Bill Dickey

Quotes About Dickey
"Bill Dickey was the heart of the team defensively and commanded tremendous respect from the Yankee pitchers. Once the game started, he ran the show." — Bill Werber

Played For
New York Yankees (1928-1946)

Managed
New York Yankees (1946)

All-Time Rankings
Bill Dickey ranks #11 among the Top 50 all-time at C. Rankings ⇒

Best Season: 1936
Dickey batted .362 with a career-high .617 slugging percentage in just 112 games, and his hitting helped re-establish the Yankee dynasty, which hadn't won a pennant in four years. The keen Dickey struck out just 16 times. Whereas Dickey's power seemed to stem from the short right field line at Yankee Stadium, that did not mean that he hit poorly on the road. In '36 for example, he batted .351 in 51 home games with 14 homers and 52 RBI. In 61 road contests he batted .371 with 8 home runs and 55 RBI. He had more extra-base hits per 100 at-bats on the road than he did in the Bronx (13.8 to 12.5). Historically, however, Dickey had more power in Yankee Stadium.

Factoids
In 1931, Bill Dickey became the first catcher to play an entire season without allowing a single passed ball.

Description
"As an all-around catcher for both hitting and catching, I'd have to rate Bill Dickey of the Yankees in the 1930's and 40's as the best I ever saw," said Bob Feller, "He was as good as anyone behind the plate, and better with the bat. There were several others I'd include right behind Dickey: Al Lopez, Mickey Cochrane, Gabby Gartnett, Roy Campanella and Wes Westrum. Yogi Berra? An excellent hitter, especially in the late innings with the game hanging in the balance, and the American League's Most Valuable Player three times, but as a catcher I always thought he was above average."

As a Manager
Dickey was the second of three Yankee managers in the 1946 season, and led the team to a 57-48 record.

Born
William Malcolm Dickey was born on June 6, 1907, in Bastrop, LA.

Died
November 12, 1993, Little Rock, AR

Batted:  Left
Threw:  Right

Primary Position:  C

Primary Team:  NYA

Major League Debut
August 15, 1928

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1928
Al Lopez
Bill Dickey
Chuck Klein
Rollie Hemsley
Pepper Martin
Mel Harder
Carl Hubbell
George Earnshaw
Clint Brown

Uniform Numbers
#10 (1929), #8 (1930-1943, 1946)

Similar Players
Gabby Hartnett and Mickey Cochrane, though both were probably better players than Dickey.

Related Players
Carl Reynolds, Ben Chapman, Yogi Berra

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 1945 BBWAA 17 6.9% 1946 BBWAA 32 12.2% 1946 Nominating Vote 40 19.8% 1948 BBWAA 39 32.2% 1949 BBWAA 65 42.5% 1949 Run Off 39 20.9% 1950 BBWAA 78 46.4% 1951 BBWAA 118 52.2% 1952 BBWAA 139 59.4% 1953 BBWAA 179 67.8% 1954 BBWAA 202 80.2%

Post-Season Appearances
1932 World Series
1936 World Series
1937 World Series
1938 World Series
1939 World Series
1941 World Series
1942 World Series
1943 World Series

Feats
On July 26, 1939, Dickey belted three home runs at Yankee Stadium.

Batting Feats

• July 26, 1939: 3 HR...

Home Run Facts
Highest % of home runs hit in home park (min. 200 career):

Bill Dickey... 66.8%
Bob Horner... 65.1%
Bobby Doerr... 65.0%
Rico Carty... 64.7%
Cy Williams... 64.1%
Rico Petrocelli... 63.8%
Chuck Klein... 63.3%
Ron Santo... 63.1%
Mel Ott... 63.1%
Hank Greenberg... 61.9%
Earl Averill... 60.5%
Dolph Camilli... 60.2%

All-Star Selections
1933 AL
1934 AL
1936 AL
1937 AL
1938 AL
1939 AL
1940 AL
1941 AL
1942 AL
1943 AL
1946 AL

Replaced
Johnny Grabowski and Pat Collins, who had teamed in a platoon arrangement for the Yankees in 1927 and 1928.

Replaced By
Aaron Robinson in 1946-1947, and then Yogi Berra, who wore Dickey's #8, which was ultimately retired in honor of both catchers.

Best Strength as a Player
Pulling the ball.

Largest Weakness as a Player
Early in his career, Dickey was an impatient hitter, and he was also a below-average baserunner.

Learn More about Bill Dickey
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