John Oscar Dickshot (bornJohn Oscar Dicksus,[a] January 24, 1910[b] – November 4, 1997), nicknamed "Ugly"Johnny Dickshot, was an American professionalbaseballleft fielder. He played inMajor League Baseball for thePittsburgh Pirates, theNew York Giants, and theChicago White Sox. His professional career, including the seasons he spent inMinor League Baseball, ran from 1930 to 1947. He received the nickname "Ugly" because he proclaimed himself to be "the ugliest man in baseball" during his career.
FromWaukegan, Illinois, Dickshot began playing as asemi-professional and in the minor leagues in the early 1930s. He wasscouted and signed by the Pirates in 1934, and they promoted him to the major leagues in 1936. The Pirates gave Dickshot a significant role in 1937, but played him sparingly in 1938. A strong season in the minor leagues in 1939 earned him a brief trial with the Giants. Dickshot played in the minor leagues until the White Sox acquired him for the 1944 and 1945 seasons. He returned to the minor leagues in 1946 and his career ended in 1947.
John Oscar Dicksus[a] was born inWaukegan, Illinois, on January 24, 1910.[b] He was of German and Lithuanian heritage. His father worked as a foreman in a local steel mill, where the timekeepers misheard his last name, registering him as "Dickshot". The family adopted it as their new surname.[3][4][c] He had a sister, Martha, who also played baseball in Waukegan.[11]
When he was young, Dickshot's skull was fractured by older children throwing bottles in his backyard; he lost consciousness for three days and doctors inserted a metal plate in his head.[12][13] During his youth, Dickshot worked a number of jobs, starting with delivering newspapers when he was in grammar school.[14] He also worked in the steel mill with his father, and spent some of his free time watching theChicago Cubs play atWrigley Field.[3]
Dickshot attendedWaukegan High School.[15] He did not participate in sports until his senior year, as his father had insisted until then that he should work after school.[14] As a senior, helettered in baseball, football, basketball, and swimming.[15] In football, Dickshot was named All-State as ahalfback.[4] He graduated from high school in 1928.[b]
Milwaukee exercised itsoption on Dickshot after the 1932 season,[27] and assigned him to theSan Antonio Missions of theClass ATexas League at the start of the 1933 season.[28][29] Though he was batting .397, the Missions released him in late April to make room on their roster forLarry Bettencourt, and he signed with theFort Worth Cats of the Texas League.[30] The Cats sent Dickshot to theWaco Bruins of the Class CDixie League in late-May,[31] but Dickshot refused to report to Waco.[32] He returned to Waukeagan, where he played semi-professional baseball.[33]
Dickshot made the Pirates'Opening Day roster for the 1936 season as a reserve outfielder, asLloyd Waner was recovering frompneumonia.[42] He made his major league debut as apinch hitter on April 16, and batted 2-for-9 (.222) in nine games for the Pirates.[43] With a May 15 deadline to reduce their roster size, Pittsburgh demoted Dickshot to theBuffalo Bisons of theInternational League.[44] Dickshot batted .365 for the Bisons,[5] the third-highest average in the league behind onlyPhil Weintraub andSmead Jolley,[38] and led the International League instolen bases with 35.[45] After the Bisons won the league's championship, the Pirates promoted Dickshot back to the major leagues.[46] He did not appear in another game for Pittsburgh during the 1936 season.[47]
In spring training with the Pirates in 1937, Dickshot competed withWoody Jensen to be the startingleft fielder,[48] andPie Traynor, the Pirates'manager, chose Dickshot over Jensen.[49] Traynor wanted Dickshot, who was right-handed, in thelineup for balance, as Jensen, Lloyd andPaul Waner,Gus Suhr, andArky Vaughan all were left-handed batters.[50] Dickshot struggled early in the season and was benched after he dropped afly ball that cost the Pirates the game on May 23.[51][52] He was put back in the lineup in late June.[53][54] Dickshot collided with Vaughan, the shortstop, in a game in July, resulting in Vaughan tearingcartilage in his knee.[55] When Vaughan returned to the Pirates lineup in August, he replaced Dickshot in left field.[56] Dickshot batted .254 with three home runs, but no stolen bases, in 84 games. His .950fielding percentage was the third-lowest in the National League, ahead ofChuck Klein andJohnny Moore.[52][57]
After Dickshot's disappointing 1937 season, the Pirates acquiredJohnny Rizzo to compete with Dickshot for playing time in left field.[58][59] Dickshot played sparingly for Pittsburgh in 1938, batting .229 in 29 games, with three stolen bases and no home runs.[60] After the 1938 season, the Pirates traded Dickshot andAl Todd with $30,000 to theBoston Bees forRay Mueller.[61][62]
The Bees gave Dickshot the opportunity to compete to be their startingcenter fielder in spring training.[63] However,Johnny Cooney,Max West, andDebs Garms, the Bees starting outfielders in the 1938 season, returned for the 1939 season, and the Bees also acquiredAl Simmons andJimmy Outlaw during the offseason.[64] Before the 1939 season began, Dickshot went unclaimed inwaivers and the Bees sold him to theJersey City Giants of the International League.[65][66]
With Jersey City in 1939, Dickshot won the International League batting championship with a .355 average, and also led the league with 16triples.[67] He finished in third place in balloting for theInternational League Most Valuable Player Award, behindMickey Witek andEstel Crabtree.[68] TheNew York Giants promoted Dickshot to the major leagues before the end of the 1939 season,[69] and he batted .235 in 10 games for the Giants.[70] The Giants invited Dickshot to spring training in 1940, and he competed withJo-Jo Moore for playing time.[71] The Giants returned Dickshot to Jersey City for the 1940 season,[72] and he batted .290 for Jersey City that year.[73]
After the 1940 season, the Giants sold Dickshot andRoy Joiner to theHollywood Stars of thePacific Coast League (PCL) for $15,000 and the rights toJoe Hoover.[15][74] Dickshot batted .298 in 1941,[75] and batted .302 in 1942.[76] During the 1943 season, Dickshot had a 33-game hitting streak,[77] which earned him theHelms Athletic Foundation Athlete of the Month Award for May 1943.[78] He finished the season with a .356 batting average, two percentage points behindAndy Pafko for the PCL batting championship.[13] He also finished second to Pafko in thePCL Most Valuable Player Award balloting.[79] Dickshot attributed his success in 1943 to losing 20 pounds (9.1 kg) during the previous offseason.[15]
In September 1943, theChicago White Sox purchased him from Hollywood for $1,500 on a conditional contract for the 1944 season; Chicago would return Dickshot to Hollywood by May 1944 if he did not make the team.[80] Dickshot had been classified as 4-F by theSelective Service System, ruling him ineligible for military service, due to the metal plate in his head.[13] With outfielderThurman Tucker set to join theUnited States Navy, and fellow outfieldersWally Moses andGuy Curtright eligible to be drafted,[81] the White Sox added Dickshot,Hal Trosky, andGrey Clarke to add power hitting.[82]
Dickshot had a .253 batting average with two stolen bases and no home runs in 62 games for the White Sox in 1944.[83] The next season, Dickshot batted .302 with 18 stolen bases in 130 games; he also tied Curtright for the team lead with four home runs.[84][85] His batting average was the third-best in theAmerican League, behindSnuffy Stirnweiss andTony Cuccinello.[86] However, with major leaguers returning from military service at the end ofWorld War II, the White Sox sold Dickshot back to Hollywood after the season, as they were reportedly looking for outfielders with better defensive skills.[87][88]
With Hollywood in 1946, Dickshot batted .214[89] while playing in a reserve role. Hollywood sold him to Milwaukee in May 1946.[90] Dickshot competed for the American Association batting championship with Milwaukee,[91] and finished the season in fifth place with a .326 average.[92] Dickshot played for Milwaukee in 1947. He batted .253 in 37 games,[93] until they released him in June.[94]
Dickshot often referred to himself as the "ugliest man in baseball" during his career.[95] According to one story told about him, a fan in Little Rock asked to shake Dickshot's hand and approach the stands with him, telling him "I want my wife to see you, so she'll appreciate me".[96] Dickshot had a sense of humor about this, once saying: "Don't mind my looks; I've got personality".[97] When people joked about his looks while he was with the Giants, Dickshot said, "Boys, I'm like a mountain, big, rugged and in my way – beautiful!"[98]
Choosing the "All-Ugly Team" for each league was an annual tradition in minor league baseball, and Dickshot was named to the Southern Association's All-Ugly team in 1935.[99] The next year, Dickshot named the members of the International League's "All-Ugly" team; he chose himself as the left fielder and teamcaptain.[100] When he played for Pittsburgh, the media began to call him "The Ugly Duckling".[101]Mike Ryba named Dickshot to the International League's "All-Ugly" team in 1939.[102] Dickshot continued the tradition in the PCL in 1941[103] and 1943.[104]
Dickshot married Julie (née Kuzmickus) of Waukegan on October 12, 1936.[105] They had one son and four daughters.[106] During the baseball offseasons, Dickshot continued to work in the steel mill in Waukegan.[107] After his retirement, Dickshot operated a tavern in Waukegan called Dickshot's Dugout[108] and organizedslowpitch exhibitions.[109]
Dickshot died in his home on November 4, 1997.[106]
^abcThough Dickshot's date of birth was reported as January 24, 1912, and his high school graduation as 1930 during his playing career,[5][6]The Baseball Encyclopedia lists his date of birth as January 24, 1910,[1] and contemporary reports indicated that he graduated from high school in 1928.[7][8]
^According to other stories told, anannouncer mispronounced his name[9] or sportswriters misheard and misreported his last name, and after he tried without success to correct it, he adopted it as his last name.[10]
^Doyle, Charles J. (April 11, 1937)."Dickshot Wins Left Field Position".Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. p. 21. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Holmes, Tommy (February 23, 1937)."Pen Shots at Rookies".The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 20. RetrievedJanuary 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Keck, Harry (June 2, 1937)."Sport Scene".Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. p. 30. RetrievedJanuary 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ab"Pirate Personalities".Clovis News-Journal. April 5, 1938. p. 6. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Boston Bees Get Johnny Dickshot".The Newport Daily Express. Associated Press. December 17, 1938. p. 4. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Braves Buzzings".The Boston Globe. March 19, 1951. p. 11. RetrievedJanuary 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Grayson, Harry (March 21, 1939)."Make Good Showing".Blackwell Daily Journal. National Editorial Association. p. 5. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Bees Announce Sale of Johnny Dickshot".The San Bernardino County Sun. Associated Press. April 11, 1939. p. 14. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Skeeters Buy Dickshot".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 11, 1939. p. 15. RetrievedJanuary 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Dickshot, Stewart Farmed".The Herald-News. Associated Press. April 15, 1940. p. 16. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Howell Crowned Batting Champ".The Daily Record. Associated Press. September 21, 1940. p. 7. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Kirksey, George (December 7, 1940)."Yanks Trade Jake Powell To Seal Club".The Ogden Standard-Examiner. United Press. p. 5. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
