Jimmy Dykes Stats & Facts

Player
 

 

Jimmy Dykes

Positions: Third Baseman, Second Baseman and First Baseman
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
5-9, 185lb (175cm, 83kg)
Born: November 10, 1896 in Philadelphia, PA
Died: June 15, 1976  in Philadelphia, PA
Buried: St. Denis Cemetery, Havertown, PA
Debut: May 6, 1918 (4,680th in major league history)
vs. WSH 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: October 1, 1939
vs. SLB 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: James Joseph Dykes

View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1918

Jimmy Dykes
Cliff Heathcote
Waite Hoyt
Jesse Haines
Bill Sherdel
Tom Zachary
Johnny Mostil
Babe Pinelli
Austin McHenry

All-Time Teammate Team

Coming Soon

 

Notable Events and Chronology

 

Biography

Jimmy Dykes averaged 125 games in 13 full seasons with the Athletics, but only once played the same position all year – second base in 1921. He had big, strong wrists from working as a pipefitter, and reputedly threw harder than any other non-pitcher in the game. He did everything but pitch and catch, prompting Connie Mack to call him his most valuable player. “Having one Dykes is like having five or six players and only one to feed, clothe, and pay,” said Mack in 1929.

A Philadelphia native, Dykes was bought by the Athletics to take over second base in 1918 when regular Maury Shannon was drafted. Dykes played the season out before he too went into the army. Heavy-chested, heavy-legged, and wide in the rear, he returned in the spring of 1919 overweight and out of shape. He was sent down to play 2B with first baseman Ivy Griffin and shortstop Chick Galloway. In the fall they all joined the A’s to stay.

In 1924, Dykes was given a Flint sedan for being named team MVP. He topped the .300 mark five times between ’24 and 1930, and played third base in the 1929-31 World Series. In September of 1932, he was sold with Al Simmons and Mule Haas to the White Sox for $100,000. In the first All-Star Game, played at Comiskey Park in 1933, Dykes had two hits.

Dykes replaced Lew Fonseca as White Sox manager in 1934 and stayed until early in 1946. He was a player-manager until 1939. A chirping, joshing, noisy character and an accomplished bench jockey, he kept his calm in arguing with umpires as a player, but as a manager was frequently fined, and sometimes suspended, for letting loose volleys of strong language.

Dykes joined the Athletics as a coach in 1949, and was Mack’s choice to manage the club in 1951. After three poor finishes, he took over the Orioles in 1954, their first year in Baltimore after moving from St. Louis. He coached for the Reds, leading them for part of 1958, and managed the Tigers until August of 1960, when he’Sh)”@@was sent to the Indians for Joe Gordon in a rare trade of managers. He also coached the Braves and Kansas City A’s. Gene Mauch broke Dykes’s record of managing 21 years without winning a pennant. Dykes’s highest finish was third place.

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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

The Tony Phillips of his time, Jimmy Dykes played every position Connie Mack asked him to, contributing with the glove and the bat. He batted .421 in the 1929 World Series and belted four extra-base hits in the 1930 World Series, helping the A’s win each year. He played more than 2,200 games and managed almost 3,000. He was in baseball for parts of six decades. As a manager, he never duplicated the success he had with the A’s as a player, managing eight winning teams in 18 full seasons at the helm. In his 21 seasons as a manager he never finished higher than third. Not until Gene Mauch did a manager have such a long tenure as a major league manager without winning a pennant. Dykes was Connie Mack’s choice to succeed him as manager of the A’s, but after three poor finishes he was let go. Dykes was the first major league manager of the Baltimore Orioles, but lost 99 games and was fired. In August, 1960, he was part of the only trade of managers in baseball history. The Tigers dealt him to the Indians for manager Joe Gordon.

Played For
Philadelphia Athletics (1918-1932)
Chicago White Sox (1933-1939)

Managed
Chicago White Sox (1934-1946)
Philadelphia Athletics (1951-1953)
Baltimore Orioles (1954)
Cincinnati Reds (1958)
Detroit Tigers (1959)
Cleveland Indians (1960)
Detroit Tigers (1960)
Cleveland Indians (1961)

On May 3, 1959, Dykes replaced the unforgettable Bill Norman as manager of the struggling Tigers. Detroit’s record was 2-15. Dykes would manage Detroit at a .540 clip the rest of the way, bringing them in one game below .500 at 76-78… When the Indians and Tigers swapped managers in 1960, there was a one-game wait before the two skippers arrived for duty. In their absence, Jo-Jo White managed the Tribe and Billy Hitchcock piloted the Tigers.

Best Season, 1929
Dykes was an unsung hero on the 1929 World Series champion A’s. He played short, third and second modestly well, hitting .327 and leading the league in HBP. He was a the #7 or #8 hitter in Mack’s lineup, but his versatility made him invaluable. He hit .421 in the World Series with four RBI in five games.
All-Star Selections

Line Drives: Links on the Web about Jimmie Dykes
Jimmy Dykes: Baseball Lifer

Post-Season Appearances
1929 World Series
1930 World Series
1931 World Series
Description
Connie Mack called Dykes thick-chested, with the best throwing arm in my infield.”

Factoid
Jimmy Dykes was the third baseman for the American League in the first two All-Star games ever played.

Transactions
Simmons and Haas were sold with Dykes to the White Sox for $100,000 following the 1932 season. All total, Dykes played ten years with Haas and 12 with Simmons … Joe Gordon was traded straight up for Dykes on August 3, 1960. It remains the only trade of major league managers.

Data courtesy of Restrosheet.org

Factoid
On May 5, 1941, the White Sox honored manager Jimmy Dykes with a ceremony prior to their game against the Yankees. Dykes received a scroll that commemorated his more than 25 years in the game. Later in the afternoon, Yankee outfielder Joe DiMaggio collected a single and started his record 56-game hitting streak.

All-Star Selections
1933 AL
1934 AL

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