Christy Walsh

Walter "Christy" Walsh (December 2, 1891 – December 29, 1955) was an American writer, cartoonist, and sports agent. He is best known for acting as Knute Rockne and Babe Ruth's agent, and is considered to be the first sports agent in baseball.

Early career Walsh graduated from St. Vincent's College in Los Angeles, California in 1911. Walsh was trained as a lawyer, but began his career with the Los Angeles Herald as a reporter and cartoonist. He began working as a ghostwriter in 1912 when he interviewed Christy Mathewson while Mathewson was vacationing in California.

In 1921, Walsh ghostwrote an article for World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker in which he described the 1921 Indianapolis 500. Walsh and Rickenbacker split the profits of approximately $800. His writers included Ford C. Frick, Damon Runyon, Bozeman Bulger, and Gene Fowler, among others. Walsh's writers earned $100,000 between 1921 and 1936, and grossed $43,000 in their peak year of 1929. Walsh went to great lengths to sign clients. Besides becoming a delivery boy to meet Ruth, Walsh pursued Walter Johnson into the Pullman's washroom in New Haven, Connecticut. Johnson was paid $1,000, and eventually made $7,000.

Personal life and death Christy Walsh was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on December 2, 1891. Christy was his mother's maiden name. On April 4, 1935, he married Madeline Souden. The couple had only one child, Christy Jr., and their marriage ended in divorce. Walsh was also the father-in-law of Peggy Cobb, the stepdaughter of Robert Cobb, the owner of the famous Brown Derby Restaurant.

Walsh died on December 14, 1955, in Los Angeles, California. At the time, he was living in the neighborhood of North Hollywood. He was married to Margaret Merritt, whom he met during the World's Fair.