Wayne Dickerson

Douglas Wayne Dickerson

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• High School Ensley High School
• Born October 7, 1947 in Fairfield, AL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical information

Outfielder Wayne Dickerson was the first player ever drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates; he never got past A ball. His brother Don Dickerson missed being a first-rounder by one pick, going first in the second round in 1968.

Dickerson had been a three-sport star in high school; he had been quarterback of the football team, center of the basketball team and center fielder of the baseball team. He tried out for Pirates scouts George Zuraw and Howie Haak as well as Danny Murtaugh. Pittsburgh liked what they saw and made him the 10th pick of the 1965 amateur draft, the first amateur draft. He was taken in between two future major leaguers, Eddie Leon at #9 and Jim Spencer at #11. He was the third outfielder taken that year, after Rick Monday and Billy Conigliaro. He signed for $25,000; the signing scout was Zuraw.

Dickerson was assigned initially to the Salem Rebels. He hit .283 and slugged .442 for them in 1965, but battled the flu late in the season and lost 15 pounds. He had enrolled in college after being signed by Pittsburgh, but had dropped out to go to spring training. The Pirates were concerned that he would lose his student deferment and be drafted into military service, so advised him to go back to college and skip spring training.

When he got back on the diamond, Dickerson had put on extra weight, more than making up for what he lost in his 1965 illness. He hit .252/.319/.368 for the 1966 Gastonia Pirates. Again missing spring training in 1967 as he attended college to avoid the military draft, the first-round baseball draftee was sent back to Gastonia. He hit .254/.323/.379, showing little progress, and scored just 19 runs in 72 games. Two of his outfield mates (Johnny Jeter and Steve Coley) made the Western Carolinas League top 5 in average, not boding well for his prospects in the Pirates chain. He was still only 19 years old, though, a definite sign in his favor.

With the Vietnam War heating up, the Pirates were encouraging their farmhands to join the Marine Reserves to avoid the draft. Dickerson did so in September 1967 and attended spring training for the first time as a result in '68. In May of 1968, he got married. That season, he struggled for the Clinton Pilots, at .234/.305/.302 as an OF-1B.

In his last summer playing pro baseball, 1969, Dickerson batted .288/.361/.361 for the Salem Rebels, with 9 assists to 4 errors in 84 games in the outfield. Had he qualified, he would have tied for 9th in the Carolina League in batting average. Despite his improved play, Pittsburgh let him go in spring training of 1970. He got a try-out with the St. Louis Cardinals but they did not sign him.

In total, he hit .262 with 28 home runs in 411 games.

After baseball, Dickerson worked for Blue Circle Cement, as southern regional sales manager.

Sources

• MLB.com article from 2006
• June 1, 1987 article on Dickerson in the Pittsburgh Press