Joseph Gordon Dobson (January 20, 1917 – June 23, 1994) 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 ...

player, a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who appeared in

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 ...

for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(1939–40),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(1941–43; 1946–50; 1954) and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

(1951–53). After his playing career, Dobson was the pitching coach for the Red Sox for a season and a general manager in the Red Sox minor league system.

Early life

Dobson was born in

Durant, Oklahoma Durant () is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. It serves as the capital of the Choctaw Nation, and is the largest settlement on the reservation, ranking ahead of McAlester and Po ...

. At the age of nine, he lost his left thumb and forefinger playing with a

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

cap. Dobson entered professional baseball in 1937, pitching for the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's Division I (NCAA), Division I-A in 2001 in sports, 2001, became a American football, football only member of the ...

of the

Alabama–Florida League The Alabama–Florida League was a low-level circuit in American minor league baseball that existed from 1936 through 1939 and 1951 through 1962. The temporary absence of clubs based in Florida caused the league to change its name to the Alabama S ...

, winning 19 games and striking out 200 batters in 270 innings. The next season, he pitched for the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

, finishing with an 11–7 win–loss record and making the case that he was ready for the major leagues.

MLB career

After playing his first two MLB seasons for Cleveland in 1939 and 1940, Dobson was sent to Boston in a six-player trade that included Jim Bagby, Jr. Dobson enjoyed his best years with the Red Sox. Between 1941 and 1950 (excepting 1944–45, when he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during World War II),Baseball in Wartime.com
/ref> he won 106 games for the Red Sox. Dobson won a game as a starting pitcher in the

1946 World Series The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their c ...

, and he also appeared as a relief pitcher twice during that series. His best MLB season came in 1947, when he finished with an 18–8 win–loss record. In September of that season, Dobson threw a one-hitter. He was an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

in 1948. Dobson pitched for the Chicago White Sox between 1951 and 1953. The White Sox released Dobson in August 1953, and he did not pitch for the rest of the season. He was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox before the 1954 season; the team released him in May of that season after he made two relief appearances. In a 14-season career, Dobson compiled a 137–103 record with 992

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s, a 3.62

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

, 112

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, 22

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 ...

s, 18 saves, and 2,170

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

in 414

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 ...

(273 as a starter).

Later life

Dobson became the pitching coach for the Red Sox. He later served as general manager of the

Winter Haven Red Sox The Winter Haven Red Sox were a minor league baseball team in the Florida State League (FSL), based in Winter Haven, Florida, from 1969–1992. Team history The franchise began in 1966 in Deerfield Beach, Florida, as the Deerfield Beach Sun Sox, ...

of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. He died in 1994 in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, at the age of 77.Ex-sox pitcher Joe Dobson dies
''Chicago Tribune''. June 26, 1994. He is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville. In 2012, he was inducted into the

Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame The Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame was instituted in 1995 to recognize the careers of selected former Boston Red Sox players, coaches and managers, and non-uniformed personnel. A 15-member selection committee of Red Sox broadcasters and executives, ...

References

External links

1949 Boston Red Sox, at ''Baseball Historian''

Joe Dobson at SABR BioProject
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Joe 1917 births 1994 deaths American League All-Stars United States Army personnel of World War II Baseball players from Oklahoma Boston Red Sox coaches Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Sportspeople from Durant, Oklahoma Troy Trojans (minor league) players People from Cheshire County, New Hampshire 20th-century American sportsmen