Wally Hebert

Who was Wally Hebert?

Wallace Andrew "Wally" Hebert was a sidearming left-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played from 1931 to 1933 for the St. Louis Browns and in 1943 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. His professional career began in 1930.

Hebert played for the Springfield Midgets in 1930, going 15–16 in 36 games. He rose to the big leagues quickly, making his debut on May 1, 1931 with the Browns. That season, Hebert went 6–7 with a 5.07 ERA in 23 games. In 103 innings, he walked 43 batters and struck out only 26.

In 1932, he went 1–12 with a 6.48 ERA in 35 games. In 108⅓ innings, he had 29 strikeouts and 45 base on balls. After going 4–6 with a 5.30 ERA in 33 games in 1933, he was traded, with Smead Jolley and Jim Levey, to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League for Alan Strange. He would spend about the next decade in the minor leagues.

In 1934 and 1935, he pitched for the Hollywood Stars, going 11–11 with a 4.24 ERA in 37 games in 1934 and 10–17 with a 4.93 ERA in 39 games in 1935.

Hebert played for the San Diego Padres from 1936 to 1942. In his first year with the Padres, he made 35 appearances, and he went 18–12 with a 3.03 ERA. He posted a 17–14 record with a 3.02 ERA in 39 games in 1937, and in 1938 he went 12–16 with a 3.11 ERA in 37 games. For the first time in his professional career, he won 20 games in 1939, as he went 20–10 with a 3.13 ERA in 39 games. In 1940, he went 15–18 with a 3.92 ERA and in 1941, he went 22–10 with a 3.00 ERA.