born in hamilton, missouri, he was the son of basil and julia wheat. his father was of english descent, and his mother was a full-blooded cherokee. wheat began his professional baseball career in for enterprise in the kansas league, followed by wichita in , shreveport pirates of the texas league in , and to round out his minor league career, he played for the mobile sea gulls of the southern association in . it was during that 1909 season that the brooklyn superbas of the national league purchased wheat for $1200, and he made his major league debut in september. he batted with a corkscrew type of swing, and held his hands down near the end of the bat, unlike most hitters during his time, a time noted as the "dead ball era". even with his consistent high levels of hitting, he was also noted for his graceful and stylish defense.