Dan Dugdale

Daniel Edward Dugdale

• Bats Right, Throws Unknown
• Height 5' 8", Weight 180 lb.

• Debut May 20, 1886
• Final Game September 30, 1894
• Born October 28, 1864 in Peoria, IL USA
• Died March 9, 1934 in Seattle, WA USA

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Biographical Information

Dan Dugdale had a prominent career in baseball and real estate. As a ballplayer, he was in the National League in 1886 and 1894. His professional career started in 1884 and he played for numerous clubs between 1884 and 1894. Starting in 1895 he became a manager and co-owner, and he was involved as a manager, owner, or executive during much of the rest of his life. The main stadium in Seattle, WA, Dugdale Field, bore his name for many years. He also served as a Washington State legislator.

He made a lot of money speculating in Seattle-area real estate. However, the reason he got to Seattle in the first place was that he hard heard about the gold strike in the Klondike and wanted to join the gold rush, realizing that his career as a player was coming to an end. Seattle was the staging area for prospectors headed to Alaska and from there to the Yukon, but he got cold feet when he saw a ship unloading a load of coffins containing the victims of an avalanche on the Chilkoot Pass, one of the points through which potential gold miners had to climb on their way to the Klondike. Realizing he wasn't ready to risk life and limb for a chance at striking it rich, he instead settled down in Seattle, where he did find financial success, and where he founded various baseball teams and leagues. He is as a result considered the father of baseball in the Pacific Northwest.

Source: Dan Dugdale. The site has photos of Dugdale as a player and much later as a portly owner.

He was often called Ed Dugdale. He died from injuries he sustained when a truck hit him.

Minor league manager history shows him as managing for 10 years. He managed at Seattle in 1898, 1901-1903, 1907-1908 and 1911. Also at Peoria in 1896-1897 and Portland (OR) in 1904 for a total of 10 seasons as a minor league manager.

Further Reading

• Jeff Obermeyer: "He was a nobleman among his fellows: Ex-catcher Dan Dugdale built teams and stadiums, brought pro baseball to Seattle to stay", in Mark Armour, ed.: Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest, SABR, Cleveland, OH, 2006, pp. 16-21.

Related Sites

• Dan Dugdale at the SABR Bio Project
• Baseball History Daily story on Dan Dugdale

This manager's article is missing a managerial chart. To make this person's article more complete, one should be added.