The next season Walker established himself as a bona fide starter for the Sox, hitting .302 and tying for the league lead in triples with 16. Following the 1937 season, the White Sox traded their budding star to the Detroit Tigers. Walker responded with another outstanding season at the plate (.308) before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers mid-season in 1939. .
With the Dodgers, Dixie Walker became a star. From 1940 to 1948, he hit above .300 every year except one and was named to the All-Star team four times. In 1944 he tied for the league batting title with a .357 mark; the next season, he led the league in RBIs (runs batted in) (124), runs produced (280), and doubles (42). In 1941 he led all National League outfielders in assists (19) and double plays (8). The Dodgers' famous Ebbets Field once had a sign sponsored by a men's clothing store that promised a free suit to any batter who could hit the right-field advertisement with a fly ball; a decade after Dixie patrolled that outfield, a young Dodger pitcher and future hall of famer named Don Drysdale pondered the offer and mused that with Dixie Walker out there, "how was any guy on the other team ever going to hit that sign?"(FN2). .
Walker's career statistics were impressive--a .306 batting average on 2,064 hits, 105 home runs, 1,023 RBIs, and 1,037 runs. His achievements and his hustle made him the most popular player on the team and earned him a second nickname: "The People's Choice." A record and reputation like Walker's have often made ballplayers candidates for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but Walker has been consistently overlooked by both groups of voters who make the Hall's selections--sports writers and the veterans committee. .
Dixie's brother Harry Walker attributed Dixie's omission to what he called a "bad rap" regarding his opposition to Jackie Robinson joining the Dodgers. Dixie Walker was an early and vocal opponent of Robinson's entry into the league, and the publicity that surrounded Dixie's opposition resulted in his being labeled the "most extreme of Dodger racists.