Jimmie Dykes
From BR Bullpen
James Joseph Dykes also known as Jimmy
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9", Weight 185 lb.
- Debut May 6, 1918
- Final Game October 1, 1939
- Born November 10, 1896 in Philadelphia, PA USA
- Died June 15, 1976 in Philadelphia, PA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Jimmie Dykes had both a very long playing career and also a lengthy managerial career. During his playing career, much of the time he played under Connie Mack, which influenced his managerial career.
His playing career lasted 22 years - all with two teams: the Philadelphia Athletics from 1918 to 1932, and the Chicago White Sox from 1932 to 1939. He broke in at the age of 21, and was still playing at the age of 42. According to the similarity scores method, the most similar player is B.J. Surhoff. However, his contemporary Rowdy Richard Dick Bartell might be a more meaningful similar player.
When Dykes reached the majors with the 1918 Athletics, they were not much of a team, finishing last in the league. Both he and shortstop Joe Dugan (later to play on the 1927 Yankees) were 21 years old and hit under .200, with Dykes getting 186 at-bats. The most prominent player that year was "Tioga" George Burns, who hit .352. The Athletics were to finish last each year for the first several years of Dykes' career.
Dykes became a regular in 1920, hitting over .300 several times, but mostly being under .300. He neither scored nor drove in 100 runs in any season. He was an expert at being hit by the pitch, leading the league several times, and almost always being among the leaders in that category. In 1927, he hit .324 and was 8th in the MVP voting.
The Athletics won the World Series in 1929 and 1930, and also won the pennant in 1931. Dykes played alongside such players as Mickey Cochrane, Bucketfoot Al Simmons, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove, all of whom were younger than him. He hit .421 in the 1929 Series.
Connie Mack dismantled the team for monetary reasons in the early 1930's, and Dykes was purchased by the White Sox, where he spent the last 7 years of his playing career. Despite the presence of Luke Appling and Ted Lyons, the Sox did not win the pennant in any of those years. Al Simmons, Dykes' teammate from the Athletics, also spent several of those seasons with the White Sox.
Lifetime, Dykes played in 2,282 games with 2,256 hits. He had 453 doubles and a .280 average. His 228 sacrifice hits put him at #53 on the all-time list.
He played all the infield positions, with the bulk of his appearances at third base.
Dykes became manager of the White Sox in 1934, and for the last six years of his playing career, he was a player/manager. He managed 13 years for the Sox, never finishing higher than third. He managed the Hollywood Stars, taking over the team towards the end of 1946 and continuing until believing replaced during the 1948 season. His overall managerial record with the stars was 182-215. He then returned to the Athletics as a coach in 1949 and 1950, before taking over as the team's skipper in 1951. He remained at the helm of the club through 1953, before spending a year as skipper of the Baltimore Orioles.
Dykes was then a member of the Cincinnati Reds coaching staff from 1955 to 1958, managing the team for the latter part of the 1958 season. After a brief stint as a coach for the 1959 Pittsburgh Pirates, Dykes became manager of the Detroit Tigers. While with Detroit, he was part of one of the more unusual trades in baseball history. He sent to the Cleveland Indians in 1960 for fellow skipper Joe Gordon.
Dykes spent the 1962 season as a member of the Milwaukee Braves staff, and he ended his coaching career with the team his playing career began with, the Athletics. Now in Kansas City, he was a coach for the team in 1963 and 1964. All told, he managed for 21 years in the major leagues with a record of 1,406-1,541 and three seasons in the minor leagues with a record of 182-215.
Dykes' son, Jimmie Dykes Jr., was slated to get a try-out with the Terre Haute Phillies in 1947 [1].
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2-time AL All-Star (1933 & 1934)
- Won two World Series with the Philadelphia Athletics (1929 & 1930)
| Preceded by Lew Fonseca | Chicago Whtie Sox Manager 1934-1946 | Succeeded by Ted Lyons |
| Preceded by Connie Mack | Philadelphia A's Manager 1951-1953 | Succeeded by Eddie Joost |
| Preceded by Marty Marion | Baltimore Orioles Manager 1954 | Succeeded by Paul Richards |
| Preceded by Birdie Tebbetts | Cincinnati Reds Manager 1958 | Succeeded by Mayo Smith |
| Preceded by Bill Norman | Detroit Tigers Manager 1959-1960 | Succeeded by Joe Gordon |
| Preceded by Joe Gordon | Cleveland Indians Manager 1960-1961 | Succeeded by Mel McGaha |
