Walker reinstated , contending that the referee ' s conduct justified the blow . In 1912 , Walker signed with the Cleveland Indians and appeared in one game , pitching one inning and giving up no hits and no earned runs . In the fall of 1912 , Walker served as the head football coach at Carnegie Tech , compiling a record of 3 – 4 – 1 . After pitching in the major leagues , he returned to Carnegie Tech as football coach in the fall of 1913 , this time finishing 2 – 4 – 1 , and played professional basketball that winter for Pittsburgh . In 1913 , Walker returned to Major League Baseball as a pitcher for the Brooklyn Superbas . He appeared in 11 games for Brooklyn in 1913 , pitching 58 1 / 3 innings and compiling a 3 . 55 earned run average . In August 1913 , " The Pittsburgh Press " wrote of Walker : " Fred Walker , otherwise known as ' Mysterious Mitchell , ' who is pitching for Brooklyn , appears to be a perfectly good topnotcher for about four innings . After that — well , he hasn ' t won any laurels as a stayer . " In 1914 , Walker pitched for the Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federal League . He appeared in 35 games for the Rebels in 1914 , pitching a career - high 169 1 / 3 innings with a record of 4 – 16 and a 4 . 33 earned run average . He ranked ninth in the Federal League with 16 losses in 1914 and led the league with 12 wild pitch es . During the fall of 1914 , Walker served as an assistant football coach under Bob Folwell at Washington & Jefferson College . In 1915 , Walker played his final season of professional baseball with the Brooklyn Tip - Tops of the Federal League . He appeared in 13 games for the Tip - Tops in 1915 , pitching 65 2 / 3 innings with a 3 . 70 earned run average . He appeared in his final Major League game on September 29 . In 1916 , Walker played minor league baseball , playing for teams in Albany and Utica , New York . In the fall of 1916 , Walker returned to the University of Chicago as an assistant football coach under head coach Stagg . 1917 – 1925 . He also served as an assistant baseball coach in the spring of 1917 at the University of Chicago . During the summer of 1917 , Walker played minor league baseball for New Haven in the Eastern League . In September 1917 , the Williams College athletic council announced the hiring of Walker as the college ' s football coach . Walker served as the head football coach at Williams College in 1917 and led the team to the first undefeated season in the school ' s history with seven wins and one tie . The 1917 Williams team defeated traditional football power Cornell 14 – 10 in the second game of the season and finished the season with a 20 – 0 win over rival , Amherst College . In December 1917 , Walker was hired by Dartmouth College as the school ' s head basketball coach . After the basketball team lost the first 20 games of the season , the Dartmouth Athletic Council discontinued Walker ' s services in February 1918 . At the time , " The New York Times " wrote : " The dissatisfaction of the student body , together with methods of coaching that were described as not in keeping with the council ' s idea of how a Dartmouth team should be coached , were given as the reasons for releasing Walker . " He signed with the St . Louis Cardinals in February 1918 , but spent the summer playing minor league baseball for the Newark Bears and Binghamton Bingoes . He appeared in 20 minor league games in 1918 , with a record of 8 – 9 and a 2 . 58 earned run average . Following the United States ' entry into World War I , Walker served as the athletic director for the Second Naval District at Newport , Rhode Island . At the end of World War I , Walker was hired as the athletic director and head basketball coach at Rhode Island State College , now known as University of Rhode Island . During the 1919 basketball season , Walker led the Rhode Island Rams to a 7 – 1 record ; his . 875 winning percentage is the highest among all basketball coaches in the school ' s history . Walker also coached the school to its first ever basketball victory over Brown University ' s varsity . Walker left Rhode Island abruptly when the school refused to increase his $ 3 , 000 salary . The school ' s Board of Managers refused to reconsider even after receiving a petition signed by 147 of the school ' s 255 students . From 1919 to 1920 , Walker served as the athletic director and football and baseball coach at the New York Agricultural College , now known as State University of New York at Farmingdale . After a year in which the football team went 2 – 5 , Walker resigned his position in June 1920 . He stated that his decision was due to the failure of the legislature to appropriate funds to carry on the athletic program at the school . In September 1920 , Walker returned to the University of Chicago as an assistant football coach under Amos Alonzo Stagg . In February 1921 , Walker signed a three - year contract to serve as the athletic director and head football , basketball and baseball coach at DePauw University in Greencastle , Indiana . In his one year as the head basketball coach , Walker led the Tigers to a 17 – 3 mark in 1921 – 1922 . He led DePauw ' s 1921 football team to a 4 – 3 record . Walker ' s baseball team finished the 1922 season at 4 – 8 . In August 1922 , Walker was hired by Michigan Agricultural College , now Michigan State University , as advisory coach of the football team and as head coach of the basketball and baseball teams . In two seasons as the head basketball and baseball coach at M . A . C . between 1922 and 1924 , Walker ' s basketball and baseball teams had records of 20 – 19 and 20 – 11 , respectively . From 1924 to 1926 , Walker served as the basketball and football coach at Drury College in Springfield , Missouri . In November 1924 , Walker was hailed by the " Chicago Daily Tribune " as " Drury ' s miracle man " when he took " a team of light recruits " and developed them into one of the most sensational elevens in the history of the Missouri Conference . " However , Drury ' s basketball team failed to post a winning record in Walker ' s two seasons at the helm , amassing a cumulative mark of seven wins and thirteen losses . 1926 – 1940 . From 1926 to 1927 , Walker served as athletic director and coach at Loyola University New Orleans . In his one year as the head basketball coach at Loyola , Walker led the team to a 12 – 6 record , including three wins over LSU . In September 1927 , Walker was hired as the head basketball coach at the University of Texas . He remained in the position from 1927 to 1931 , compiling a 51 – 30 combined record during his four - year stint as head coach at Texas . Walker led the Longhorns to an 18 – 2 overall record and 10 – 2 conference record during his second season . He was terminated following the Longhorns ' 9 – 15 season in his fourth year . In August 1932 , Walker was appointed as the head football coach at J . Sterling Morton High School in Cicero , Illinois . In October 1932 , he was dismissed after Major W . P . MacLean , head of the school ' s physical education department , charged that Walker was inefficient , had been late for classes , had allowed students to take out uniforms and equipment without making a deposit , and had allowed the shower rooms dirty during the football season . Nearly 300 citizens and parents crowded into the school ' s regular board room to protest the action . Walker was reinstated after the school superintendent issued a report declaring the charges against Walker to be " petty and trivial . " Two weeks after Walker ' s reinstatement , the individual who had made the charges against him was removed from his position at the school . From 1936 to 1940 , Walker coached baseball , football and basketball at Wheaton College in Wheaton , Illinois . In May 1937 , he was also named athletic director at Wheaton College . Walker was the head coach of the Crusaders football , basketball and baseball teams for four years between 1936 to 1940 and compiled a record of 11 – 14 – 4 in football , 28 – 34 in basketball and 31 – 35 in baseball . In January 1940 , Walker announced that he would resign his coaching positions effective in June 1940 . He noted that he was dissatisfied with the ouster of the university president , James Oliver Buswell , and he intended to devote more time to his security business . Later years . Walker retired from coaching in 1940 and worked in the investment business . He was a vice president of Chesley and Co . from 1952 to 1958 . In February 1958 , Walker died suddenly from a heart attack at his home in Oak Park , Illinois .