| Bill Dickey | |
|---|---|
 Dickey with the New York Yankees in 1937 | |
| Catcher /Manager | |
| Born:(1907-06-06)June 6, 1907 Bastrop, Louisiana, U.S. | |
| Died: November 12, 1993(1993-11-12) (aged 86) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 15, 1928, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 8, 1946, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .313 |
| Home runs | 202 |
| Runs batted in | 1,209 |
| Managerial record | 57–48 |
| Winning % | .543 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1954 |
| Vote | 80.2% (ninth ballot) |
William Malcolm Dickey (June 6, 1907 – November 12, 1993) was an American professionalbaseballcatcher andmanager. He played inMajor League Baseball with theNew York Yankees for 17 seasons. Dickey managed the Yankees as a player-manager in 1946 in his last season as a player.
Dickey played with the Yankees from 1928 through 1943. After serving in theUnited States Navy during World War II, Dickey returned to the Yankees in 1946 as a player and manager. He retired after the 1946 season, but returned in 1949 as a coach, in which capacity he taughtYogi Berra the finer points ofcatching.
During Dickey's playing career, the Yankees went to theWorld Series nine times, winning eight championships. He was named to 11All-Star Games. He went on to briefly manage the Yankees as a player-manager, then contribute to another six Yankee World Series titles as a coach. Dickey was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in 1954.
Dickey was born inBastrop, Louisiana, on June 6, 1907.[1] He was one of seven children born to John and Laura Dickey. The Dickeys moved toKensett, Arkansas, where John Dickey worked as abrakeman for theMissouri Pacific Railroad. John Dickey had played baseball for asemi-professional team based inMemphis, Tennessee. Bill's older brother, Gus, was asecond baseman andpitcher in the East Arkansas Semipro League, while his younger brother,George, would go on to play inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as acatcher.[2]
Dickey attendedSearcy High School inSearcy, Arkansas. At Searcy, Dickey played for the school's baseball team as apitcher andsecond baseman.[2]
Dickey enrolled atLittle Rock College, where he playedguard for the school'sfootball team andpitcher for the baseball team.[2] Dickey substituted for a friend on a semi-professional team based inHot Springs, Arkansas as a catcher, impressing the team's manager with his throwing arm.[2]Lena Blackburne, manager of theLittle Rock Travelers, aminor league baseball team, noticed Dickey while scouting an outfielder on the Hot Springs team. Blackburne signed Dickey to play for his team.[2]
Dickey made his professional debut at the age of 18 with theLittle Rock Travelers of the Class ASouthern Association in 1925. Little Rock had a working agreement with theChicago White Sox of theAmerican League, which involved sending players between Little Rock, theMuskogee Athletics of the Class CWestern Association, and theJackson Senators of the Class DCotton States League. Dickey played in three games for Little Rock in 1925, then was assigned to Muskogee in 1926, where he had a .283batting average in 61 games.[2]
Dickey returned to Little Rock, and batted .391 in 17 games at the end of the season. Dickey played in 101 games for Jackson in 1927, batting .297 with three home runs. As a fielder, Dickey compiled a .989fielding percentage and was credited with 84 assists while he committed only nine errors.[2]
Jacksonwaived Dickey after the 1927 season.Johnny Nee, ascout for theNew York Yankees, wired his boss,Ed Barrow, the Yankees'general manager, that the Yankees should claim him.[3] The Yankees purchased Dickey from Jackson for $12,500 ($228,900 in current dollar terms). Though he suffered frominfluenza duringspring training in 1928, Dickey impressed Yankees managerMiller Huggins.[4] Dickey hit .300 in 60 games for Little Rock, receiving a promotion to theBuffalo Bisons of the Class AAInternational League.[2] After appearing in three games for Buffalo, Dickey made his MLB debut with the Yankees on August 15, 1928.[2] He recorded his first hit, atriple offGeorge Blaeholder of theSt. Louis Browns, on August 24.[2]
Dickey played his first full season in MLB in1929. He replacedBenny Bengough as the Yankees' starting catcher, as Bengough experienced a recurrent shoulder injury,[5] and Dickey outperformed Bengough andJohnny Grabowski.[6] As a rookie, Dickey hit .324 with 10 home runs and 65runs batted in (RBI).[2] He led all catchers with 95 assists and 13 double plays. In 1930, Dickey hit .339. In 1931, Dickey made only three errors and batted .327 with 78 RBI. That year, he was named byThe Sporting News to its All-Star Team.[2]
Although his offensive production was overshadowed by Yankee greatsBabe Ruth,Lou Gehrig andJoe DiMaggio,[7] Dickey posted some of the finest offensive seasons ever by a catcher during the late 1930s, hitting over 20home runs with 100RBI in four consecutive seasons from 1936 through 1939.[1] His 1936 batting average of .362 was the highest single-season average ever recorded by a catcher, tied byMike Piazza of theLos Angeles Dodgers in 1997, untilJoe Mauer of theMinnesota Twins hit .365 in 2009.[8]
In 1932, Dickey broke the jaw ofCarl Reynolds with one punch in a game after they collided at home plate, and received a 30-day suspension and $1,000 fine as punishment.[9] That year, he hit .310, with 15 home runs and 84 RBI. In the1932 World Series, he batted 7-for-16, with three walks, 4 RBI, and scored two runs.[2]
In 1936, Dickey hit .362, finishing third in the AL behindLuke Appling (.388) andEarl Averill (.378).[2] Dickey held out for an increase from his $14,500 salary in 1936, seeking a $25,000 salary. He ended the holdout by agreeing to a contract worth $17,500.[10] Dickey earned $18,000 in 1939.[11] Dickey signed a contract for 1940, receiving a $20,500 salary.[11]
On July 26, 1939, Dickey hit three home runs against theSt. Louis Browns in a 14-1 rout at Yankee Stadium.[12]
The 1941 season marked Dickey's thirteenth year in which he caught at least 100 games, an MLB record. He also set a double play record and led AL catchers with a .994 fielding percentage.[13]
Dickey suffered a shoulder injury in 1942, ending his streak of catching at least 100 games in a season. When Dickey's backup,Buddy Rosar, left the team without permission to take examinations to join the Buffalo police force and to be with his wife who was about to have a baby, Yankees managerJoe McCarthy signedRollie Hemsley to be the second string catcher, relegating Rosar to the third string position.[14][15] Dickey saw his playing time decrease with the addition of Hemsley.[2] He returned for the1942 World Series, but was considered to be fading.[16]
Dickey had a terrific season in 1943, batting .351 in 85 games and hitting the title-clinching home run in the1943 World Series.[17] After the season, the 36 year-old Dickey was honored as the player of the year by the New York chapter of theBaseball Writers' Association of America.[18]
Dickey was rumored to be a candidate for the managerial position with thePhiladelphia Phillies after the 1943 season.[19]
Dickey entered theUnited States Navy on March 15, 1944, as he was categorized inClass 1-A, meaning fit for service, by theSelective Service System.[20] He served at the Navy Hospital Area in Hawaii. He was discharged in January 1946 as a lieutenant senior grade;[21] one of his main tasks had been to organize recreational activities in the Pacific.
Returning to the Yankees in 1946, Dickey became theplayer-manager of the Yankees in the middle of the1946 season afterJoe McCarthy resigned. The Yankees did fairly well under Dickey's watch, going 57–48. However, ownerLarry MacPhail refused to give Dickey a new contract until after the season. Rather than face the possibility of being a lame-duck manager, the 39 year-old Dickey resigned on September 12, but remained as a player.[22] He retired after the season,[23] having compiled 202 home runs, 1,209 RBIs and a .313 batting average over his career.
In 1947, Dickey managed the Travelers. The team finished with a 51–103 record, last in the Southern Association.[2] Dickey returned to the Yankees in 1949 as first basecoach and catching instructor to aidYogi Berra in playing the position.[1][24] Already a good hitter, Berra became an excellent defensive catcher. With Berra having inherited his uniform number 8, Dickey wore number 33 until the 1960 season. Dickey later instructedElston Howard on catching, when Berra moved to the outfield.[2]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| NYY | 1946 | 105 | 57 | 48 | .543 | resigned | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 105 | 57 | 48 | .543 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | FLD |
| 1789 | 6300 | 930 | 1969 | 343 | 72 | 202 | 1209 | 3062 | 678 | 289 | .313 | .382 | .486 | .868 | .988 |
In 38 World Series games, Dickey batted .255 (37-for-145) with 19 runs, 5 home runs, 24 RBI, and 15 walks.
Source:Baseball Reference
While still an active player in 1942, Dickey appeared as himself in the filmThe Pride of the Yankees, which starredGary Cooper as the Yankee captain and first basemanLou Gehrig. Late in the movie, when Gehrig was fading due to the disease that would eventually take his life, a younger Yankee grumbled in the locker room, "the old man on first needs crutches to get around!"—and Dickey, following the script, belted the younger player, after which he said the kid "talked out of turn."
Dickey also appeared as himself in the filmThe Stratton Story in 1949. In the film, Dickey was scripted to take acalled third strike fromJimmy Stewart's character. Dickey objected, stating "I never took a third strike. I always swung", and asking the director,Sam Wood, to allow him to swing through the third strike; Wood insisted that Dickey take the third strike. After many takes, Dickey commented: "I've struck out more times this morning than I did throughout my entire baseball career."[25]
On October 5, 1932, Dickey married Violet Arnold, a New York showgirl, at St. Mark's Church inJackson Heights, New York. The couple had one child, Lorraine, born in 1935.[2]
At the time of Lou Gehrig's death, Dickey described Gehrig as his best friend.[26]
Dickey was an excellent quail hunter.[1] He spent part of his retirement in the 1970s and 1980s residing in the Yarborough Landing community on the shore ofMillwood Lake in southwestern Arkansas. He died inLittle Rock, Arkansas, in 1993.
Dickey was noted for his excellent hitting and his ability to handlepitchers.[1] He was also known for his relentlessly competitive nature.
Dickey was inducted into theHall of Fame in1954.[27] In 1972, the Yankees retired the number 8 in honor of Dickey and Berra.[2] On August 22, 1988, the Yankees honored both Dickey and Berra by hanging plaques honoring them inMonument Park atYankee Stadium.[2] Dickey opined that Berra was "An elementary Yankee" who is "considered the greatest catcher of all time."
Dickey was named in 1999 to The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players, ranking number 57, trailingJohnny Bench (16),Josh Gibson (18),Yogi Berra (40), andRoy Campanella (50) among catchers.[28] Like those catchers, Dickey was a nominee for theMajor League Baseball All-Century Team, but the fan balloting chose Berra and Bench as the two catchers on the team.
In 2007,Dickey-Stephens Park opened inNorth Little Rock, Arkansas. The ballpark was named after Bill; his brother George; and two famous Arkansas businessmen,Jackson and Witt Stephens.
In 2013, theBob Feller Act of Valor Award honored Dickey as one of 37 Baseball Hall of Fame members for his service in the United States Navy during World War II.[29]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
