Walt Dixon

From BR Bullpen

Walter Edward Dixon

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 2", Weight 220-235 lb.

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Walt Dixon, originally a pitcher, played 16 years in the minors (1940-1958), losing three years to the military. Dixon was signed as an amateur free agent before the 1940 season at age 19 and pitched for Canton in the Middle Atlantic League (1940); Rocky Mount in the Piedmont League (1940); Greensboro in the Piedmont League (1941); and Scranton in the Eastern League (1942).

He served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II (1943-1945)(PD). After the War, he pitched for Roanoke in the Piedmont League (1946); Scranton in the Eastern League](1946); Reidsville in the Tri-State League (1947); and Florence in the Tri-State League (1948-1949); when he was converted to a position player.

Walt started managing as a player-manager for Shelby in the Western Carolina League (1949-1950); Greenwood in the Tri-State League (1951); Headland in the Alabama-Florida League (1952); Norton in the Mountain States League (1953); Middlesboro in the Mountain States League (1954); Lafayette in the Evangeline League (1954); Kokomo in the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League (1955); Crestview in the Alabama-Florida League (1956); Lafayette in the Evangeline League (1957); Magic Valley in the Pioneer League (1957); and Burlington in the Three-I League (1958); thus ending his playing career at age 37.

He then managed in the minors (with a brief stop as a coach for the Chicago Cubs in 1964 and 1965) through 1976. As a player, Dixon hit 206 home runs and had 996 RBI and was 52-57 as a pitcher. Dixon compiled a record of 1484-1521 record over 27 seasons as a minor league manager, mostly with the Chicago Cubs organization.

Dixon also scouted for the Cubs from 1976 to 1989. He then moved to the New York Yankees as a scouting supervisor.

Career Highlights[edit]

Year-by-Year Managerial Record[edit]

Year Team League Record Finish Organization Playoffs Notes
1949 Shelby Farmers Western Carolina League 31-46 7th none replaced Harold Dedmon on June 3
1950 Shelby Farmers Western Carolina League 47-63 7th none
1951 Greenwood Tigers Tri-State League 10-36 -- none -- replaced by Mike Garbark on June 12
1952 Headland Dixie Runners Alabama-Florida League 47-60 -- none -- replaced by Hugh Kirkland on August 8
1953 Norton Braves Mountain States League 63-63 6th none
1954 Middlesboro Athletics Mountain States League 48-34 1st none League disbanded on July 20
1955 Kokomo Giants Mississippi-Ohio Valley League 61-57 -- New York Giants -- replaced by Jack Milaskey on August 25
1956 Crestview Braves Alabama-Florida League 51-69 5th Chicago Cubs
1957 Lafayette Oilers Evangeline League 36-21 -- Chicago Cubs Team disbanded on June 20
Magic Valley Cowboys Pioneer League 42-32 6th Chicago Cubs replaced Burdette Thurlby (18-44) on June 23
1958 Burlington (IA) Bees Three-I League 62-67 4th Chicago Cubs
1959 Carlsbad Potashers Sophomore League 72-54 2nd Chicago Cubs Lost League Finals
1961 Carlsbad Potashers Sophomore League 51-65 5th Chicago Cubs replaced Lou Klein (4-6) on May 9
1962 San Antonio Missions Texas League 68-72 5th Chicago Cubs
1963 St. Cloud Rox Northern League 51-69 6th Chicago Cubs 4th 16-14*
1964 St. Cloud Rox Northern League 54-68 5th Chicago Cubs 4th 15-18*
1965 Quincy Cubs Midwest League 69-50 2nd Chicago Cubs none
1966 Quincy Cubs Midwest League 61-63 5th Chicago Cubs
1967 Lodi Crushers California League 63-77 6th Chicago Cubs
1968 Quincy Cubs Midwest League 59-59 5th Chicago Cubs
1969 Quincy Cubs Midwest League 64-55 3rd Chicago Cubs none
1970 Quincy Cubs Midwest League 68-45 1st Chicago Cubs League Champs
1971 San Antonio Missions Texas League 63-77 7th Chicago Cubs
1972 GCL Cubs Gulf Coast League 41-22 1st (t) Chicago Cubs none Co-Champs
1973 Quincy Cubs Midwest League 61-64 7th Chicago Cubs
1974 Midland Cubs Texas League 65-73 6th Chicago Cubs
1975 Key West Cubs Florida State League 65-69 4th Chicago Cubs Lost in 1st round
1976 GCL Cubs Gulf Coast League 36-17 2nd Chicago Cubs none
Totals 27 Seasons 1,509-1,547 2 League Championships

* Baukol Playoffs based on last 30 days of the season

Sources[edit]

Principal sources for Walt Dixon include newspaper obituaries (OB), government Veteran records (VA,CM,CW), Stars & Stripes (S&S), Sporting Life (SL), The Sporting News (TSN), The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball 2006 by David Neft & Richard Cohen (N&C), old Who's Who in Baseballs (none) (WW), old Baseball Registers (none) (BR) , old Daguerreotypes by TSN (none) (DAG), Stars&Stripes (S&S), The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee (BN), Pat Doyle's Professional Ballplayer DataBase (PD), The Baseball Library (BL), Baseball in World War II Europe by Gary Bedingfield (GB) and independent research by Walter Kephart (WK) and Frank Russo (FR) and others.

Related Sites[edit]