Sunday, August 26, 2012

Bill Dickey (1907-1993) (and Sparky Anderson!)



This one takes a bit of explaining...

A few weeks ago a reader named Matt got in touch asking about my Sparky Anderson signature.  He was working on a project of retired Reds and had all the other signatures in black sharpie - excluding Sparky.  His generous offer was to send his blue ballpoint pen signature from Sparky Anderson my way WITH another signature - deceased Hall of Famer, Bill Dickey - for my Sparky.

Dickey was a player, manager, and war vet.  His career included being a part of 14 World Series Champion teams as a player and then coach.  He played in 8 All Star games and was inducted in 1954 to the Hall.  Maybe most notably, his single digit number "8" has been retired from the Yankees - joining a select group that includes Martin 1, Ruth 3, Gehrig 4, Dimaggio 5, Mantle 7, Berra 8, Maris 9 (and probably Jeter 2 in a few years).