Beginnings

Walton made his debut for Kilkenny on 29 June 1902. Tipperary provided the opposition in the delayed 1900 All-Ireland semi-final, however, Kilkenny were narrowly defeated by 1–11 to 1–8.

In 1903 Walton lined out in his first provincial decider. Dublin were the opponents and the game ended in a 1-5 apiece draw. Kilkenny later objected to the result and were subsequently awarded the title as Dublin's goal was disputed. It was Walton's first Leinster medal. The 'home' All-Ireland final on 16 July 1905 pitted Kilkenny against Cork. In a disappointing contest Walton's side were heavily defeated by 8–9 to 0–8.

Breakthrough

Walton added a second Leinster medal to his collection in 1904, as Dublin were narrowly defeated by 2–8 to 2–6. Cork provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland decider on 24 June 1906, the start of which was delayed by half an hour due to a heavy downpour. Kilkenny played into the breeze for the opening thirty minutes, and a Dick Doyle gave the team an interval lead of 1–5 to 0–5. Team captain Jer Doheny and goalkeeper Pat "Fox" Maher were singled out for particular praise as Kilkenny claimed a narrow 1–9 to 1–8 victory.^[2] It was Walton's first All-Ireland medal.

Kilkenny made it three provincial titles in-a-row in 1905, with Walton collecting a third Leinster medal following a 2–8 to 2–2 defeat of Dublin. Kilkenny later faced Cork in the All-Ireland final on 14 April 1907. A high-scoring game resulted in a 5–10 to 3–13 victory for Cork, however, the game had to be replayed as Cork goalkeeper Daniel McCarthy was a British army reservist and Kilkenny's Matt Gargan had played with Waterford in the Munster championship. The replayed game on 30 June 1907 was another high-scoring one, with Jimmy Kelly scoring 5–2. A puck-out by Cork's Jamesy Kelleher is said to have hopped over the Kilkenny crossbar. Kilkenny won the game by 7–7 to 2–9, with all seven of their goals coming in a thirty-minute spell. It was Walton's second All-Ireland medal.

After surrendering their provincial and All-Ireland crowns in 1906, Kilkenny bounced back the following year. A 4–14 to 1–9 defeat of Dublin gave Walton a fourth Leinster medal. On 21 June 1908 Kilkenny faced Cork in what was then seen as the greatest All-Ireland decider. After a thrilling hour the game looked like ending in a draw, however, Jack Anthony cleared his lines and set up one final attack for Kilkenny. Jimmy Kelly met the sliotar on the drop and set it over for a point with the last puck of the game. The 3–12 to 4–8 victory gave Walton his third All-Ireland medal.

In 1909 Walton won his fifth Leinster medal following a 5–16 to 2–7 defeat of Laois. The subsequent All-Ireland decider on 12 December 1909 saw Kilkenny face Tipperary. The game was noted for its hard physical exchanges, however, a 4–6 to 0–12 victory saw Kilkenny defeat Tipperary for the very first time in championship hurling. It was Walton's fourth All-Ireland medal.

Three-in-a-row

Walton was appointed captain in 1911 and won a sixth Leinster medal as Kilkenny defeated Dublin by 4–6 to 3–1. There was controversy in the subsequent All-Ireland series as Kilkenny were destined to play Limerick in the decider on 18 February 1912. On the first occasion the pitch at the Cork Athletic Grounds was water-logged and the game was fixed for Thurles on 28 July 1912. A substitute contest was played on 28 July 1912 when Tipperary faced Kilkenny after being nominated as provincial representatives by the Munster Council. A 3–3 to 2–1 victory gave Walton his fifth All-Ireland medal.

After retaining the captaincy for 1912, Walton won a seventh Leinster medal following a 6–6 to 2-4 trouncing of Laois. On 17 November 1912 Kilkenny faced old rivals Cork in the All-Ireland decider. In the last seventeen-a-side final, a record crowd of over 20,000 thronged Jones's Road, while the gate receipts of £600 were a record high. Walton was credited with scoring the winning goal, while he also had the honour of lifting the cup on behalf of his team. It was his sixth All-Ireland medal.

In 1913 Kilkenny set out to capture a record-equalling third successive All-Ireland championship. After a low scoring 1–0 to 0-3 drawn game with Dublin in the provincial decider, Kilkenny secured a comprehensive 7–5 to 2–1 victory in the replay. It was Walton's eighth Leinster medal. On 2 November 1913 Kilkenny faced near rivals Tipperary in the All-Ireland decider. A fast-paced game followed, with victory going to Kilkenny on a 2–4 to 1–2 score line. It was a remarkable seventh All-Ireland medal for Walton.^[3]

Decline

Four-in-a-row proved beyond Kilkenny and the team went into decline.^[4]

Walton returned as captain once again in 1916 as Kilkenny bounced back. An 11–3 to 2-2 trouncing of Wexford gave him his ninth Leinster medal. On 21 January 1917 Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final, while Walton was presented with the chance of making history by becoming the first player to win eight All-Ireland medals. Kilkenny, however, were not the force they once were, and a 5–4 to 3–2 score line resulted in victory for Tipperary.

On 10 August 1919 Walton made his farewell appearance for Kilkenny. A narrow 1–5 to 1–2 defeat by Dublin in the Leinster final brought the curtain down on his lengthy career.