Dynamite Dunn

Cecil Albert Dunn
(Dynamite)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.
• School Birmingham Southern College

• Born May 13, 1911 in Linden, AL USA
• Died August 9, 1981 in Demopolis, AL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

First baseman Cecil "Dynamite" Dunn played in the minor leagues from 1935 to 1945. He won four home run crowns and a Triple Crown in his career, and hit over 200 home runs. He played in the Pacific Coast League for a few seasons, but never reached the major leagues.

Dunn began his career as age 24, playing for the Alexandria Aces (129 G, 18 HR, .359 BA) and Beaumont Exporters (2 G, 0 HR, .125 BA) in his rookie season. He hit a combined .355 with 18 home runs, 13 triples, 183 hits and a .561 slugging percentage in 131 games. He led the Evangeline League in total bases (288), runs scored (113), RBI (122) and slugging, tied Art Bartelli for the lead in home runs and finished second in hits (behind Douglas Dean's 189) and batting average (behind Dean's .383).

He followed that up with an even more stupendous 1936, hitting .378 with 47 home runs, 185 RBI, 169 runs scored, 45 doubles, 13 triples, 219 hits, 431 total bases and a .378 slugging percentage in 139 games for the Aces. He led the Evangeline League in hits (2nd place was a distant 22 away), doubles, batting average, slugging percentage, total bases (2nd was 127 away) and, most notably, home runs - his 47 were more than twice as many as the next closest hitter. He also tied for the league lead in games, tied for second in at-bats and finished third in triples. He ran away with the Triple Crown that year.

Though solid for the rest of his career, he was never quite the same batter after 1936. In 1937, he played for the Beaumont Exporters and hit .278 with 33 home runs, 42 doubles, 308 total bases and a .552 slugging percentage in 151 games. He led the Texas League in home runs and total bases and finished second in slugging percentage, behind Homer Peel's .573.

In 1938, he played for the Atlanta Crackers (47 G, 4 HR, .227 BA), Tulsa Oilers (25 G, 3 HR, .366 BA) and Toledo Mud Hens (10 G, 1 HR, .182 BA) and hit a combined .272 with eight home runs in 82 games. He rebounded in 1939, hitting .286 with 17 home runs and 40 doubles for the San Antonio Missions (129 G, 16 HR, .289 BA) and Oakland Oaks (20 G, 1 HR, .267 BA). He finished third in the Texas League in home runs that year.

With the Oaks in 1940, Dunn hit .233 with 27 home runs in 178 games. He finished second in the Pacific Coast League in home runs (behind Lou Novikoff's 41) and tied for second in games played. He returned to Oakland for 1941 and hit .245/.288/.385 with nine home runs and 50 RBI in 115 games.

In 1942, Dunn made multiple stops, spending time with the Savannah Indians (28 G), Oklahoma City Indians (28 G), Louisville Colonels (10 G), Oakland Oaks (1 G), Memphis Chickasaws and Atlanta Crackers (39 G between them). He hit .270 with 16 home runs in 106 games. He played for the Knoxville Smokies in 1943, hitting .295 with 19 home runs in 126 games. He led the Southern Association in home runs.

With the Knoxville Smokies, Mobile Bears and Chattanooga Lookouts in 1944, Dunn hit .280 with 14 home runs in 134 games. He wrapped up his career in 1945, playing a combined 20 games for the Birmingham Barons and St. Paul Saints. He hit .151 with no home runs.

Overall, Dunn hit .290 with 208 home runs, 301 doubles, 54 triples and 1,431 hits in 1,331 games.