Joseph Anthony Dugan (May 12, 1897 – July 7, 1982), was an American
professional baseball player.
Nicknamed "Jumping Joe", he was considered one of the best defensive
third basemen of his era. He played in
Major League Baseball as a
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
and third baseman from 1917 through 1931, most notably for the
Philadelphia Athletics
The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakla ...
and the
New York Yankees, with whom he played in five
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Wor ...
.
Baseball career
Born in
Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania
Mahanoy City (pronounced MAHA-noy, also MA-noy locally) is a borough located southwest of Wilkes-Barre and 13 miles southwest of Hazleton, in northern Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Coal Region of Pennsylvania and is located ...
, and later attending Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut, Dugan went directly from the
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest i ...
to the major leagues.
He made his major league debut at the age of 20 with
Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics on July 5,
1917
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...
. Dugan struggled as a hitter his first two years, batting a combined .195, but in
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Bratislava, Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY Iolaire, HMY ''Io ...
he batted .271, then the next year hit .322.
By 1920, Dugan was being cited as the best third baseman in the major leagues. He was moved permanently to third base in
1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in Brazil.
** The Spanish liner ''Santa Isabel'' bre ...
, and would be a steady .280-.300 hitter as well as a fine defensive third baseman for the rest of his career.
It was in his first years in baseball that Dugan acquired the nickname of "Jumping", a nickname bestowed on him since he would often take unauthorized leaves from the team.
After committing a few errors, he was booed by the Philadelphia fans. Sensitive and temperamental, he would leave the team until Mack was able to coax him back. Word of his departure spread around the league and, he would often be taunted by fans with the cry, "I want to go home!"
In
1922, Dugan was traded by the Athletics to the Boston Red Sox. On July 23,
1922 he was sent by the Red Sox to the New York Yankees in a controversial deal. Red Sox owner
Harry Frazee had been unloading his Red Sox players almost haphazardly, and Dugan's acquisition by the Yankees helped them edge out the
St. Louis Browns
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...
in a tight 1922 pennant race. Because Dugan's trade occurred in the latter part of the season, and worried that teams might try to buy their way to a pennant during the season, major league baseball would later move up its trading deadline to June 15.
Dugan had his most productive season in
1923
Events
January–February
* January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory).
* January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
, when he hit .283, scored 111
runs and led the league's third basemen in
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...
to help the Yankees win their first world championship.
In a United Press International article, Dugan was proclaimed the hero of the
1923 World Series
The 1923 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1923 season. The 20th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees against the National League champion New York Giants. ...
for his spectacular defensive performance as well as his timely hitting, which produced five runs batted in. Dugan posted a .302 batting average in
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...
and, in a year-end poll of major league baseball players, he was a near-unanimous selection as the best third baseman in the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
.
Yankees manager
Miller Huggins named Dugan as his
leadoff hitter
In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in any inning.
Strategy
Traditionally, the leadoff hitter has been utilized as a contact-oriented position. The leadoff hit ...
at the beginning of the
1925 season. In August, he suffered a severely wrenched knee and had to miss the rest of the season. He posted a .292 batting average for the season and once again led American League third basemen in fielding percentage.
Dugan was the starting third baseman on the
1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General.
* January 7
** ...
Yankees, a team considered by many the greatest baseball team of all time, although by this time Dugan was past his prime as injuries began to take their toll. In August 1928, Huggins replaced Dugan at third base with
Mike Gazella
Michael Gazella (October 13, 1895 – September 11, 1978) was an American major league baseball player who played for the New York Yankees on several championship teams in the 1920s.
Born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, Gazella played football as we ...
in an effort to get more offense from the lineup. After appearing in 94 games, the Yankees gave Dugan his unconditional release in December of that year.
He signed a contract to play for the Boston Braves in
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
and finished the season with a .304 batting average in 60 games. Dugan did not play in 1930 but returned to play for the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
as a
utility player in
1931
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
* January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
* January 22 � ...
. At the age of 34, he appeared in eight games before being released on May 29.
Career statistics
In a 14-year major league career, Dugan played in 1,447
games, accumulating 1,516
hits in 5,410
at bats for a .280 career batting average along with 42
home runs, 567
runs batted in and a .317
on-base percentage.
He finished his career with a .957
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...
as a third baseman.
Dugan played in five World Series with the Yankees, playing in 25 series games and batting .267 (24-for-90).
After his playing career, Dugan briefly managed in the
minor leagues.
He died in
Norwood, Massachusetts, at age 85.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dugan, Joe
1897 births
1982 deaths
People from Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania
Baseball players from Pennsylvania
Major League Baseball third basemen
Boston Braves players
Boston Red Sox players
Detroit Tigers players
New York Yankees players
Philadelphia Athletics players
Holy Cross Crusaders baseball players
Boston Red Sox scouts
Minor league baseball managers
Jersey City Skeeters players
Salina Blue Jays players
People from Norwood, Massachusetts