Otto Denning

Otto George Denning
(Dutch)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• High School Lane Tech High School
• Debut April 15, 1942
• Final Game June 4, 1943
• Born December 28, 1912 in Hays, KS USA
• Died May 25, 1992 in Chicago, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Otto "Dutch" Denning attended high school in Chicago, IL before beginning his pro baseball career in 1933. While playing for the Minneapolis Millers in 1938, he finished second to teammate Ted Williams in the American Association batting race. After nine seasons in the minors, he was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 1941 Rule V Draft. While many players were away serving in World War II, he made his big league debut on skipper Lou Boudreau's club in 1942 and played a season and a half in the majors. After that, he returned to the minors, where he later managed.

While in the minors with the Milwaukee Brewers, Denning became friends with Bill Veeck. After Veeck got out of baseball in the 1980s, he and Denning would often attend Chicago Cubs games, sitting together in the Wrigley Field bleachers.

Denning died at age 79 after suffering a heart attack. He was the uncle of big leaguer Chris Bourjos, great-uncle of Peter Bourjos and father of Pat Denning.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1948	Pensacola Fliers	Southeastern League	18-19	--	none	--	replaced by Wally Dashiell (33-33) on May 21
	Oil City Refiners	Middle Atlantic League	35-47	6th	Chicago White Sox		replaced Ray Dahlstrom (15-29) on June 22
1949	Oil City Refiners	Middle Atlantic League	67-69	4th	Chicago White Sox
1950	Waterloo White Hawks	Three-I League	70-56	3rd	Chicago White Sox	Lost in 1st round
1951	Waterloo White Hawks	Three-I League	29-33	--	Chicago White Sox	--	replaced by Edward Taylor (1-4) on July 2
	Colorado Springs Sky Sox	Western League	33-42	7th	Chicago White Sox		replaced Johnny Mostil (2-2) on July 4

Related Sites

• Otto Denning at the SABR Bio Project