Bill Dickey

Baseball player, born in Bastrop, Louisiana, USA. One of baseball's greatest catchers, he posted a lifetime batting average of ·313 in his 17-year career with the New York Yankees (1928–46). He also managed the Yankees during most of the 1946 season. An 11-times All-Star, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1954.

Bill Dickey

Image:Bill-dickey.jpg
Personal Info
Birth	June 6, 1907, Bastrop, Louisiana, U.S.A.
Death:	November 12, 1993, Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.A.
Professional Career
Debut	August 15, 1928, New York Yankees vs. Chicago Whitesox, Yankee Stadium
Team(s)	New York Yankees (1928-1946)
HOF induction:	1954
Career Highlights

William Malcolm Dickey (June 6, 1907 – November 12, 1993) was a Major League Baseball player and manager. Although his offensive production was overshadowed by Yankees greats Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio, in the late 1930s Dickey posted some of the finest offensive seasons ever by a catcher, hitting over 20 home runs with 100 RBI in four consecutive seasons (1936 - 1939).

Dickey appeared in eight World Series with the Yankees and won seven World Series championships. Dickey had been regarded as Gehrig's best friend on the team, and while the title of Yankee captain remained officially vacant until it was awarded to Thurman Munson in 1976, Dickey was seen by many as the Yankees' new leader on the field.

After several seasons of offensive stagnation and time off during World War II, Dickey became the managing the Yankees in 1946 and led the team to 3rd place in the American League.

In 1949, Dickey returned to the Yankees as a coach, as first base coach and as catching instructor, to aid Yogi Berra in playing the position. This is in dispute, as there have been many fine catchers in MLB history (including, but not limited to, Berra, Johnny Bench and Roy Campanella.) Like Berra, Dickey was named in 1999 to The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players, ranking number 57, trailing Bench (16), Josh Gibson (18), Berra (40) and Campanella (50) among catchers.

Preceded by: Joe McCarthy

New York Yankees Manager 1946

Succeeded by: Johnny Neun