George Woodrow Dockins (May 5, 1917 – January 22, 1997) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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who played for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

() and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

(). The left-hander stood and weighed . Dockins is the only

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player from

Clyde, Kansas Clyde is a city in Cloud County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 694. It is located east of Concordia along state highway K-9. History Clyde was laid out in 1867, making it the oldest town in ...

. Dockins had a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season of 8–6 with a 3.21

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. He made his major league debut for the Cardinals in

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on May 5, 1945, against the

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Sportsman's Park Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on t ...

. His first big-league

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came twenty-five days later, also in relief, in a 12-

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, 4–2 victory over the

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in the first game of a home doubleheader. He threw his first

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

on August 8, 1945, against the

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at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...

. After the manpower shortage caused by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

was over, Dockins got into four more big league games. Pitching in relief for Brooklyn in 1947, he gave up seven

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the ...

in 5 innings. From 1946 to 1949, he spent most of his professional career with the

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

, the Dodgers' Double-A affiliate. With them, he had a 12–6 record and a 2.16 ERA in 20 games in 1946. He briefly served as the Cats'

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in 1948 on an interim basis. He compiled a stellar 105–54 record over 237 minor-league games pitched over nine seasons, missing the entire 1944 campaign with an injured shoulder.Russell Wolinsky, ''George Dockins,''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

Biography Project Dockins' career totals for 35

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher. The statistic is also referred to as appearances, especially to refer to the number of ...

include an 8–6 record, five

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, and two shutouts. He allowed 52

in 131

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

for an ERA of 3.55. He handled 31 out of 32 chances successfully for a

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

of .969. Dockins died in his hometown at age 79 in 1997.

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dockins, George 1917 births 1997 deaths Baseball players from Kansas Brooklyn Dodgers players Columbus Red Birds players Fort Worth Cats players Hamilton Red Wings (baseball) players Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers Mobile Shippers players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players People from Cloud County, Kansas Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players 20th-century American sportsmen