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Cletus Dixon | |||
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Born: Centerville, South Dakota | April 26, 1899|||
Died: April 1986 86) | (aged|||
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Cletus Loton "Smoke" Dixon (April 26, 1899 in Centerville, South Dakota, United States – April 1986) was a baseball figure who played in the minor leagues from 1922 to 1935 and who managed at that level from 1924 to 1936. He is notable for leading four teams to league championship victories over the course of his 13-year managerial career.
Centerville is a city in Turner County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 882 at the 2010 census. Centerville is part of the Sioux Falls, South Dakota metropolitan area.
Primarily a first baseman, Dixon hit .268 with 1,462 hits in 1,438 games. Not a power hitter, he hit only nine home runs in his career, with a career-high of five in a season. He also had 132 doubles and 46 triples. In 1925, he had his best season average-wise, hitting .323 in 124 games for the Waterloo Hawks. [1]
Power hitter is a term used in baseball for a skilled player that has a higher than average ability in terms of his batting, featuring a combination of dexterity and personal strength that likely leads to a high number of home-runs as well as doubles and triples.
The Waterloo Hawks was the primary name of the minor league franchise that existed on-and-off for 79 seasons between 1895 and 1993 in Waterloo, Iowa. The franchise relocated to Springfield, Illinois in 1994, before eventually becoming today's Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League. Waterloo won 12 league championships, playing in the Mississippi Valley League (1922-1932), Western League (1936), Illinois-Iowa-Indiana League (1940-1942) and the Midwest League (1958-1993). The Hawks were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals (1969-1976), Cleveland Indians (1977-1988) and San Diego Padres (1990-1993). Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Carlton Fisk and Luis Aparicio played for Waterloo.
Dixon managed the Waterloo Hawks from 1924 until 1930, leading them to league championship victory in 1924 (his first year as manager) and 1928. He skippered the Oklahoma City Indians for the beginning of 1929, eventually being replaced and taking the reins of the Davenport Blue Sox, who he managed until 1936. He led the Blue Sox to league championship glory in 1933 and 1936 (his final year managing in the minors). He also led to them to the league finals in 1932 and 1934, though they lost both times. They made it to the playoffs in 1935, though they did not get past the first round.
The Oklahoma City Indians were an American minor league baseball franchise representing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that played in the Texas League in 1909–11, 1933–42 and 1946–57, the Western League from 1918–32, the Western Association from 1914–17, and the Oklahoma State League in 1912. They played at Western League Park, Holland Field and Texas League Park.
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