Murry Dickson

Murry Dickson was born in Missouri in 1916 but his family moved to Leavenworth when he was nine years old.  He graduated from Leavenworth High School and signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936.

Dickson, a right-handed pitcher, broke in with the Cardinals at the end of the 1939 season.  He won 14 games in the 1942-1943 season.  He did not pitch in the Cardinals’ 1942 World Series win over the New York Yankees but did pitch in one game in the 1943 Series, which the Cardinals lost to the Yankees.

Dickson’s baseball career was put on hold as he served in the U.S. Army in 1943-1944.  He was initially stationed at Fort Riley and played on a base team with Pete Reiser and Joe Garagiola.  Dickson was eventually sent to France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.  He attained the rank of sergeant. 

In 1946, Dickson returned to the Cardinals and was 15-6 with a 2.88 earned run average.  He started two games in the World Series, including Game 7 in which Enos Slaughter made his famous “mad dash” from first base to home, as the Cardinals beat the Boston Red Sox

1946 began a streak of eleven consecutive seasons of double-digit victories for Dickson.  He was sold to Pittsburgh in 1949 and won 20 games for the Pirates in 1951.  In 1953, he earned a save for the National League in the All-Star game.

Dickson also pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees.  He pitched in two games of relief in the 1958 World Series for the champion Yankees.  Dickson retired after the 1959 season.

In 18 big league seasons, Dickson was 172-181.  He more than 3,000 innings and had a career ERA of 3.66.

Dickson died of emphysema in Kansas City in 1989.  He was 73 years of age.

For more, read Murry Dickson’s Society for American Baseball Research bio.