Bill Dickey
Baseball · Hometown: Kensett, AR
- Pro team(s)
- New York Yankees
- Hall of Fame
- ⭐ National Baseball Hall of Fame
Bill Dickey was born on June 6, 1907, in Bastrop, Louisiana, but grew up in Kensett, Arkansas (White County) and is firmly claimed by the state as one of its greatest sports heroes. He spent his entire 17-year career with the New York Yankees as their starting catcher and is widely considered one of the two or three greatest catchers in the history of the game. Dickey batted over .300 eleven times, drove in over 100 runs seven times, and won seven World Series rings as a player. He finished with a .313 career batting average — extraordinarily high for a catcher. Dickey went on to coach Yogi Berra, telling the young catcher "everything I know" — so his legacy extended beyond his own playing career to shape the career of the man who would succeed him as the greatest catcher of the next generation. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954. Dickey and his brother George Dickey both played in the major leagues, but Bill was the transcendent talent.