player from Richmond, California, he played minor league baseball in the New York Yankees organization before being acquired by the Athletics in the rule 5 draft.

Christopher joined the Athletics' major league roster in 1942 and played six seasons for them, and made his only All-Star appearance in 1945.

[3] The following year, Christopher joined the El Paso Texans, the rookie-level minor league team of the New York Yankees farm system.

[3] He was promoted in 1940 to the Wenatchee Chiefs of the Western International League, where he finished the year with an 8–8 record and a 4.72 ERA in 20 games.

[5] In the championship series against the Montreal Royals, Christopher pitched seven solid innings in a victory for the Bears, but injured his back and did not play another game that season.

[7] After pitching with the Athletics in spring training, manager Connie Mack placed Christopher on the major league roster, and he made his debut on April 14, 1942.

[8] The following season, Christopher re-signed with the Athletics, and was one of the few remaining pitchers from the previous year on the team, the rest having been called to serve in World War II.

[8] Christopher began the 1944 season as a member of the starting rotation along with Don Black, Lum Harris and Bobo Newsom.

Among those appearances was a 16-inning match against the Chicago White Sox; Christopher pitched the final four innings, losing 4–2 after Hal Trosky stole home plate.

[15] On July 14, he pitched a 4–3 victory against the Senators, helping his team defeat Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn for the first time in three years.

[16] After starting the season with a 4–10 record, on July 22 Christopher went on a seven-game winning streak that culminated with a 5–1 complete game victory over the White Sox.

[22] In mid-June, Christopher had won ten games, which not only led the league, but was more than the seven the rest of the Athletics pitching staff had combined.

[8] He was selected to the American League All-Star team, however the game was canceled as a result of World War II.

He had lost 10 pounds in the final months of the season and was light to begin with, and decided that he would retire if he could not gain the weight back over the winter.

[8] At the end of the season, Christopher was holding out on his contract, wanting either a starting role in the rotation or more money to remain a reliever.

He went to around 40 banquets on behalf of Connie Mack during the offseason, and despite his eating habits, he remained at 170 pounds, not gaining an ounce.

[34] Indians manager Lou Boudreau reacted positively to the trade and felt that he was the missing piece for a pennant run.

Early in the season, Christopher told Veeck that 1948 would be his final year, as his wife joined the doctors' side, wanting him to retire and noting that he was playing on "borrowed time" already.