View source for Joe Dugan

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Short description|American baseball player (1897–1982)}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Joe Dugan
|image=Dugan athletics.jpg
|position=[[Third baseman]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1897|5|12}}
|birth_place=[[Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|1982|7|7|1897|5|12}}
|death_place=[[Norwood, Massachusetts]], U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=July 5
|debutyear=1917
|debutteam=Philadelphia Athletics
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=May 26
|finalyear=1931
|finalteam=Detroit Tigers
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.280
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=42
|stat3label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=567
|teams=
*[[Philadelphia Athletics]] ({{mlby|1917}}–{{mlby|1921}})
*[[Boston Red Sox]] ({{mlby|1922}})
*[[New York Yankees]] ({{mlby|1922}}–{{mlby|1928}})
*[[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] ({{mlby|1929}})
*[[Detroit Tigers]] ({{mlby|1931}})
|highlights=
* 3× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1923}}, {{wsy|1927}}, {{wsy|1928}})
}}
'''Joseph Anthony Dugan ''' (May 12, 1897 – July 7, 1982), was an American professional [[baseball]] player.<ref name="Joe Dugan statistics">{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/duganjo01.shtml |title=Joe Dugan statistics |publisher=Baseball Reference |access-date=April 5, 2011 }}</ref> Nicknamed "'''Jumping Joe'''", he was considered one of the best defensive [[third baseman|third basemen]] of his era.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pie Traynor One Of Best Third Basemen |work=Youngstown Vindicator |page=17 |date=October 9, 1925 |access-date=April 5, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Lp5cAAAAIBAJ&pg=6774,3001828&dq=pie+traynor&hl=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pie Traynor Considered Best Third Baseman On Teams Vying For Pennant |work=Reading Eagle |page=18 |date=September 20, 1928 |access-date=April 5, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KpkhAAAAIBAJ&dq=pie%20traynor&pg=4294%2C3644812}}</ref> He played in [[Major League Baseball]] as a [[shortstop]] and third baseman from 1917 through 1931, most notably for the [[Philadelphia Athletics]] and the [[New York Yankees]], with whom he played in five [[World Series]].

==Baseball career==
Born in [[Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania]], and later attending Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut, Dugan went directly from the [[College of the Holy Cross]] to the major leagues.<ref name="Dugan Jumps Back">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6bcDAAAAMBAJ&q=joe+dugan+baseball+digest&pg=PA25 |title=Dugan Jumps Back |author=Pollock, Ed |date=November 1946 |work=Baseball Digest |access-date=April 5, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/7a751c87|title=Joe Dugan {{!}} Society for American Baseball Research|website=sabr.org|access-date=September 7, 2016}}</ref> He made his major league debut at the age of 20 with [[Connie Mack]]'s Philadelphia Athletics on July 5, [[1917 Philadelphia Athletics season|1917]]. Dugan struggled as a hitter his first two years, batting a combined .195, but in [[1919 Philadelphia Athletics season|1919]] he batted .271, then the next year hit .322.<ref name="Joe Dugan statistics"/> By 1920, Dugan was being cited as the best third baseman in the major leagues.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dugan Ranks As A Star Player |work=The Norwalk Hour |page=11 |date=September 10, 1920 |access-date=April 6, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kN0vAAAAIBAJ&pg=3934,5454820&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en}}</ref> He was moved permanently to third base in [[1921 Philadelphia Athletics season|1921]], 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.<ref name="Dugan Jumps Back"/> After committing a few errors, he was booed by the Philadelphia fans.<ref>{{cite news |title=Joe Dugan Again Leaves Lowly Athletics |work=Evening Tribune |date=July 30, 1921 |access-date=April 6, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qgNhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3143,3357190&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en}}</ref> Sensitive and temperamental, he would leave the team until Mack was able to coax him back.<ref>{{cite news |title=Joe Dugan Wants Mack To Sell Him |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=December 1, 1919 |access-date=April 6, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lrgaAAAAIBAJ&pg=1137,20159&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en}}</ref> Word of his departure spread around the league and, he would often be taunted by fans with the cry, "I want to go home!"<ref name="Dugan Jumps Back"/>

In [[1922 Boston Red Sox season|1922]], Dugan was traded by the Athletics to the Boston Red Sox.<ref>{{cite news |title=Joe Dugan To Play Short For Red Sox |work=The Telegraph Herald |page=8 |date=January 12, 1922 |access-date=April 6, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qyBRAAAAIBAJ&pg=1096,4439714&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en}}</ref> On July 23, [[1922 New York Yankees season|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]] 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ban Johnson Against Mid-Season Deals |agency=Associated Press |work=The Lewiston Daily Sun |page=6 |date=July 24, 1922 |access-date=April 6, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dSEgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1200,1432478&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en}}</ref>

Dugan had his most productive season in [[1923 New York Yankees season|1923]], when he hit .283, scored 111 [[run (baseball)|runs]] and led the league's third basemen in [[fielding percentage]] to help the Yankees win their first world championship.<ref name="Joe Dugan statistics"/> In a United Press International article, Dugan was proclaimed the hero of the [[1923 World Series]] for his spectacular defensive performance as well as his timely hitting, which produced five runs batted in.<ref>{{cite news |title=Joe Dugan Proclaimed The Hero of The World's Series |agency=United Press International |work=The Border Cities Star |date=October 27, 1923 |access-date=April 5, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=J3FBAAAAIBAJ&pg=4175,3497464&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en}}</ref> Dugan posted a .302 batting average in [[1924 New York Yankees season|1924]] 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]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Joe Dugan Polled Largest Vote of Any Player to Be Placed on All-Star Clubs |agency=North American Newspaper Alliance |work=The Morning Leader |page=14 |date=October 30, 1924 |access-date=April 5, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JghTAAAAIBAJ&pg=4919,4252402&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en}}</ref>

Yankees manager [[Miller Huggins]] named Dugan as his [[leadoff hitter]] at the beginning of the [[1925 New York Yankees season|1925 season]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Dugan Yank Lead-Off Man |work=Reading Eagle |page=21 |date=March 18, 1925 |access-date=April 5, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NqohAAAAIBAJ&pg=4846,3707735&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en}}</ref> In August, he suffered a severely wrenched knee and had to miss the rest of the season.<ref>{{cite news |title=Joe Dugan Is Lost to Yanks for Year |work=The Milwaukee Journal |page=1 |date=August 25, 1925 |access-date=April 5, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eZ9QAAAAIBAJ&pg=2694,4811807&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en }}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He posted a .292 batting average for the season and once again led American League third basemen in fielding percentage.<ref name="Joe Dugan statistics"/> Dugan was the starting third baseman on the [[1927 New York Yankees season|1927]] 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thisgreatgame.com/1927.html |title=The Yankee Juggernaut |publisher=thisgreatgame.com |access-date=April 6, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726054923/http://www.thisgreatgame.com/1927.html |archive-date=July 26, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=American League's Best Are Picked on Their Past Record |work=The Miami News |page=12 |date=October 4, 1927 |access-date=April 6, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_UAuAAAAIBAJ&pg=4795,2169419&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en }}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In August 1928, Huggins replaced Dugan at third base with [[Mike Gazella]] in an effort to get more offense from the lineup.<ref>{{cite news |title=Huggins Promises Shake-Up Of Yanks |agency=INS |work=The Telegraph Herald |page=9 |date=August 8, 1928 |access-date=April 6, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ATFkAAAAIBAJ&pg=3744,1631912&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en}}</ref> After appearing in 94 games, the Yankees gave Dugan his unconditional release in December of that year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Joe Dugan Released By New York Yankees |work=The Pittsburgh Press |page=36 |date=December 19, 1928 |access-date=April 6, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rEsbAAAAIBAJ&pg=5599,2253490&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en}}</ref>

He signed a contract to play for the Boston Braves in [[1929 Boston Braves season|1929]] 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]] as a [[utility player]] in [[1931 Detroit Tigers season|1931]]. At the age of 34, he appeared in eight games before being released on May 29.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dugan Released By Detroit Club |agency=United Press International |work=The Milwaukee Journal |page=8 |date=May 30, 1931 |access-date=April 6, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w_opAAAAIBAJ&pg=2914,2829690&dq=joe+dugan&hl=en }}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Career statistics==
In a 14-year major league career, Dugan played in 1,447 [[Games played|games]], accumulating 1,516 [[Hit (baseball)|hits]] in 5,410 [[at bats]] for a .280 career batting average along with 42 [[home run]]s, 567 [[runs batted in]] and a .317 [[on-base percentage]].<ref name="Joe Dugan statistics"/> He finished his career with a .957 [[fielding percentage]] as a third baseman.<ref name="Joe Dugan statistics"/> Dugan played in five World Series with the Yankees, playing in 25 series games and batting .267 (24-for-90).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/duganjo01.shtml#batting_postseason::none |title=Joe Dugan post-season statistics |publisher=Baseball Reference |access-date=April 11, 2011 }}</ref>

After his playing career, Dugan briefly managed in the [[Minor League Baseball|minor leagues]].<ref name="Dugan Jumps Back"/> He died in [[Norwood, Massachusetts]], at age 85.

==See also==
* [[List of baseball players who went directly to Major League Baseball]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|br=d/duganjo01|brm=dugan-001jos}}
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{1923 New York Yankees}}
{{1927 New York Yankees}}
{{1928 New York Yankees}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dugan, Joe}}
[[Category:1897 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball third basemen]]
[[Category:Boston Braves players]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players]]
[[Category:Detroit Tigers players]]
[[Category:New York Yankees players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Athletics players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Holy Cross Crusaders baseball players]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox scouts]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball managers]]
[[Category:Jersey City Skeeters players]]
[[Category:Salina Blue Jays players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Norwood, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:College of the Holy Cross alumni]]