Dizzy Dismukes

William "Dizzy" Dismukes (March 15, 1890 – June 30, 1961) was an American pitcher and manager in Negro league baseball and during the pre-Negro league years. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, where his father Isaac Lee Dismukes was a deacon in a Baptist church, and his mother Sallie taught Sunday School. [8] He knew from the time he was a youth that baseball was his first love, and he dropped out of school to follow his dream of becoming a baseball player. [9]

William "Dizzy" Dismukes
Pitcher / Manager
Born: (1890-03-15)March 15, 1890
Birmingham, Alabama
Died: June 30, 1961(1961-06-30) (aged 71)
Campbell, Ohio
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Career

Dismukes was a right-handed submariner,[10] who is considered by many historians to be one of the best pitchers in the Negro leagues.

Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he began his baseball career at age 17.[11]

Among his achievements as a pitcher, he defeated the then-major league champion Pittsburgh Pirates 2–1,[12] in an exhibition game in 1911.[13]

While a player, he periodically wrote about baseball for such black newspapers as the Pittsburgh Courier, beginning in the 1920s.[14]

Among the teams he played for were the Brooklyn (NY) Royal Giants,[15] Indianapolis ABCs and the St. Louis Stars.[16]

During his managing years, Dismukes became known for his wonderful memory during his playing and managing, and became known as a strategist. He is credited with teaching Webster McDonald and Carl Mays the tricks of submarine-style pitching.

He spent a number of years with the Kansas City Monarchs, in such roles as traveling secretary and business manager.[17] Later in his career, after major league baseball was integrated, he was a scout for the Chicago Cubs and then the New York Yankees.[18]

He joined the Yankees as a scout in 1953, having resigned his position as secretary of the Kansas City Monarchs.[19]

He died in 1961, at age 71, at the home of his sister in Campbell, Ohio; the cause of death was hardening of the arteries.[20]

At age 62, Dismukes received votes listing him on the 1952 Pittsburgh Courier player-voted poll of the Negro leagues' best players ever.[21]

References
  1. "West Baden Sprudels Beat Famous Dallas, Texas Giants Three Out of Four" Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, Indiana, September 3, 1910, Page 7, Columns 2 and 3
  2. "Baseball in the Windy City" Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, IN, July 27, 1912
  3. "Brooklyn Giants Win" The Washington Herald, Washington, DC, Thursday, May 8, 1913, Page 8, Column 3
  4. "A.B.C.'s Trim Gunthers" Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, IN, Saturday, July 17, 1915, Page 4, Column 4
  5. "Indianapolis ABCs vs Dayton Marcos" Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, IN, April 15, 1918
  6. "Memphis Red Sox Paste First Shutout on A.B.C.'s" The Kokomo Daily Tribune, Kokomo, IN, Tuesday, May 19, 1925, Page 13, Column 3
  7. "Dismukes Hurls No-Hit Shut-Out" Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday, May 15, 1915, Page 4, Column 4
  8. Emory O. Jackson, "William (Dizzy) Dismukes One of Few Idols of Diamond." Montgomery, Alabama Tribune, July 28, 1961, p. 6.
  9. "From Slagtown Sandlotter To Scout For New York Yankees," Atlanta Daily World, August 9, 1961, p. 4.
  10. "Monarchs Open Here Today." Kansas City (MO) Star, August 9, 1924, p. 6.
  11. "Dizzy Started Back in 1908." Pittsburgh Courier, August 5, 1961, p. 37.
  12. Lewis Dial, "The Sports Dial." New York Age, July 22, 1933, p. 6.
  13. Al Moses. "Beating the Gun." Kansas City (KS) Plaindealer, June 29, 1951, p. 4.
  14. "Notes on East-West World Series as Picked Up By 'Dizzy' Dismukes." Pittsburgh Courier, October 25, 1924, p.6.
  15. Ryan Whirty. "Remembering the Royals." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 17, 2014.
  16. "Dizzy Dismukes, ABC Pitcher, Dies." Indianapolis Recorder, June 29, 1961, p. 11.
  17. William A. Young. J.L. Wilkinson and the Kansas City Monarchs. McFarland Publishing, 2016, p. 125.
  18. "East-West Classic on July 28." Kansas City (KS) Plaindealer, July 19, 1957, p. 6.
  19. Wendell Smith. "Dismukes Keeps Busy as a Yankee Scout." Pittsburgh Courier, September 4, 1954, p. 22.
  20. "Dizzy Dismukes, ABC Pitcher, Dies." Indianapolis Recorder, June 29, 1961, p. 11.
  21. "1952 Pittsburgh Courier Poll of Greatest Black Players"
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