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​​On October 29, 1920, Walter Mails stood on the steps of Sacramento’s City Hall soaking in the public adulation bestowed on the World Series hero 1. In the best of nine series, Cleveland sent Mails to the mound in Game Six with the Tribe up Four Games to Two over Brooklyn. Mails pitched a gem, allowing the Robins just three hits in a brilliant 1-0 shutout. 2

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Mails began the 1920 season as a continuation of the previous season: pitching in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) for the Sacramento Senators. In late August, with Mails sporting an 18-17 record on a team occupying the bottom rung in an eight team PCL, “Duster” was traded to Cleveland. 3

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In joining the Indians as their primary southpaw starter, Walter Mails ripped off seven consecutive wins in his first appearance in the American League (AL). 4 That blistering start helped propel Cleveland past the Chicago White Sox to compete against the Brooklyn Robins in the 1920 World Series.

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In Game 3 of the Series, Indians starter Ray Caldwell had earned only one out in the first inning while allowing Brooklyn two runs. Cleveland manager Tris Speaker brought Walter Mails in to relieve and the California boy delivered5  Mails pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings to give the Indians a chance to rebound. 5 The Tribe only plated one run and Brooklyn took the series lead Two Games to One.

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Fast forward to Game Six—Mails extended his string of “goose eggs in their coffee” to 15 2/3 innings of shutout ball, pitching a 3-hit shutout in the 1-0 victory. 6

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And the next day Cleveland took home the World Series crown with a 3-0 shutout win. Two weeks later, Mails made his triumphal return to the Golden State. 7

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Walter Mails’ path to the major leagues had more twists and turns than an ocean drive on Highway One from his hometown of San Quentin. From 1914, when he began his professional career with Seattle in the Northwestern League, Walter Mails pitched 22 more seasons, finishing with the San Francisco Seals in 1936. During that time he played for eight minor league clubs and three major league teams, compiling an overall record of 260-236 (32-25 MLB). 8

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And yet Mails possibly was better known among ball players with flashy nicknames.

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In the early sandlot days in the Bay Area, Mails often was referred to as “Lefty,” a frequent appellation for “southpaw” pitchers. While in the Northwestern League with Class B Seattle, he soon became “Duster,” purportedly for the portsider’s inability to control his pitches. Or on the flip side, for his ability to brush batters away from the plate.

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When Brooklyn purchased his contract from Seattle in July 1915 he had earned the nickname “Duster,” partly because of an incident that almost precluded his big league start.

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On September 1, in a Northwestern League game, Mails unleashed a pitch that sent batter Bobby Coltrin spinning away to avoid being hit in the head. The batter then hurled his bat toward the mound, missing the pitcher. Mails grabbed the bat and whirled the club back at Coltrin. Both players were ejected. The following day, Mails started the game for Seattle and in the sixth inning he hit Coltrin once more. Again, he was removed and Spokane won 5-1. 9 Hometown Seattle fans held Mails responsible for this loutish behavior, demanding he catch the next train to Brooklyn. Seattle complied and sent Mails to the Robins on September 11.

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The Brooklyn Daily Eagle introduced their new southpaw as “Dust ‘em Mails,” citing the altercation with Spokane. 10 The other nickname which he would later acquire was Walter “The Great” Mails. 11

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Mails’ mother Mary McRae was born in January 1869 in Novato, Marin County. In 1872, the McRae’s moved to San Quentin Village, and in due course, Mr. McRae purchased The Sheppard Hotel, which he ran for thirty years. 12 In the process the McRae’s became community mainstays. John, known as a hearty and hale fellow, was appointed first postmaster of San Quentin in 1887, the same year Mary graduated from Notre Dame College in San Francisco. 13 She returned home and took over the San Quentin postmaster position from her father in 1888. 14

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On the paternal side, around 1860 Franklin (“Frank”) Mails was born to his mother Mary and an unidentified father who bestowed the name Mails. They lived in the foothills of Amador County. Frank was the youngest of four children, which included: Anna (Wright), Mary and George Mails. 15  

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Throughout his adult life, Frank Mails was a “jack-of-all-trades.” One of Frank’s first jobs was working at San Quentin Prison as a prison guard. In March 1889 he and other guards were charged with catching a prison escapee. 16 During the chase, Mails fell through a railroad trestle incurring significant injuries. According to a San Francisco Chronicle story, he recuperated in a local San Quentin hotel. Likely, it was the Sheppard Hotel where he may have met his future wife, Ms. McRae.

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In July 1890, Frank Mails and Mary McRae were married. 17 One month later, she resigned as postmistress of San Quentin. Soon after she delivered her first child, Margaret. In February 1894, likely through his father-in-law’s political connections, Frank Mails was appointed “storekeeper” of warehouse No. 7 in Sausalito, also known as Mason’s malt distillery. 18

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On October 1, 1894 Mary (McRae) Mails delivered a second child, John Walter Mails. 19

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In 1895, Frank Mails moved his new family to Sacramento, where they resided off and on until 1909. Frank’s first job there was a “tinner” or tinsmith working for a local firm. 

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According to the 1900 U.S. Census the Mails family resided in Sacramento (with Margaret age 8 and Walter age 5). 20 But by 1902 the family had returned to the San Rafael area. 21 In the 1905 Marin County Directory, Frank Mails is found working once again as a San Quentin state prison guard.

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An employment record with Southern Pacific Railroad shows Frank had returned to Sacramento with the family in 1905, working as a “tinner in the copper shop.” 22

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One of the few listings documenting Walter’s residence in Sacramento occurred in May 1907. At the age of 11, Walter received the sacrament of Confirmation from Sacramento’s Bishop Grace as documented in the local Sacramento newspapers. 23  

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In 1908, Mary Mails sustained a double personal loss with the deaths of her father on May 11 at age 83 and her mother on September 26, aged 77 years. The Sheppard Hotel was bequeathed to the McRae’s only child, Mary Mails. In 1911, Mary Mails received a divorce from Frank Mails. 24

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Secondary School Mystery

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Christian Brothers College

In 2016, Christian Brothers High inducted John Walter “Duster” Mails into its Athletic Hall of Fame, claiming him as a graduate of the Christian Brothers College (CBC) class of 1912. However, no evidence exists proving Walter Mails  graduated from Christian Brothers. Although he may have attended its primary school at one time, technically he was not an alumnus of the school. Only after Walter Mails attained notoriety as a professional baseball player did the Sacramento newspapers write that Mails “attended Christian Brothers” in Sacramento; attended, but did not graduate from its secondary school division.

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The first citation of Mails’ association with the Christian Brothers school occurred April 15, 1919. In the Sacramento Bee’s “Baseball Chatter” column it noted Mails had resumed his professional baseball career with Seattle Indians after serving in the Army in 1918. As this was Seattle’s first series in the Capital City that season, the writer noted the team had on its roster, Mails who “attended the Brothers College here.” 25

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The next citation tying Mails to Christian Brothers College occurred in February 1922 with the announcement that Walter Mails was marrying Esther Shinn, a Catholic woman and daughter of Sacramento City Attorney, Robert L. Shinn. In the February 18th Sacramento Union piece it noted Mails formerly attended Christian Brothers College. 26

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Marin County Connection

In a Marin Independent-Journal newspaper feature on Walter Mails (November 8, 1958) it reported that young Walter had deep roots in the San Quentin-San Rafael portion of Marin County. 27 The I-J story noted Mails’ “playing career began on the sandlots of Marin in 1904…” Also it provided a summary of Mails’ schooling, noting Walter attended San Quentin Grammar School, Saint Raphael’s School, (a primary school in San Rafael). and for two years Saint Mary’s Prep in Oakland, which also was taught by the Christian Brothers. This information undoubtedly was provided by Mails himself and the omission of a graduation from Brothers College in Sacramento is telling.

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Similarly, Walter Mails attended Saint Mary’s Prep in Oakland, but did not graduate from the college and therefore is not an alumnus of Saint Mary’s College of California. This rumor may have begun with a blurb that appeared in a 1911 Marin County Tocsin article under the Pt. San Quentin subheading. Walter Mails has left his many girl and boy friends and is going to Saint Mary’s College. 28 

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Such confusion is due in part to the few occasions in which Mails’ name appeared in box scores related to the college’s associated teams. None, however, were for the school’s varsity or Phoenix Nine baseball team.

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Collegiate Baseball Dynasty

Saint Mary's College opened its doors in San Francisco on July 9, 1863, during the California Gold Rush. In time the Catholic college was run by the De La Salle Brothers, with its educational principles rooted in the writings and teachings of Saint John Baptist de La Salle of France. Segments of the campus later were relocated to Oakland.

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The San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fire of April 15, 1906 prompted the school to move its entire campus to Oakland, where the location was nostalgically known as “The Brickpile.” In 1928 Saint Mary's moved once more from Oakland to its present campus in Moraga, California. 29

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When Mails enrolled, Saint Mary’s had built a baseball powerhouse on the West Coast, earning the reputation as one of the elite collegiate program in the Western U.S. It boasted that major leaguers Harry Hooper, Duffy Lewis and Dutch Leonard once played on their teams. In 1913, the school’s varsity added to its schedule the Chicago White Sox, plus three Pacific Coast League clubs, indicating its high level of competition. 30 The school abounded with so many excellent ball players it had formed three competitive teams at the collegiate level: “Phoenix Nine,” (the 1st team); the “Collegians” (a strong 2nd team); and a 3rd team the “Victors” sometimes known as “First Commercial.” 31

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In addition, the school had formed a “junior baseball league,” a sort of intramural program for students attending Saint Mary’s prep school. Mails began at that level, playing for the San Rafael team. 32

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His name appears in a Saint Mary’s (SMC) baseball box score in the February 1912 edition of the college’s monthly publication The Collegian. It notes Walter Mails pitched the First Commercial ball club to a 7-2 win over “Grant’s,” a team with unknown affiliation. 33 That same issue of The Collegian explains the origin of SMC Varsity being called the “Phoenix Nine.”

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On May 9 of that year, Mails pitched against a team of sailors, this time for Saint Mary’s second team, the Collegians. He came in relief in the seventh inning and the “Blue jackets” pounded Mails for five hits and five runs in a 7-2 loss. 34

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In fact, the highest level attained by Mails was Saint Mary’s second team, the Collegians. This was confirmed in a 1934 San Francisco Examiner article where the college’s long-time baseball coach Brother Agnon was asked to evaluate some of the school’s great collegiate players who played in the major leagues. About Walter Mails, who by 1934 had pitched for three different big league clubs, Brother Agnon stated “Walter Mails? Just Fair. He made the second team one year.” 35 Similarly, we found no evidence Walter Mails ever pitched for Saint Mary’s “Phoenix nine,” i.e. the school varsity team.

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Moreover, Mails apparently did not enroll at Saint Mary’s College in the 1912-13 academic year. In spring 1913 his name appeared in the sports pages related to semi-pro competition. Mails was cited in San Francisco news articles as pitching for several different sandlot teams, most notably Sperry Flour of San Quentin, his “hometown team.” 36

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1914—MAILS BEGINS PRO CAREER

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After pitching in Sacramento’s semi-pro “Rooky League” competition, on April 30 1914 Mails joined his first professional team, Seattle Indians of the Northwestern League. 37 The 19-year-old pitcher appeared in 14 games over 49 innings, posting a modest 2-2 record. 38

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For good measure, following the conclusion of the Northwestern League, Mails whisked home to Marin County where he soon joined a San Rafael team in a tight struggle with Petaluma for the Semi-Pro league lead. The November 1, 1914 San Francisco Chronicle headline told the story: “Petaluma Is Heralded As Miracle Team Of Bushes.” 39 The “Cacklers,” noted writer J. J. Nealon, defeated Mails and finished first in the standings with a 24-5 record.

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On Sunday, November 1 Mails pitched for the Tiburon Time Cards against the Nationals for the Marin County title. But the Nationals “started in from the first inning and pounded the Big Leaguer’s assortment to all corners of the lot,” knocking in 14 runs off 19 hits to take the semi-pro title. 40 Walter could only hope that 1915 would yield better results.

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It would.

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1915-1916 From Northwestern League to National League and Back Again

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Walter Mails began 1915 back in the Northwestern League where he posted a 24-18 record on 348 innings for Seattle. 41 That performance earned him a late season call-up by the Brooklyn Robins (aka “Dodgers”). 42 By the time his five innings on the hill were completed his initial big league “cup of coffee” had hardly cooled. Mails pitched in two games, allowed five runs on six hits, fanned three and walked five. 43

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During the offseason, Mails attempted to cajole Brooklyn into releasing him from his contract because he preferred to stay on the West Coast and play in the Pacific Coast League. 44 The move never stood a chance, but unflappable Walter generated some press for his effort.

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On December 5, while continuing to hold out, Mails pitched a one-hit shutout in the Firemen’s 4-0 win over the Police in San Francisco’s annual Cops vs. Firemen game. 45  Eventually Mails signed his contract with the Robins. 46

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Much like the previous season, the Robins inserted Mails in just 15 National League games where he threw 17 1/3 innings. Mails allowed nine runs (seven earned ) on 15 hits. But he reversed his Walks to Strikeouts ratio from 15 to nine, showing the southpaw’s improving control in big league action. 47

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The Robins claimed the National League pennant with a 94-60-2 record, 2 1/2 games better than Philadelphia. Mails, however, never cracked Brooklyn’s starting rotation. Nor was he added to the World Series roster against the Boston Red Sox. His primary role in the Fall Classic was to toss many ‘benders’ during batting practice to simulate the Red Sox’s left handed starters Babe Ruth and Dutch Leonard. 48 Boston won the 1916 Series, Five Games to One. 49

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1917 Portland, Pacific Coast League to Army

In May 1917 the Portland Beavers purchased Walter Mails’ contract from Pittsburgh, which earlier had claimed him off waivers from Brooklyn (stats are not available at Baseball-Reference.com). 50 When he joined Portland, Mails complained the Pirates hadn’t allowed him to get in pitching shape. Plus, he had a salary dispute with Beavers’ management and left the team. 51 Later, he admitted the principal reason for going AWOL was due to what Mails considered over-aggressive hazing (i.e. teasing) by teammates. 52

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In October, both sides in the dispute aired their views in an Oregon Daily Journal article. 53 During his holdout, Mails traveled to Seattle to work in a shipyard, while awaiting induction orders from Uncle Sam.

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In 1918 Mails reported for military duty and served in the Army’s 363rd Infantry Unit at Camp Lewis in Tacoma, WA. 54  Captain Wattlelast, former skipper of Victoria in the Northwestern League, greeted one dozen professional ball players, including Mails. 55

In late July, instead of chucking for the military, Mails hurled 20-innings for the Seattle Shipbuilders against the Army-Navy team that featured six major leaguers. Duster struck out 19 and scattered ten hits in earning the complete-game 2-1 victory played before 15,000 fans. 56

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Promotion to Major Leagues Redux

In 1919, Walter Mails again did some chucking for Seattle, compiling a 6-9 record. 57 In late June he was traded to Sacramento for pitcher Harry Gardner on June 27. 58 At the time, Seattle held the bottom rung of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) while Sacramento hovered just above them in seventh place. At season’s end, Seattle still occupied the cellar while Sacto finished in fourth position. Mails wound up with a 19-18 combined record, however, 13 of those victories came with Sacramento. 59

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During the off-season Mails was invited to pitch in an exhibition game for a Sacramento Chamber of Commerce group against Chicago White Sox star Buck Weaver’s All-Star team. That club featured Boston’s slugger, Babe Ruth. 60 Mails came in relief in the fourth inning for “Dutch” Ruether who had already allowed a home run to Ruth. Mails pitched seven strong innings, giving up one run on five hits and fanned six with one walk, earning him the victory.

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More importantly, the catcher for Weaver’s All-Stars was Chester Thomas of Cleveland, who doubled as a West Coast scout for the Indians. The journeyman backstop was so impressed with Mails' performance he put in a good word at the Indians headquarters and it paid dividends in September. He was quoted, “Walter is going to make some major (league team) happy,” says Thomas, “as I believe he will make a winning southpaw in the big brush.” 61

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Walter Mails started the 1920 season under contract to Sacramento. On August 23, he won his final game for the Senators. Mails finished with a record of 17-17 while Sacramento was last in the PCL 17 1/2 games out of first. Cleveland, meantime, was battling the White Sox for first place in the AL. The Tribe picked up Mails in a trade that sent Dick Niehaus, a left-hander with Saint Paul, and Tony Faeth, a right-hander to Sacramento. 62 The deal also included an infielder to be named later, plus cash considerations.

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On September 1 in Washington, manager Tris Speaker gave Mails his first start. The Indians sent him to the mound with a 2-0 lead. Mails promptly walked the first batter, then gave up a single. One out later, Brago Roth hit a ball to center field for an inside-the-park home run. Mails recovered and retired the last two batters, with the Nationals leading 3-2. In the top of the second inning, the Indians reclaimed the lead, 4-3. After Mails retook the mound and walked the lead-off hitter, Speaker replaced him with Guy Morton, who tossed the remaining eight innings. Cleveland went on to outscore Washington 9-5. Given the rules at that time, Mails earned the win. 63 It was his first in a string of seven consecutive victories for the Indians in the pennant chase of 1920.

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1920 Season and World Series: Mails Supercharges Cleveland’s Rotation

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One month later, Friday, September 24, Walter Mails took the hill against the Chicago White Sox. At the time, rumors swirled around allegations the “Black Sox”  had thrown the 1919 World Series. Cleveland, meanwhile, led the AL by just a half-game with 10 games to go. Mails was riding a five-game winning streak since joining the Indians, which was aiming for the organization’s first-ever World Series.

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In the top of the 5th, with the Tribe leading 2-0, Mails walked the bases loaded. With Buck Weaver at the plate, the count went to 2-2. “Mails shot the next one through like a bullet out of a rifle,” wrote Henry P. Edwards about the called third strike. Mails then fanned Eddie Collins. Duster finished with a 3-hit shutout, striking out six, and walking five. 64

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He finished the season with a spotless 7-0 AL record. Holding a two-game lead over the White Sox, the Indians claimed their first American League pennant. In the Fall Classic, Mails pitched 15 2/3 inning of shutout ball, including his sterling 3-hit effort in Game Six in the 1920 World Series vs. Brooklyn. 65

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Just days after Walter’s sterling pitching performance, his mother Mary remarried. The groom was Howard Newby, a prison guard at San Quentin. 66

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From 1920-1922 Mails pitched all three seasons for Cleveland. During that time he compiled a 25-15 record. His most effective season was 1921 when he posted a 14-8 record with 3.94 ERA in 194 1/3 innings. 67

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In February 1922, before a small group of family and friends, John Walter Mails married Esther Shinn, the daughter of Sacramento City Attorney R. L. Shinn in St. Francis Church. 68 Following the ceremony, Walter and his bride entrained to Los Angeles, where she stayed with Walter’s sister, Margaret Landers.

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Mails meanwhile took a train to Dallas to begin the 1922 spring training with the Indians. In his third season with Cleveland, Mails’ record dropped to 4-7 on just 104 innings pitched and his ERA ballooned to 5.97 on reports of a sore arm. 69

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From 1923-1924 Mails did yeoman’s work in the PCL pitching for Oakland. 70 Combined over two seasons his record stood at 47-40 while racking up over 350+ innings in each season.

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On May 2, 1924 Esther (Shinn) Mails was granted a divorce from Walter Mails on grounds of desertion. 72  The couple had been separated for more than a year.

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In 1925 he returned to the National League pitching for the Cardinals (7-7/4.60 ERA/131IP). In Game 39 of the season Rogers Hornsby took over as manager for Branch Rickey, but the Cardinals still finished 4th to the pennant-winning Pirates. 71

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The year 1926 saw Mails split time with two AA teams: San Francisco (PCL) where he went 9-13 and Syracuse (IL) with a 1-2 record. He also contributed one inning of work with the Cardinals. 73

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The next five seasons 1927-1931 were spent entirely in the Pacific Coast League with San Francisco Seals and Portland Beavers. His best year was 1928 when he went 20-12 for the pennant-winning Seals in a thrilling six-game playoff with Sacramento. 74

Mails pitched four more seasons, finishing in 1935 at age 40 when the Seals won a double-header against the Angels in Los Angeles on the final day of the season to clinch the PCL pennant. 75 Ironically, hometown boy Joe DiMaggio failed to hit safely in his final game with the Seals. The following season he began his 13-year career with the New York Yankees. 76

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To begin 1936, the San Francisco Seals announced retired pitcher Walter Mails would move to the team’s primary publicity post. 77 “His main job” wrote an unattributed Chronicle writer “will be to ‘gag’ the Seals into a flock of headlines. He has the free-swiveling jaw and loose-action lip essential to the profession. He ought to be a big success,” the writer noted.  In addition, Mails frequently served as Master of Ceremonies at Fathers and Sons-style banquets up and down northern California, along with participating in numerous baseball clinics.

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In October 1957, when the Giants moved west they announced Mails’ hiring to continue his publicity role with the National League club. 79 Eventually Walter went on to head the team’s Speaker’s Bureau.

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In November 1964 Walter Mails married Viola Beck of Green Bay, Wisconsin, who worked for San Francisco’s public school district. 78  The Green Bay Gazette story erred in stating this was Mails’ first marriage. That ran contrary to the facts in the 1924 divorce declaration awarded to Esther Shinn Mails in Judge J.F. Pullen’s Superior Court.  In addition, Esther's father Mr. Shinn of Sacramento did not file for an annulment on Esther's behalf, as he did for his younger daughter Lorraine contesting her marriage to W. Fred Hobbs as she was underage at the time of the vows.

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Walter Mails remained employed by the Giants into the early 1970s, earning Mails an unofficial nickname: “The Great Baseball Ambassador.”

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Mails died July 5, 1974 in San Francisco at age 79. He is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, San Rafael.  80

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ENDNOTES

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