Bill Dickey interview
Date1987 April 27
DescriptionTwo audio cassettes featuring an interview with Bill Dickey conducted by Rod Roberts on the behalf of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on April 27, 1987 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Object numberHF-1994-0001-017
Interviewer
Roberts, Rod
Interviewee
Dickey, Bill, 1907-1993
Subject
Dickey, Bill, 1907-1993
Classificationsaudio/visual materials
Library Call NumberCTA 023
Collection NumberBA RMA 001 Rod Roberts oral history collection
Library Call NumberCTA 020
Dimensions2 audio cassettes
TrannscriptionCassette 1 Side One -- Track 1 - Born June 6, 1907, in Bastrop, LA, near New Orleans; left there when he was very young to move to Kensett, AR, home of U.S. Rep. Wilbur Mills; Dickey's father (John) played semi-pro baseball and worked as a conductor for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, lived in Donovan, AR; his father was quite an athlete and had a good curveball, used to teach Dickey to play; Dickey's younger brother(George) Skeeter signed with the Yankees, broke his leg, went to Boston and then to the White Sox, played seven years in the Major League before leaving to join Stevens, Inc., one of the biggest investment banking firms in the world (00:00:00 to 00:03:45) Track 2 - Had three sisters, one died very young; Dickey was third oldest; mother was Laura Chapman; parents were Scotch-Irish; went to school first in Kensett, then to Searcy, AR; then to Little Rock College for high school, played on football and baseball college teams; was there a year before signed to play pro ball (00:03:45 to 00:05:04) Track 3 - On his friend, Jimmy Froley, playing for the college team and getting paid $10 a Sunday to play in Hot Springs, Froley getting $20 to play for a lumber company team and asking Dickey to take over in Hot Springs; Lena Blackburne, a player and manager for the White Sox signed him to play for the Little Rock Travelers in the Southern Association; he was 17 and played three games that year; the next year they farmed him out to Muscogee, OK; played for half a season and the league blew up; he didn't get paid for the last month; Bob Allen, owner of Little Rock Travelers re-signed him; Yankees sent him to Jackson, MI in 1927; at end of season hitting .315 and Yankees scout Johnny Nee said he wanted him; the team won the pennant; Dickey on the train going home and saw an article in the Sporting News that his contract had been purchased by the Yankees (00:05:04 to 00:08:20) Track 4 - On making $300 a month; a lot of difference in the pay now; in 1936 made $12,500-$15,000, hit .362 and drove in more than 100 runs and caught 135 ball games, held out for two weeks on spring training to get a $2,500 raise; "it was a pretty good year" (00:08:20 to 00:09:24) Track 5 - Originally played third base, started to catch in Bald Knob, AR, when the catcher got hit; after that, Dickey never played any other position; really learned to catch when he worked in Jackson; going to the Yankees' "27 Club," the greatest ball club in the country; Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were both his idols; getting to see them hit balls into the lake at spring training; Dickey trying to hit into the lake and Miller Huggins called him over and told him he'd never hit the ball that far, told him to choke up on the bat; (phone rings) get an Earle Combs bat and hit with that; took his advice and started hitting line drives; had a hard time "pulling" the ball but he finally got it towards the end of his career (00:09:24 to 00:14:13) Track 6 - On being a left-handed hitter; throwing right handed; golfing left handed; more on Earl Combs bat, with no knob and a larger handle, no knob, sometimes a 36-ounce bat, eventually a 35-ounce bat (00:14:13 to 00:15:56) Track 7 - On rooming with Lou Gehrig for 7-8 years, becoming very good friends; Gehrig one of the strongest men he'd ever met; scuffling in the bedroom; pitcher (Jim?) Weaver wisecracking at Gehrig and Gehrig stuffed him in a locker in Cleveland, Weaver was 6'6" and weighed 260, all in fun; Gehrig was a gentleman, fun to be around, hard to get to know, loved baseball, and he could hit the ball in any direction in any park in line drives; different from Ruth hitting the ball way up in the air (00:15:56 to 00:18:32) Track 8 - (Contains profanity) In 1937 when Gehrig went to Mayo Clinic, Dickey was rooming with him and knew something was wrong; Mayo Clinic diagnosed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (NOTE: he stops, wants to start again see next track) (00:18:32 to 00:19:39) Track 9 - In 1937, Gehrig wasn't playing really well and everyone knew something was wrong; went to the Mayo Clinic where they diagnosed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and told him he couldn't play baseball anymore, said he would gradually get worse; Dickey knew they told him he would die in two years: Dickey was rooming with him and he stayed with the club the rest of the year; going to Washington and Gehrig and Dickey were last ones off the train, signing autographs for kids for 20-30 minutes; and he mentioned that he was dying; on Gehrig's speech at Yankee Stadium being the most emotional day in his life (00:19:39 to 00:22:03) Track 10 - On Tony Lazzeri liking to play jokes on people, nailing his shoes to the floor, shoes cost $17 so Dickey was angry, Lazzeri said Ruth did it; Dickey was rooming with Sam Byrd and they went to a store and bought an egg and put it in Ruth's shoe; everyone watched him put on his shoes and poured the egg out, his face got red and said he'd" lick the dirty-so-and-so that put the egg in his shoe," Dickey confessed and Ruth started to laugh; but it was actually Lazzeri who nailed his shoes to the floor; Lazzeri from San Francisco and they called him Dago (00:22:03 to 00:25:45) Track 11 - On Mark Koenig also being full of fun; Henry Johnson pitching and was throwing a lot of balls in the dirt and Koenig suggested they put the center fielder behind the catcher; Koenig and Lazzeri making double plays and both being good hitters (00:25:45 to 00:27:06) Track 12 - On Joe Dugan (phone rings, gap/glitch in tape) being "over the hump;" (tape picks back up at Dugan) Dugan making a one-handed play at third base, throwing ball over-handed; Yankees being serious about baseball but enjoying a good time and getting along (00:27:06 to 00:28:38) Track 13 - On Waite Hoyt; Dickey learning to anticipate a cross-up so they couldn't get it by him; Johnny Broaca also threw cross-ups all the time (00:28:38 to 00:29:47) Track 14 - Interviewer Roberts explaining that he wants interesting stories, not numbers, tape runs out (00:29:47 to 00:30:32) Side Two -- Track 1. Intv: On Babe Ruth, his charisma, way with crowds and fans, stopping traffic in Little Rock, Ruth loved kids, loved baseball, loved a good time; only ate two hot dogs at a time, never 5-6; on the field, Ruth came up for batting practice, and everyone stopped to watch him swing the bat; switching from left field to right field because of the sun, (Bob) Meusel could play the sun field better; Ruth put on weight and slowed down but could still swing the bat; never made a mistake in the field; sometimes a loner, Dickey went to the zoo with him, Ruth was "built like a gorilla" and the gorilla at the zoo made a big fuss over him; Ruth was great in the clutch, Gehrig the same way (00:00:00 to 00:04:20) Track 2 - Story about Ruth coming late to the park after being out drinking all night, (Miller) Huggins was manager and put him in the lineup, bat boy Eddie Bennett led Ruth up to the plate, but he hit two home runs and a double, Huggins fined him $1,000 (00:04:20 to 00:06:24) Track 3 - Huggins being a great manager, died during the season from a pimple on his face and not having penicillin; didn't say too much; Sam Byrd roomed with Dickey, played for the Yankees for seven years and then became a pro golfer; Huggins also played golf, and Byrd gave him some lessons hitting from home plate; Huggins had to discipline the players (00:06:24 to 00:09:28) Track 4 - On Earle Combs being a great ball player and center fielder, one of greatest line drive hitters; best change-of-pace hitter; hair was snow white; led the league in triples; beautiful runner; a real good friend of Dickey's and Ruth, his wife, also a fine person (00:09:28 to 00:11:29) Track 5 - On friends in baseball; bass fishing with Atley Donald (people at the door, gap in tape) (00:11:29 to 00:12:11) Track 6 - On Atley Donald putting several thousand Florida bass in his lake, catching 10-11-pound bass five years later; good fishing trips; Donald and Dickey both having heart problems at the same time (00:12:11 to 00:13:20) Track 7 - On Bob Meusel and (Tony) Lazzeri both deserving to be in the Hall of Fame (00:13:20 to 00:14:15) Track 8 - On '27-'28 Yankees players being big; today's players may be bigger and stronger but home runs getting to be "real cheap" because the ball jumps (00:14:15 to 00:15:24) Track 9 - On Leo Durocher, nickname Rudy; enjoying playing pool, Dickey playing pool with him, had a good run of 18 straight balls, kept talking the entire time, bridge players told him to stop chattering and Durocher confronted them and the bridge players got up and left; he could field the ball but couldn't hit a curveball (00:15:24 to 00:17:57) Track 10 - On Dickey replacing Pat Collins, Benny Bengough and Johnny Grabowski, the other catchers; Bengough was the best catcher, Collins could hit the all the farthest but wasn't a good catcher and neither was Grabowski; Bengough had hurt his arm but caught most of 1928; Dickey took the regular job in 1929; Dickey was in the World Series but didn't play; Huggins told him that a starting catcher makes (? Tape glitch on $ amount); and so he had his sights on the job (00:17:57 to 00:19:44) Track 11 - On Stan Coveleski, being in the Hall of Fame; died in his 90s (00:19:44 to 00:20:49) Track 12 - On Urban Shocker dying in 1928; Dickey went to his funeral in St. Louis (00:20:49 to 00:21:10) Track 13 - Became starting catcher for the Yankees in 1929, on the Athleticss in ‘29-‘30-‘31 had the best ball club in the big leagues, had (Mickey) Cochrane, (Lefty) Grove, (Al) Simmons, (Jimmie) Foxx, four Hall of Famers; Grove threw the ball faster than any pitcher he ever saw; Ruth said (?) Johnson was faster but Dickey didn't see him; Grove was unhittable sometimes; when (Ben) Chapman and Dusty Cooke came up, Dusty pulled to right and Chapman pulled to right, Dickey told them not to try and pull the ball, hit the balls over the dugouts (00:21:10 to 00:23:26) Track 14 - On Chapman having a temper, being a good base runner; more good base runners today, not as many attempted stolen bases, not too many good catchers, bases stolen on bad throws, some on good throws, but can't outrun the baseball if a catcher has a good arm (00:23:26 to 00:25:26) Track 15 - On other changes in baseball, gloves have changed; pitchers' gloves have changed; more one-handed baseball; catchers' mitts have changed, the position of the hands have changed; Dickey would love to throw against some modern baseball players; loves a great defensive play; Dickey never caught a no-hitter (00:25:26 to 00:27:42) Track 16 - On changes in the strike zone; best pitchers throwing more fastballs in the past; pitcher with good control doesn't have to be as fast, the way Tommy John pitches (00:27:42 to 00:29:12) Track 17 - On following the Yankees on TV; still a Yankee fan because it was his only ball club in the Majors; good chance to win the pennant (tape runs out) (00:29:12 to 00:30:18) Cassette 2 Side One -- Track 1 - On Herb Pennock, first pitcher Dickey ever caught, if you called for fastball, he might throw a curve or a slow ball, but he wouldn't throw a fastball on a curve ball sign, too tough to catch, he liked to change at the last minute, but easy to catch; playing in Chicago, batter sacrificed, and Dickey ran into Pennock, next batter bunted and Dickey knocked him down; Pennock said "you gotta get ‘em;" he was a gentleman, fine wife Esther; Herb would take him over to Kennett Square to spend the night and talk baseball; had a .22 rifle, and they were shooting, Dickey shot a butterfly dead center, couldn't do it again in a 1,000 tries (00:00:00 to 00:03:35) Track 2 - On Art Fletcher taking over as manager after Miller Huggins died; Fletcher a good coach but had quite a temper; had a heart attack and left the Yankees after a year; Bob Shawkey took over the following year; talking about Fletcher in Philadelphia, bases were loaded, Henry Johnson was pitching, bunt hit down the third baseline; Johnson made a great play at home plate, but umpire called the runner safe; Dickey was angry and threw the ball down and the umpire threw him out of the game, Fletcher threw all of the bats out of the dugout (00:03:35 to 00:06:13) Track 3 - Very seldom thrown out of games but got fined $50 once when his daughter was born, Brick Owens was umpire and there was a ball at the plate and Dickey got angry,, but Owens didn't put Dickey out of the game; umpire chief was in the stands and fined Dickey and Owens $50 (00:06:13 to 00:07:44) Track 4 - On Bill McGowan being best ball-and-strike umpire; should be in the Hall of Fame; on working with two umpires; one year when Washington won the pennant, came to 9th inning, two run lead, two outs, Buddy Myer hit a foul ball into the screen; Dickey caught the ball and hit the screen; McGowan called him safe, saying the ball hit the screen; Myer hit the next pitch up in the seats and the Yankees were beat by one run (00:07:44 to 00:10:16) Track 5 - On Jimmie Reese, didn't play with the Yankees for too long; roomed with Babe Ruth for a while; Ruth didn't like roommates; Bob Meusel had the greatest arm from the outfield; (Joe) DiMaggio had a great arm but got hurt so he couldn't throw as well; Meusel made a perfect throw in a rainstorm when the grass was slick and Dickey missed it; Meusel also a good hitter and had long strides, so he could get around the bases; didn't know Meusel's brother. Irish, too well (00:10:16 to 00:13:25) Track 6 - On Bubbles Hargrave stuttering, playing in old Braves park in Boston, Dickey was hurt, wasn't a close ball game; first inning Ruth hit a home run; Bubbles went 5-5, hit two home runs, a double and two singles, back at the hotel, Bubbles had a room by himself, Dickey was rooming with Lou Gehrig; Bubbles wanted to know what he had to do to get his name in the paper (00:13:25 to 00:15:35) Track 7 - On Lefty Gomez having live-est fastball, not as fast as Grove but had action; he had nervous energy, more he'd shake the better he'd pitch, had a lot of determination, always had a quick remark; used to holler "bow your neck" (00:15:35 to 00:17:33) Track 8 - Dickey's 95-year-old mother comes in, glitch/gap in tape (00:17:33 to 00:18:04) Track 9 - (Picks up mid-sentence) On teaching Berra to catch and throw to second base, one of best catchers that ever was, never got credit (00:18:04 to 00:19:14) Track 10 - Best catchers were (Mickey) Cochrane, (Gabby) Hartnett, (Johnny) Bench and Berra, would leave himself out; Roy Campanella; Hartnett had best arm; modern catchers (Gary?) Carter, (Lance?) Parrish; (Tony?) Peña, good but not great (00:19:14 to 00:22:13) Track 11 - On being fined $1,000 and suspended for a month in 1932; (Joe) McCarthy sent him home and he went fishing every day; (Carl) Reynolds and Dickey were friends, but Washington and New York were very competitive; play happened in Washington on 4th of July; Reynolds was on first or second, play for Reynolds at third base; (Joe) Sewell had the ball and tagged him, but Reynolds kicked ball out of his hand and headed home; Sewell threw the ball and hit Reynolds in the back, Dickey tried to get around him to get to the ball and Reynolds hit Dickey with both elbows, so he swung at his jaw and his arms dropped and his eyes glazed over; Dickey was suspended for as long as Reynolds was out; the Yankees paid his fine; he drove home and then drove back to meet the team in Chicago; hit a home run, a double and two singles; next day, went to Washington and he was booed, but got a base hit in the 10th inning to win the game (00:22:13 to 00:26:27) Track 12 - On other baseball fights; playing in Washington, (Ben) Chapman on first, took (Buddy?) Myer out at second; Myer kicked Chapman in the fanny; they had a pretty good scrap; Chapman was in the Yankee dugout and had to go through Washington dugout to get to the clubhouse, fight started and turned into a big brawl, Dixie Walker on top; (Earl) Whitehill all banged up; Chapman not one to turn down a fight (contains profanity) (00:26:27 to 00:29:13) Track 13 - On 1932 World Series, Ruth's famous "called" home run; Sewell said he pointed, Dickey was hitting behind (Tony) Lazzeri, got into the batter's box with Gehrig; (Charlie) Root was pitching and came close to hitting Ruth twice, Ruth shook his finger at Root and said he'd come out and get him, and then hit the ball into the seats (tape runs out) (00:29:13 to 00:30:47) Public Access NotePlease note that not all works are on view at all times - their availability is subject to change per the discretion of the Museum staff. 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