Walter Mails By Joe McNamara Sacramento greets The Duster On a beautiful October afternoon in 1920, Walter Mails, a former attendee of Christian Brothers High School, stepped off of his train and into one of the wildest homecomings Sacramento had ever witnessed. The hero of the 1920 World Series was swept up by a delirious crowd of well-wishers who serenaded and toasted their hero in a parade from the train station to a reception at City Hall. Feted by local politicians, and with his every step filmed by motion picture cameras, Walter Mails was indeed Sacramento’s first celebrity athlete. Just three months earlier, Mails was pitching for the Sacramento Solons in the Pacific Coast League, but his success captured the attention of the Cleveland Indians, and he was sold for a staggering $50,000. As Cleveland readied for a pennant drive, Walter calmly and efficiently won seven straight games for the club before pitching 15 and 2/3 scoreless innings in the World Series.