His unorthodox cricket bowling action earned him the nickname "Tangles", and his larrikin character made him a much-loved figure with the Australian public.

[4] While in high school he represented Tasmania as an opening batsman in their colts team, scoring a century in one match.

[4] In 1966, while still a high school student, Melbourne Football Club coach Norm Smith visited Walker's family home in Hobart to sign him to the Demons.

He spent six seasons with Melbourne, playing 85 games[note 1] as a ruckman and defender and earning one Brownlow Medal vote in 1968.

Although he earned a reputation as a batsman as a junior, he was given an opportunity to open the bowling attack for Melbourne, which showed his true cricket potential.

[8] Despite taking five wickets in the match, he did not get a chance to play in the 1969–1970 season due to the depth in Victoria's bowling.

[13] His first television appearances date back to 1982, where he was the cricket expert on Channel 7's World of Sport.

[5] It follows Walker through a day at his job at the Nine Network in which he assaults co-host Ken Sutcliffe in order to increase his chances of regaining a place on the cricket commentary team.

His subsequent books contained light-hearted anecdotes from his career, with titles such as The Wit of Walker, How to Kiss a Crocodile and How to Puzzle a Python.

[13][15] Following the cancellation of Nine's Wide World of Sports in 1999, Walker commenced appearing on the public speaking circuit.

On 13 June 2011, Walker was named a Member of the Order of Australia for service to cricket at a national and international level as a player and commentator, and to the community through a range of youth and social welfare organisations.