Samuel Edward Dodge (December 19, 1899 – April 5, 1966) was an American

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

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 ...

who played between

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

and

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

for the

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 ...

. Listed at , 170 lb, Dodge batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

. He was born in Neath, Pennsylvania, United States. Dodge was raised and attended school in

Johnson City, New York Johnson City is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 15,343 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village of Johnson City is in the town of Union and is a part ...

. He got his start pitching for an independent club in Johnson City where he was noticed by Mike Konnick who was then catching for a team in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...

. Konnick recommended him to

Red McKee Raymond Ellis "Red" McKee (July 20, 1890 – August 5, 1972) was an American baseball catcher. He played professional baseball for 21 years from 1908 to 1928, including four seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers from 1913 to 1 ...

, then managing the

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

club of the

Michigan–Ontario League Michigan–Ontario League was the name of an American professional baseball league. It operated seven full seasons and part of an eighth from 1919 to 1926. In 1926, the Michigan–Ontario League merged with the Central League to form the Michig ...

. Dodge joined the club in April 1920. After struggling to start the 1921 season, he was released to the

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

club in July, reportedly because he refused to continue pitching for Flint. The Red Sox purchased his contract in September 1921 for what was reported to be a record price for the league. Dodge made his Major League debut on September 24, 1921. In one inning of work, he allowed a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

base on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

and

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any 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 aid of an erro ...

to 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 ...

. It would be his only appearance of the season. He made the Red Sox roster to start the 1922 season. After he accumulated a 4.50

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) over three appearances in April, his contract was sold to the minor league

Springfield Ponies Springfield Ponies was the primary name of minor-league baseball teams based in Springfield, Massachusetts, that played between 1893 and 1943. The team competed as the Ponies through its history, except for single seasons as the Maroons (1895), T ...

. Manager

Hugh Duffy Hugh Duffy (November 26, 1866 – October 19, 1954) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was a player or player-manager for the Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Pirates, Boston Reds, Boston Beaneaters, Milwau ...

reportedly thought highly of him but felt Dodge, then just 22 years old, would benefit more from getting regular work in the minors than from sitting on Boston's bench. It was reported in ''

The Flint Journal ''The Flint Journal'' is a quad-weekly newspaper based in Flint, Michigan, owned by Booth Newspapers, a subsidiary of Advance Publications. Published Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, it serves Genesee, Lapeer and Shiawassee Counti ...

'' that Duffy had tried to convert Dodge into a knuckleballer during that spring which caused an injury to Dodge's pitching arm. He would not return to the majors. Over seven

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 ...

in four career games, he posted a 5.14 ERA with three

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 and no decisions. Dodge finished out the season in Springfield. He was suspended for a time due to poor conditioning and his performance declined. He re-signed in Springfield to start the 1923 season but reported to the team late and in poor condition. In May 1923, before he appeared in a game for Springfield, his contract was sold to the

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

team of the Michigan–Ontario League. He pitched briefly for Grand Rapids but, on June 2, 1923, he debuted with the

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

club in the same league. By 1926, he was reportedly

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

of a semi-professional team in Flint called the Lincoln Oils which made headlines for traveling to games by airplane. In 1930 and 1931, he managed the semi-pro Owosso Chieftains. By 1932, he had left Michigan to return to the

Southern Tier The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York, Upstate region of New York (state), New York State, geographically situated along or very near the state border with Pennsylvania. Definitions of the region vary wide ...

where he attempted to establish a semi-professional league. In 1933, he coached a team in

Kirkwood, New York Kirkwood is a town in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 5,495 as of the 2020 census. The town is named after James P. Kirkwood, the civil engineer responsible for constructing the local railroad. The town is located wit ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodge, Sam 1899 births 1966 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Sox players Baseball players from Bradford County, Pennsylvania Saginaw Aces players 20th-century American sportsmen Springfield Ponies players People from Johnson City, New York Baseball players from Broome County, New York Flint Vehicles players Hamilton Tigers (baseball) players Grand Rapids Billbobs players American expatriate baseball players in Canada