Bill Dickey

Perhaps the best major league catcher of the 1930s, Bill Dickey caught for the New York Yankees during the transition from the Babe Ruth/Lou Gehrig era to the Joe DiMaggio era. He was strong and composed at bat and behind the plate. In the 1934 All-Star game, when Carl Hubbell struck out Ruth, Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin, it was Dickey who ended Hubbard's streak with a single. Mild mannered off the field, he was a fiery competitor on. On 4 July 1932 he objected to the way Carl Reynolds of the Washington Senators slid into him at home plate. He broke Reynolds's jaw with one punch. The league suspended him for 30 days and fined him $1000. In 1943, Dickey enlisted in the US Navy at age 36. He served until 1945. He returned to the Yankees for the 1946 season, but was slumping. When Joe McCarthy was fired in mid-season, Dickey took over as manager. He resigned after the end of the season and became a coach. His first duty was to refine the talents of Yogi Berra, who was assigned Dickey's #8 jersey. He scouted for the Yankees during 1958 and 1959, then retired for good. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1954, the Yankees retired #8 to honor Dickey and Berra in 1972.