 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.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.