Former Leavenworth resident Dickson named to Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame

Murry Dickson, who spent many years of his life as a resident of Leavenworth, will posthumously be admitted to the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame in Wichita on Jan. 24. Dickson was a pitcher in the major leagues, extending his career until the age of 43.

Dickson was born in Tracy, Mo. in 1916. He won 172 games in the major leagues in 18 seasons in the 1940s and 50s.

The right-hander’s first major league contract was with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936. By 1939 he had married Julia Wood and also gotten his first look at the major leagues with a brief stint pitching toward the season’s end in St. Louis. After three successful years in the Cardinals’ minor league system, including winning a Texas League high 22 games for the Houston Buffaloes in 1939, Dickson became a full-time member of the St. Louis roster in 1942. In 1942-43 he had a combined record of 14-5, helping both clubs advance to the World Series.

Following the ‘43 season Dickson deployed with the U.S. Army to serve during World War II. He was drafted in September but was given special furlough to participate in the ‘43 World Series. During his service he participated in the Battle of the Bulge and the crossing of the Rhine. He earned four battle stars and a good conduct ribbon while rising to the rank of sergeant. He was a member of the 35th Division that landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day and fought through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. 

He returned to baseball in 1946, winning 15 games for the world-title bound Cardinals. Dickson helped the Cards get into the Series by winning the second and deciding game of a best-of-three series with the Dodgers. In that game he shut down the Dodgers until the ninth inning, helping St. Louis to an 8-4 win. Dickson led the National League in winning percentage that year at .714. Although he was the losing pitcher in Game 3 of the World Series in ‘46, he threw seven strong innings in the finale of the Series before Harry Brecheen got the win when St. Louis rallied past the Red Sox in the eighth inning.

The Pittsburgh Pirates bought Dickson’s contract in 1949 and he played for the Pirates until 1953. Dickson won 20 games for the Pirates in 1951, accouting for nearly a third of the squad’s 64 total wins on the season. In addition, he threw 19 complete games in ‘51 and 21 in 1952. In ‘52 he won 14 games for the Pirates that only won 42 games.

Following his time with the Pirates he spent two season with the Philadelphia Phillies before another year stint with the Cardinals in 1956-57. He was a relief pitcher in the American League for the Kansas City Athletics and the New York Yankees. He earned another World Series ring with the Yankees in 1958, making two relief appearances as the Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games.

He ended his baseball career with 3,0521⁄2 innings pitched in 625 appearances over 18 seasons. His final record was 172-181 and his cumulative ERA was 3.66. He was an All-Star selection in 1953. As of Sept. 30, 2008, Dickson ranked 172nd on the major league’s all-time career wins list.
He and his wife Julia had two children, a daughter Donna Gail and a son Steven. He spent the end of his life living on a private lake near Leavenworth, dying of emphysema in 1989 at the age of 73. He is buried in Leavenworth.

There are six members of the 2008 class for the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame — Dickson; Claude Hendrix, who won 141 games in the major league; Jaime Bluma, who was a standout at Wichita State and had a brief career with the Royals; Bob Carlile, who helped to form the Liberal DeeJays, one of the nation’s top non-professional teams; Milt Glickman, who brought minor league baseball back to Wichita; and Kenny Bennett who was a member of the Yankees for six seasons after graduating from Wichita West High School.