Bill Dickey (1954)


Date of Birth: 6/6/1907
Date of Death: 11/12/1993
Birthplace: Bastrop, Louisiana

Bill Dickey came from a baseball family, with both his father and a brother having played semi-pro baseball. One of his brothers was also a catcher in the major leagues. Although Dickey was a catcher for most of his career, he started as a pitcher and second baseman when he played baseball in high school. In college, he was a pitcher.

New York Yankees

Dickey started his professional career in the Cotton States League in 1925 at the age of 18. He played in the minors for three years before his contract was purchased by the New York Yankees in 1928. He played most of that season in the minors, being called up for just 10 games with the Yankees. The following season, his first full season in the major leagues, Dickey batted .324 with 145 hits, 30 doubles, 10 home runs, and 65 RBIs in 130 games.

Dickey had good numbers in 1930 when he played in 109 games. He batted .339 with 124 hits, 25 doubles, and 65 RBIs. The following year, he had a career high in triples with 10. He finished the 1931 season with 156 hits, 17 doubles, 78 RBIs, and a .327 batting average.

Dickey played in just 108 games in 1932. He had 131 hits, 20 doubles, 15 home runs, 84 RBIs, and a .310 batting average. His numbers were similar in 1933, although that season he played in 130 games. He finished the season with 152 hits, 24 doubles, 14 home runs, 97 RBIs, and a .318 batting average. In both years, he struck out very few times - just 13 times in 1932 and 14 times in 1933.

The 1934 and 1935 seasons were similar to his two earlier seasons. His numbers for 1934 were 104 games played, 127 hits, 24 doubles, 12 home runs, 72 RBIs, 18 strikeouts to 38 walks, and a .322 batting average. The 1935 season was almost identical (120 games, 125 hits, 26 doubles, 14 home runs, 81 RBIs, 11 strikeouts to 35 walks) except that his batting average was significantly lower (.279).

Dickey had a career high batting average in 1936, when he played in 112 games. He finished the season with 153 hits, 26 doubles, 22 home runs, 107 RBIs, 16 strikeouts to 46 walks, and a .362 batting average.

Dickey's best season was 1937 when he had career highs in games played, hits, doubles, home runs, and RBIs. That year he batted .332 with 176 hits, 35 doubles, 29 home runs, and 133 RBIs in 140 games. He struck out just 22 times and he walked 73 times.

Dickey had another strong season in 1938, batting .313 with 142 hits, 27 doubles, 27 home runs, 115 RBIs, and 22 strikeouts to 75 walks in 132 games. The next year, he had a career high in walks with 77. He finished the 1939 season with 145 hits, 23 doubles, 24 home runs, 105 RBIs, and a .302 batting average in 128 games.

Dickey's career started to go downhill in 1940, when he batted just .247 in 106 games. He finished the season with 92 hits and 54 RBIs. The following season was better, with a .284 batting average in 109 games. He finished the 1941 season with 99 hits, 15 doubles, and 71 RBIs.

Dickey had limited playing time in 1942 and 1943, playing in 82 games in 1942 and 85 games the following season. He spent 1944 and 1945 in the US Navy. When he returned to the Yankees in 1946, they made him player-manager in the middle of the season. He played in just 54 games in his last season in the major leagues.

Career Statistics

Dickey played in over 100 games in each of 13 seasons (1929-1941). His statistics during that time include:

  • 4 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 176 in 1937
  • 4 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 29 in 1937
  • 4 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 133 in 1937
  • 10 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .362 in 1936

Career batting statistics for Dickey include:

  • 1,789 games played
  • 1,969 hits
  • 343 doubles
  • 202 home runs
  • 1,209 RBIs
  • 289 strikeouts to 678 walks
  • .313 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Dickey as a catcher include:

  • 1,708 games played
  • 954 assists
  • 7,965 putouts
  • 108 errors
  • .470 caught stealing percentage
  • .988 fielding percentage

Career postseason statistics for Dickey include:

  • 38 games played
  • 146 at bats
  • 37 hits
  • 1 double
  • 1 triple
  • 5 home runs
  • 1 stolen base
  • 24 RBIs
  • 12 strikeouts to 15 walks
  • .255 batting average
  • .382 on-base percentage
  • .868 OPS

Post Playing Career

In 1947, Dickey managed a team in the minor leagues. Two years later, he was back with the Yankees as a coach and mentor to Yogi Berra.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Bill Dickey
ESPN - Bill Dickey
Baseball Reference - Bill Dickey

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