William Walker

A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, William T. Walker Jr., was from his early years fascinated by automobiles and motor racing, as well as military history. He was introduced to racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by the broadcasts of Sid Collins, grew fascinated by the career of a cousin who raced and died at Indy, and read American and world history obsessively both before and after college.

After graduating from the University of Virginia with a B. A. with High Honors(1966) and an M. A. in English (1967), Walker worked in higher education for forty years. For much of the first decade, he taught composition and literature at Lamar University in Texas and the University of New Orleans, while completing coursework for a Ph. D. in English at Tulane University. Walker joined higher education’s administrative ranks in 1977. He developed and implemented comprehensive communications and marketing programs for Virginia Tech, Gettysburg College, and the College of William and Mary. As associate vice president for public affairs, Bill helped each of these institutions sharpen their appeal to outstanding students, complete fund-raising drives, and raise their public profiles.

Since retiring in 2007, Walker has returned to an enduring love – researching and writing history. His first book, Betrayal at Little Gibraltar, was published by Scribner (Simon and Schuster) in 2016; the book analyzes a pivotal battle in World War I and received strong reviews. It has been quoted extensively, and led to a revised study of the battle published by the U. S. Army Office of Military History. Bill has also written numerous articles for Military History Quarterly, USA Today, Washington Post, and other journals.

Walker’s second book, The Last Lap, (in press) traces the life and racing career of A. J. Pete Kreis, who competed in Indy Car and Formula 1 racing from 1925 until 1934, when he died in practice at the Speedway. Experts called Pete’s demise “the strangest death in motor racing history,” a mystery that Walker set out to solve through years of interviews, archival research, and family recollections.