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Show SPORTUGHT Bill Dickey a Welcome Prodigal By Grantland Rice IN THE SPRING of 1928 a tall, lanky kid blew Into the Yankee stadium from Little Rock. He had arrived via Little. Rock, Muskogee. Jackson and Buffalo. He was then 21 years old. 6 feet 2, weighing 185 pounds. When he was born in Bastrop, La., back In 1907, he was formally christened William Malcolm Mal-colm Dickey. The William Malcolm Mal-colm soon gave way to plain Bill. The point of this outbreak is that Bill Dickey, after a lapse of two years. Is back with the Yankees again as a catching and pitching coach, a spot where be has no equaL The Arkansas Traveler bat at least two distinctions. distinc-tions. He ia about as tine a quail shot at you'll run GranUand Rice acro. And he comes close to being be-ing the best all around catcher baseball ever produced. His main challengers are Mickey Cochrane, Gabby Hartnett and Ray Schalk Or maybe Johnny Kling from old Cub days. Other catchers have bad better bet-ter arms, er arms Just as good as Dickey's. AO of them were faster. Mickey Cochrane waa a bsll-of-flre where Dickey was serene and unruffled. Bill's claim to fame rested on bis hitting and the way be bandied pitchers. As tar as 1 know. Dickey is the only catcher who drove In over 100 runs four years In succession 107 in 1936. 133 In 1937, 115 in 1938 and 105 in 1939 In these tour years Dickey hit 102 home runs. Smart pitchers have told me more than once that in a clutch they considered Bill Dickey the most dangerous man In baseball and this wasn't barring Ruth, Gehrig, Geh-rig, DiMaggio, Greenburg, Foxx or Williams. Dickey remained with the Yankees from 1928 through 1948, when he returned to Little Rock for a two-year stay, lie was lured back to the Yankees this last winter and this spring be will oelp Casey Stengel unravel two Yankee tangles the catching and the pitching. It these two snarls are straightened straight-ened out, the Yankees can be a dangerous outfit. If not, they won't be. It the combined snarl and tangle can be handled, Stengel has the right man on band tor the job. ... Dickey vs. Pitchers "One reason 1 get such a kick out of catching is the chance to see Joe Gordon play second base," Bill said some years ago. "He keeps on making plays that can't be made." It was always a treat to watch the way Dickey handled his pitchers, pitch-ers, especially the young ones. Atley Donald won his first 12 games pitching to Dickey. Now and then you'd see Bill stroll out to the box. The two would talk tor a while and then Dickey would return re-turn to work. "What do you two talk about?" 1 asked. "Oh, I'd say what a nice day It was. Or ask him how the folks were. Something like that. And then suggest we had all afternoon and not to hurry. A lot of pitchers when they lose control or get in trouble seem to pitch taster and taster That's when you have to slow them down." "I'll never forget watching that Dickey stick his big glove under his left arm and start tor the box," Roger Bresnahan said one day. Bresnaban was John McGraw't pick for the all-time catcher. "Yon could almost see the pitcher settling down. Be was another pitcher after Dickey got through. Usually a catcher gets a little peeved or tore at a pitcher who can't locate the plate. Not Dickey. This was bis chance to use bis soothing syrup." It must be admitted that Bill Dickey Is a hard fellow to upset, mentally or physically. Bill's philosophy phil-osophy consists largely In accept ing the breaks as they come. The good breaks never lift blm too high nor the tough breaks let him down. "It doesn't pay to get excited," Dickey advises. "Why get worried?" wor-ried?" Bill wouldn't know an alibi it he bumped into one. Dickey as always carried a great admiration for Ted Williams' batting eye. |