Whaling began his professional baseball career at the age of 20 with the Portland Beavers in 1908. He then played for the Seattle Giants from 1909 to 1911. In August 1911, he was signed by the Cleveland Naps of the American League but, didn\'t play at the major league level. In April 1912, Whaling was released by the Naps and returned to play for the Seattle Giants where, he posted a .264 batting average and hit 10 home runs. Whaling\'s defensive skills were made evident as he threw out 188 baserunners attempting to steal a base during the 1912 season. During the Deadball Era, catchers played a huge defensive role, given the large number of bunts and stolen base attempts, as well as the difficulty of handling the spitball pitchers who dominated pitching staffs. A newspaper report in 1912 called Whaling the best catcher to have ever played in the Northwestern League.\n', '

Whaling signed a contract to play for the Boston Braves in October 1912, and made his major league debut with the team on April 22, 1913 at the age of 25. He posted a .242 batting average in 79 games while sharing starting catching duties with Bill Rariden. Whaling had a .990 fielding percentage that year, becoming the first rookie catcher in major league baseball history to win a fielding title. Only four other rookie catchers in Major League Baseball history have accomplished the feat.\n', '

Before the 1914 season began, Rariden left the Braves to join the Federal League leaving Whaling as their main catcher with Hank Gowdy as his back up. When Whaling failed to provide much offense, Braves manager, George Stallings gave Gowdy the starting catcher\'s job. The Braves had been in last place in the National League on July 4 before going on an extended winning streak. The team went from last place to first place within a two-month period, becoming the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July. Whaling hit .206 in 60 games as Gowdy\'s back up and led National League catchers in baserunners caught stealing percentage with 54.5%. The Braves went on to sweep Connie Mack\'s heavily favored Philadelphia Athletics in four games in the 1914 World Series, although Whaling never got a chance to play in the series. The team became known as the "Miracle" Braves and remain one of the most storied comeback teams in baseball history.\n', '

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