Dixie Upright

R T Upright

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Cannon High School (Kannapolis)
• Debut April 18, 1953
• Final Game May 10, 1953
• Born May 30, 1926 in Kannapolis, NC USA
• Died November 13, 1986 in Concord, NC USA

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Biographical Information

Owner of one of baseball's most unusual names, Dixie Upright was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates organization as an amateur free agent in 1947. He was sent to the Chicago White Sox organization before the 1951 season. On January 20, 1953, he was traded with $25,000 to the St. Louis Browns for Fred Marsh. He made his big league debut on April 18th of that year. He appeared in a total of 9 games, collecting 2 hits (including a home run) in 8 at-bats, all of them as a pinch-hitter, for an average of .250. He also scored 3 runs and drove in 1.

He played in his final big league game on May 10th. On May 13th, the Browns released him, and he was quickly signed by the Chicago Cubs on that same day. He never again appeared in the major leagues.

While Upright played no defensive position in the majors, serving solely as a pinch hitter, in the minors he was a first baseman and outfielder. Dixie's minor league career went from 1947 to 1958. In 1949, he hit four home runs in a playoff game in the Big State League [1]. In 1958, he hit .343 with 17 homers and 116 RBI for the Amarillo Gold Sox of the Western League, earning him a spot on the All-Star team.

When Dixie was inducted into the Cabarrus County Sports Hall of Fame, it was noted that he had gone to Cannon High School in Kannapolis, NC at a time when the school had no baseball "due to World War II". He joined the Army in 1943. He played semi-pro ball before coming to the minors in 1947 [2].

Following his death in 1986, he was interred in Greenlawn Cemetery in China Grove, NC.