Leo Moses Dixon (September 4, 1894 – April 11, 1984) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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. His playing career as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

spanned ten seasons, including four 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 ...

. Over his major league career, he played with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

(1925–27) and the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

(1929). Dixon was known as a light- hitting, defensive specialist.

Professional career

Early career

Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Dixon began his

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

career in at the age of 25 with the

Moline Plowboys The Moline Plowboys was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Moline, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities. Moline teams played as members the 1892 Illinois-Iowa League, 1894 Western Association, the Mississippi Valley League (19 ...

of the Three-I League. His strong throwing arm attracted the attention of

Jack Hendricks John Charles Hendricks (April 9, 1875 – May 13, 1943) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball as an outfielder, but is best known as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds f ...

, then the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

of the American Association. Dixon spent three seasons with Indianapolis, but saw little playing time, so at the end of the season, he asked for the club to release him. All the teams in the league passed on making an offer for his services except for the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previ ...

. Given a chance to play every day with the Saints in , Dixon posted a .272

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 10

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in 149 games. His solid defensive abilities as a catcher helped the Saints win the 1924 American Association pennant.

St. Louis Browns

Dixon's performance earned him a promotion to the major leagues when on January 4,

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

, the Saints traded him to the St. Louis Browns in exchange for

Norm McMillan Norman Alexis "Bub" McMillan (October 5, 1895 – September 28, 1969) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop, third baseman and second baseman with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns and the Chicago Cubs between 1922 ...

, Pat Collins,

Ray Kolp Raymond Carl Kolp (October 1, 1894 – July 29, 1967) was a professional baseball pitcher. Kolp played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball between 1921 and 1934, playing in 1921 through 1924 for the St. Louis Browns and 1927 through 1934 for the ...

and US$35,000 ($ in today's standards). Browns manager,

George Sisler George Harold Sisler (March 24, 1893 – March 26, 1973), nicknamed "Gorgeous George", was an American professional baseball first baseman and player-manager. From 1915 through 1930, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the History of t ...

said that he would be the team's starting catcher. Dixon did not sign a contract with the Browns before

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

and as a consequence, news reports dubbed him a "holdout". On March 13, it was announced that he had "

wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

for

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

", meaning that he was reporting to spring training with the Browns. Dixon made his major league debut on April 14, 1925, at the age of 30. In his first season in the majors, Dixon batted .224 with 27 runs, 46 hits, 11 doubles, one triple, one home run and 19 RBIs in 76 games while sharing catching duties with Pinky Hargrave. During

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

spring training, ''

The Evening Independent The ''Evening Independent'' was St. Petersburg, Florida's first daily newspaper. The sister evening newspaper of the '' St. Petersburg Times'', it was launched as a weekly newspaper in March 1906 under the ownership of Willis B. Powell. In Nove ...

'' noted that Dixon was regarded as "one of the smartest receivers in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

". He was also cited along with future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

member,

Mickey Cochrane Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane (April 6, 1903 – June 28, 1962), nicknamed "Black Mike", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and De ...

, as one of the best young catchers in major league baseball. In February 1926, the Browns acquired veteran catcher

Wally Schang Walter Henry Schang (August 22, 1889 – March 6, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Lou ...

who would take over as their starting catcher, while Dixon took a role as a backup catcher. He spent his last season with the Browns in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

, once again backing up Schang. On the season, Dixon batted .194 with six runs, 20 hits, three doubles, one triple and 12 RBIs in 36 games.

Later career

The Browns traded Dixon to the Double-A

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in . With the Orioles, he hit for a .268 average with 79 hits, 12 doubles, three triples and three home runs in 102 games. Dixon was then selected by the

from the Orioles in the 1928

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. He was reunited with his former manager, Jack Hendricks, who was then the manager for the Reds. On March 25,

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

, Hendricks announced that he intended to keep Dixon on the

25-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

going into the season. He served as the third-string catcher behind

Johnny Gooch John Beverley Gooch (November 9, 1897 – May 15, 1975) was an American professional baseball player, coach, minor league manager and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently for the Pittsburgh Pirates ...

and

Clyde Sukeforth Clyde Leroy Sukeforth (November 30, 1901 – September 3, 2000), nicknamed "Sukey", was an American baseball catcher, coach, scout and manager. He was best known for scouting and signing Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the modern era ...

during the season. Dixon only managed a .167 batting average with five hits, two doubles and two runs batted in. He played in his final major league game on August 17, 1929. The Reds released Dixon to the Double-A

Columbus Senators The Columbus Senators Minor league baseball team was created in as a founding member of the Tri-State League. After that, the Senators played in the Western League (1897-1899), Interstate League (1900), Western Association (1901), and Ameri ...

in . With the Senators that season, Dixon batted .251 with 73 hits, 11 doubles and four triples in 100 games. In , Dixon attended spring training with 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 ...

, but did not make the final roster. At the age of 37, he was signed by the

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

in May

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

, however, he did not make an appearance with the team.

Career statistics

In a four-year major league career, Dixon played in 159

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

, accumulating 88

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

in 427

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

for a .206 career

, along with 1 home run, 41

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

and an

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

of .291. He had a career

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 .971. Dixon's strong throwing arm was made evident in , when he led American League catchers with a baserunners

caught stealing In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder wh ...

percentage of 51.4%. Over his minor league career, Dixon batted .245 with 427 hits, 72 doubles, 21 triples and 14 home runs in 572 games. Dixon played as a catcher in all of his 157 career major league games. Because of Dixon's low batting average, which hovered just over .200, his name (along with Jim Mason's) was proposed for inclusion in a new term for poor hitting called the " Mason-Dixon Line" (.204), which is closer to .200 than the

Mendoza Line The Mendoza Line is baseball jargon for a .200 batting average, the supposed threshold for offensive futility in Major League Baseball. It derives from light-hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza, who failed to reach .200 five times in his nine big l ...

(.215).

Later life

Dixon worked as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

in his father's

hardware store Hardware stores (in a number of countries, "shops"), sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing ...

during the off-season. He died on April 11, at the age of 89 in Chicago, Illinois. Dixon was buried at Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery in

Worth, Illinois Worth is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 10,970. Geography Worth is located at (41.688827, -87.792659). According to the 2010 census, Worth has a total area of , ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Leo 1894 births 1984 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Moline Plowboys players Indianapolis Indians players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Columbus Senators players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Cincinnati Reds players Baseball players from Chicago