Bill Dickey Marquee Hall of Fame 1954

b. June 6, 1907 · New York Yankees 1928–1943, 1946

No one has caught more games for the Yankees than his 1,704. His career average is the second highest by any catcher with 4,000 at-bats, behind Mickey Cochrane, and he was picked for eleven All-Star Games. In 1937 he hit 29 home runs and drove in 133, both career highs.

From 1936 through 1939 he put together four straight seasons of at least 22 home runs and 100 runs batted in, while handling a pitching staff that won the World Series in every one of those years. Only Gabby Hartnett had hit more home runs than Dickey among catchers by 1941.

He missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons in military service and returned for a final year in 1946. The writers elected him in 1954 with 202 votes of 252. The work that made him valuable, running a staff and steadying a lineup, is the part that never appears beside his name.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	11	1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946
Baseball Magazine All-Star	7	1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943
The Sporting News All-Star	6	1932, 1933, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1941

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1928	NYY	10	15	1	3	1	1	0	2	0	2	0	.200
1929	NYY	130	447	60	145	30	6	10	65	14	16	5	.324
1930	NYY	109	366	55	124	25	7	5	65	21	14	7	.339
1931	NYY	130	477	65	156	17	10	6	78	39	20	2	.327
1932	NYY	108	423	66	131	20	4	15	84	34	13	2	.310
1933	NYY	130	478	58	152	24	8	14	97	47	14	3	.318
1934	NYY	104	395	56	127	24	4	12	72	38	18	0	.322
1935	NYY	120	448	54	125	26	6	14	81	35	11	1	.279
1936	NYY	112	423	99	153	26	8	22	107	46	16	0	.362
1937	NYY	140	530	87	176	35	2	29	133	73	22	3	.332
1938	NYY	132	454	84	142	27	4	27	115	75	22	3	.313
1939	NYY	128	480	98	145	23	3	24	105	77	37	5	.302
1940	NYY	106	372	45	92	11	1	9	54	48	32	0	.247
1941	NYY	109	348	35	99	15	5	7	71	45	17	2	.284
1942	NYY	82	268	28	79	13	1	2	37	26	11	2	.295
1943	NYY	85	242	29	85	18	2	4	33	41	12	2	.351
1946	NYY	54	134	10	35	8	0	2	10	19	12	0	.261
Career	—	1789	6300	930	1969	343	72	202	1209	678	289	37	.313

On this day & linked events

1907

Born June 6, 1907

Bastrop, LA, USA

1993

Died November 12, 1993

1928

Major-league debut: Bill Dickey

Bill Dickey made a major-league debut on August 15, 1928.

1939

Bill Dickey's Three-Home-Run Game, 1939

Bill Dickey hit three home runs for the New York Yankees against the St. Louis Browns on July 26, 1939.

1946

Final major-league game: Bill Dickey

Bill Dickey played a final major-league game on September 8, 1946.

Image: Harris & Ewing, public domain